October 19, 2005

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Photo by Roboppy

a concert report!

A certain someone has demanded a full report of Monday's Franz Ferdinand concert at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden. The 48 hour delay has made memories of that night a bit fuzzy, but I will try.

Arrived at the venue a bit early and made an immediate detour to the merch booth (overpriced), bathroom (very large) and bar (there are 2). Saw a couple walk by drinking their beer from a straw. Bizarre... After purchasing our $7 beer (we declined the straw), we headed to our seats. N.B. to the underaged: no one at the venue checked IDs. At least no one checked my ID. Maybe I looked 21+ for once...

The last time, which I set foot in MSG, was when I was 12 and saw the circus there. A few people at the concert looked like they belonged in the circus -- a mohawked woman, a teen who looked like she was ready to hit MisShapes. Ok, that circus comment was a bit cruel. The audience was rather mixed: students wearing striped shirts, conservative-looking 30-somethings, families. Who knew 10 year olds and grandmas rocked out to Franz? Even spotted a woman from my studio art classes in high school. All I remember about her was that she was an ass-kisser who produced pretty, "safe" work (no risk-taking artiste here). Don't remember anything else about her. Don't even remember her name.

Getting back on track...Cut Copy was the first opening act. Haven't heard much of their music beforehand, but I liked their set -- really frantic, lots of hair-flinging and high energy from 3 skinny Australian guys. The venue was maybe 1/6 full at this time.

TV on the Radio was the second opener (and a blogger, too). Have heard quite a bit of their music beforehand, but sadly didn't love their set. They weren't horrible, but their set didn't grab me. When I go to a Franz concert, I want to dance! TVOTR does not inspire me to dance, sway perhaps, but not become a complete dance whore. I zoned out midway through their set. The venue was almost at capacity by the time they finished.

And then the lights came down, Franz came out and the smell of weed wafted through the air (suspect the J. Crew-clad couple behind us of lighting up). Alex and Nick wore matching outfits.

A band that shops together...gets a bulk discount.

Set kicked off with "Jacqueline" which elicited a "wooo!" from the crowd, and ended with "This Fire", which elicited more "woos!" Played the usual hits, and new tracks like "Do You Want To," "This Boy." All the slow songs, like "Eleanor Put You Boots Back On," were omitted. Shame, but could see that those songs would have put a damper on the dance-happy vibe. They sounded great. People danced (or jigged, in the case of one male superfan). I left happy.

Unfortunately I didn't attempt to crash the afterparty at Tribeca Grand because I was just too tired, and I had to get up in 7 hours for work. Yes, I am getting old.

(I claim 0% credit for these photos. Didn't bring my camera. Thank the intellectual property gods for Fair Use and Creative Commons.)

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4 Comments

at 12:13 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jealous...oh so jealous. Wish I had sucked it up and gone and seen them here in Boston. Glad you enjoyed!

 
at 9:53 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

michael is quite the dance whore... did they play auf ausche? that one makes me happy.. how did you not bring your camera... secret husbands iris! whoops:) haha

 
at 10:11 PM Blogger Awreye said...

No "Auf Ausche." Concert had a no-photo policy, and I was paranoid that my camera would be confiscated by the security. Was worried for nothing -- security checks were weak. Could have easily smuggled in a camera, several small children, plus a 6 pack of beer... Missed out on the opportunity to photograph my secret husbands :(

 
at 2:42 PM Blogger Awreye said...

Uh, maybe they did play "Auf Ausche". Setlist via Last Night's Party. Anne, don't be jealous -- FF is coming back in February '06.

 

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