Back in July, Franz Ferdinand played a surprise show at Glasslands, an intimate D.I.Y. outpost situated in North Brooklyn. Last night, the Glaswegian foursome returned to New York City to headline a sold-out show at Hammerstein Ballroom, a 3,500-capacity venue in midtown Manhattan. Both performances were delivered in support of their fourth album, the recently released Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action: The former gig was promoted as a simple listening party for the then-under wraps LP, while the latter marked Franz Ferdinand’s first major live set in NYC since a 2009 appearance at Roseland Ballroom.
“It feels more like a show here,” frontman Alex Kapranos, who’s been fighting a cold for the past three days, says backstage at Hammerstein Ballroom. “The Glasslands thing was cool but it was a very raw rock’n’roll gig. There’s a bit more of a show here. It’s a bit more of a spectacle.”
Witness highlights from that 90-minute spectacle by flipping through SPIN’s live photos.
