Franz Ferdinand/Fire Engines

Published on Monday 20 December 2004 00:05

FRANZ FERDINAND/THE FIRE ENGINES ****

SECC, GLASGOW

IF FRANZ Ferdinand were not already ubiquitous enough this year, they were all around us in the SECC. Each member looked down from their own film screen, like four pop Wizards of Oz. The Franz Ferdinand effect has been achieved with much more than smoke and mirrors, however, and one wonders when they found the time to stand still long enough to be filmed during such an eventful year for this terrific band.

At the first of two hometown gigs to cap their annus mirabilis, they invited their favourite Scottish pop band of yore, The Fire Engines, to reform once more for the occasion. The Edinburgh post-punkers’ set flew right over most of the crowd members’ heads, so plastic beer glasses flew over the band members’ heads.

After a customarily pithy set, dedicated to John Peel "and anyone else who’s dead", The Fire Engines departed to a chorus of boos, but to the core faithful, the spiky fuzz of Get Up And Use Me, the madly danceable New Things In Cartons and the almost conventionally melodic Meat Whiplash were still a buzz 25 years on.

How would homecoming heroes Franz Ferdinand fare in arena land? Very nicely, as it turned out, thanks to a fistful of alternative anthems. Take Me Out has turned out to be the song of the year, yet Franz were able to dispense with it in the middle of their set without sounding like they had squandered their big finish. Shopping For Blood, a "mere" early B-side, was a high-camp romp among numerous high-octane gems.

A healthy batch of new songs were as tight and tuneful as anything on their debut album, boasting all the band’s trademarks - immediately memorable choruses, cheeky time signatures and standout guitar hooks.

Everyone was welcome, from the hipsters with hairdos who have been there from the start of the story to dancing gangs of uncool lads with aspirations. Franz Ferdinand are reaching everyone, and what was especially impressive about this show was that they have done so while retaining such enthusiasm and exhilaration in the face of perpetual touring.