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Written by Kiernan Scrima Thursday, 24 October 2013 16:04

Franz Ferdinand will make anyone dance; guys, girls, your grandma, your 8th grade math teacher, the garbage man, and even the president.

The Vic Theater, Chicago

Ages ago, I remember reading an interview with Franz Ferdinand that explained that they basically formed around the idea of making music girls could dance to. Well, they’ve proceeded to supply us girls with more than four albums worth of music to dance to, and I’m going to bet that the menfolk have found themselves not at all embarrassed about cutting a rug either.

Franz Ferdinand will make anyone dance; guys, girls, your grandma, your 8th grade math teacher, the garbage man, and even the president. But on this night, they were there to woo us, and us alone. They exploded out of the gates with “Bullet,” a high-energy song that set the tone for the night. If some weren’t convinced, they were by the third song, “Do You Want To.” The sold out crowd sang the “doo doo doos” along with singer Alex Kapranos. The singing continued with “Right Action,” the new single from their latest album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. The stream of three minute, high-energy songs continued halfway through the set, before they slowed it down with “Walk Away.” The singing along, however, got only stronger at this point. Franz whipped the crowd back into a frenzy with an extended, discoed-out version of “Can’t Stop Feeling” that turned medley with the Donna Summer classic, “I Feel Love,” breezily interjected in the middle of the song. The main set ended on a high with “Ulysses.” The encore began and picked up right where the show left off with an extended version of “Outsiders,” complete with the boys banging on every tom, snare, and high hat on the drums. Following this was an old favorite, “Michael,” from their first album. For such a high-energy, dance heavy show, the band ended the evening on a slow note, with the aptly titled “Goodbye Lovers and Friends.” It eased the crowd down from such an intense hour and a half of non-stop, pop-punk, art music that you can still dance to. | Kiernan Scrima

Photos: Kiernan Scrima