Live Review: Franz Ferdinand, Olympia Theatre, March 1st

Artist: Franz Ferdinand
Source: Naomi McArdle

As a name, he was the catalyst for World War I. As a band, Franz Ferdinand need no introduction. Drop-D was there last Sunday, and this is what we saw.

Hand-picked for all three Irish dates, new kids on the indie block The Funeral Suits went from playing Whelans' tiny Upstairs to the vast expanse of a full-capacity Olympia in just a few nights. Understandably overwhelmed, they poured out a steady stream of support nonetheless, with the crowd-pleasing Black Lemonade and Screentest. However, electing not to include the down-tempo, Blur-ish Modern Urban Pleasures, seemed an unusual decision considering its poignant structure would most likely have appealed to Franz Ferdinand's hedonistic audience.

Dubbed by some as a one-trick pony due to a deep-rooted love of disco, Franz Ferdinand's incendiary energy first came to light with 2004's self-titled debut, which stunned critics with an astute personification of lonely libido packaged in a sleek post-punk sheath. Global success and the rapid production of You Could Have It So Much Better just over a year later filled the tour calendar to bursting point, giving the band who began in a disused warehouse the opportunity to fine-tune on the world's most famous stages.

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