Los Angeles cult band Sparks and Glasgow’s own indie rockers Franz Ferdinand came together recently to form super group F.F.S, though the initial ‘collaboration seed’ was planted when the band’s first met 10 year ago, after admiring each others music from afar. The band have had an extremely busy year – since announcing their formation in March they’ve released an album and been on tour, including a headline slot on the legendary John Peel Stage at Glastonbury, and most recently at the hauntingly beautiful Albert Hall in Manchester.
The band walked on stage to one of the biggest crowd reactions I’ve ever experienced, slightly delaying the start of their set due to the overwhelming cheers and applause from the excitable crowd – though who can blame them! The band begun with the catchy ‘Johnny Delusional’ and any worries that their discordant sound wouldn’t translate well on stage were quickly dissolved. ‘Johnny Delusional’ was the perfect opening song to highlight not only how well the voices of Franz Ferdinand front man Alex Kapranos and Sparks singer Russell Mael compliment each other, but also how well the instruments that we’ve come to associate with both bands come together (it’s so pleasing to see the prominence of Ron Mael‘s keyboard in particular).
Though all of the tracks from the self titled ‘F.F.S’ album do contain elements of previous work from both Sparks and Franz Ferdinand, some do more than others and the quirkiness of ‘Police Encounters’ and ‘So Desu Ne’ which is heavy on the keyboard, placed Sparks in the spotlight on Tuesday night. The band performed stunning versions of the lyrically humorous ‘Things I Won’t Get’ which featured Franz Ferdinand guitarist Nick McCarthy sharing vocals with Russell, and the almost ballad like ‘Little Guy From The Suburbs’ which wouldn’t be out of place on a Franz Ferdinand album.
It was both exciting and interesting to see the band perform both Franz Ferdinand and Sparks tracks, with them performing ‘Take Me Out’, ‘Do You Wanna?’ and ‘Michael’ from Franz Ferdinand’s back catalogue, and ‘Number One Song In Heaven’, ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us’ and ‘When Do I Get To Sing “My Way”’ from Sparks’. ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us’ saw Alex take a back seat with his guitar as Russell’s wide vocal range worked its magic. ‘Number One Song In Heaven’ in particular got the crowd going, especially since it saw the whole band but Ron step back and drum whilst Ron showed off some of his legendary dancing – dancing that saw his famously stern facial expression change to one of pure enjoyment (and then back again!)
F.F.S are a phenomenal live band; their enthusiasm, energy and the sheer enjoyment they’re so obviously experiencing on stage is wonderful to see. The fun Russell and Alex had during the fast paced lyrics of ‘The Power Couple’ and ‘Call Girl’ to name just a couple of tracks was tremendous; the admiration they have for each other is humbling to say the least. It’s also quite remarkable seeing the liveliness of the pair; Russell in particular possesses the same hyperactive stage presence he has done since Sparks found fame in the 70’s.
The success of F.F.S has clearly surpassed the band’s expectations, and though they showed gratitude to the crowd during the show, they thoroughly thanked them at the end, stating that there were only two words left for them to say, before wittily shouting “Piss Off” before playing the energetic tongue in cheek track of the same title. The crowd shouted for an encore before the band had even left the stage and they returned for three more tracks, including the promotional single and perfectly titled ‘Collaborations Don’t Work’, featuring a spectacular and comical stage dynamic from Russell and Alex, as well as a small singing role for every member of the group (yes, including Ron!) A hug between Russell and Alex at the end of ‘Collaborations Don’t Work’ turned in to an entire band hug, before they placed themselves centre stage and rightfully took a bow as the sound of well deserved cheers and applause from the crowd filled the Albert Hall.
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