“Take it right down to the sweet Mancunian ground,” instructs Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos. Telling the audience to drop before rocketing them back up like a firework by restarting the music is an old trick, and one that can fall flat as often as it works. But the hefty crowd at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse dutifully obey and drop in unison. The band detonates via a stretched out and frenetic version of This Fire, and the crowd explodes along with them.
The moment feels emblematic of Franz Ferdinand as a whole, now 20 years into their career and touring a greatest hits record. Despite always operating in familiar territory, both musically and via tried and tested stage antics, there is an enduring, endearing quality to them that refuses to fade.
