Franz move into big league

In years to come, last night, the first of three Brixton Academy sell-outs, will probably be remembered as the moment where Franz Ferdinand ascended to the big league. Indeed, the transformation seemed effortless from the moment they began, silhouetted behind a huge banner as they hurtled into the opening Michael, to the closing group hug just 70 minutes later after an appropriately incendiary This Fire.

Right now, the planets are aligning. The album sold its millionth copy some months ago, but the foursome have honed their already tight live show into something quietly spectacular. The knowing geek look still serves them well, but they brought choreography, be it the Shadows guitar twirls on The Dark Of The Matinee or the still-life during Darts Of Love which resembled the Soviets storming the Reichstag in 1945.

Better still, each member is becoming distinct. Drummer Paul Thomson is their rhythmic anchor; Bob Hardy a teddy bear bassist and Nick McCarthy the slightly deranged keyboard and guitar wizard who emerged somewhat the worse for wear after a brief excursion into the crowd during This Fire.

Then there is Alex Kapranos and his almost geometric cheekbones. Despite his unintelligible banter, his every fibre basked in the secure knowledge of imminent stardom.

They tested the water with a smattering of new material (although not The Undertones' Teenage Kicks which they played earlier this week in honour of John Peel) and swam rather than sunk. Beefy and bouncy, Your Diary suggested they have already moved onto a new, superior songwriting level.

They had the confidence to plonk their best-loved song, Take Me Out, halfway through. It still stuck out like a spine-tingling beacon, with its slow start building into the brashest, brightest melody this side of the long-lost Lightning Seeds and when the band stopped to let the crowd sing "Take me out" at the top of their voices, it was clear Franz Ferdinand were not just respected; they were loved too.

Franz Ferdinand