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Critic's choice: Franz Ferdinand
By David Smyth, Evening Standard 23.08.06
Intimate surroundings: Franz Ferdinand are set to perform in front of just 2,000 at the Forum
Look here too
Franz Ferdinand
Forum, NW5
These are the closest quarters at which anyone will catch the Glasgow clothes horses for a while.
Warming up for their headlining slot at the Reading festival on Friday, the lucky 2,000 who snare tickets for this show will get a sneak preview of the kind of set that will please 60,000.
Last year's second album has not received the ravenous hype or managed the chart domination of the band's debut, but it has kept up their forward momentum and demonstrated a maturing of their songwriting, soothing recent single Eleanor Put Your Boots On being a case in point.
One thing that hasn't changed is that they still know enough about showmanship to put on quite a spectacle. Whether up close or specks in the distance, they're always worth watching.
(0870 534 4444). Tonight, 7pm
Reader views (1)
I was one of the lucky 2000 and the band were great. They were full of energy and were obviously enjoying themselves and so were we. I've seen them live 4 times now and they just get better and better. Their songs take on a whole new dimension in the live arena. When you see them live you realist just how many great songs they have written in a short space of time - it seemed to be one hit after another. The whole set was a sustained high. I think their second album is better than the first with some sharp lyrics and great tunes and choruses. I think the reason it hasn't sustained the momentum of the first is that it takes a few more listens to truly appreciate just how good the songs are. They also had a lot to live up to because of the amount of exposure and praise heaped upon them. It's well known that in this country we like to set people up then knock them down, so quite a few were waiting for any excuse to criticise, so under the circumstances, they have done well to maintain their momentum. At least they are trying to vary their songs, unlike The Arctic Monkeys who now seem to be churning out the same song, slightly reworked.
- Maddy Belton, Hampton, England
