Franz Ferdinand venue: Wiltern, Los Angeles date: 2004-09-21 Glaswegian quartet, Franz Ferdinand, crashed LA so hard last night that you would have thought they were the next storm to hit south Florida. The last minute gig at the LA Wiltern had been announced just 2 days prior and one day after their appearance at Inland Invasion, an all day music festival hosted by LA’s alternative station KROQ. Even with the short announcement, the theatre was packed to its 2,500 capacity with those eager to hear a full set, including Beck who was spotted in the pit. And the boys did not disappoint. Not three songs in, the crowd had gone so nuts that even the person in the last row of the balcony was on his feet dancing. They continued, playing hits including Dark of the Matinee, Take Me Out, and Come on Home. Alex Kapranos’s energy on stage was thrilling to observe and was so contagious you could feel his energy creeping into your own blood. Throughout their show, Alex headed over to Nick McCarthy and Bob Hardy, staring into their eyes as they strummed ferociously away on their guitars, and exchanged knowing glances that they were accomplishing what they set out to do when they created their music. To make music that gets people dancing. Nick’s raw jerky back and forth dancing, coupled with his catchy lead guitar hooks made you want to dance silly like you do in your room when no one is watching. Meanwhile Bob and Paul Thomson held down the rhythm section with precision. New song Your Diary, which debuted for the first time at the Carling Festival less than a month ago, was introduced to the LA crowd. The number opened with Nick and Alex playing a melodic guitar duet before breaking out with the rest of the band into what will surely be another catchy Franz Ferdinand hit. Alex used the bridge within Michael to introduce the band, quoting Bob as the angel of Franz Ferdinand and Nick as the sharp dresser, momentarily pretending to forget their full names whilst introducing them. During last song, Darts of Pleasure, the boys convened at Paul’s drum set to deliver their music together, then bursted back into their stage spots to finish out the song. Afterwards, looking happy and content, they stood on the end of the stage, hand in hand, and took a bow to a theatre resounding of applause and cheers for more. They complied with an encore of three more songs, ending finally with This Fire. Although the audience still wanted more, they’ll have to wait until December when Franz Ferdinand come back to LA for KROQ’s Acoustic Christmas. The Mercury Music Prize winners will go back into the studio for their second album in early 2005 with an expected album release date in summer 2005. /Audree