Live Review: Franz Ferdinand, The Creases

Harvest isn't happening today as planned but Brisbane still gets a vibe for it thanks to sharp Scotsmen Franz Ferdinand. Before they arrive, however, we're treated to an opening stanza from The Creases, and there's plenty to like from the local four-piece, who tread an endearingly ramshackle middle ground between indie and post-punk, even managing to lift after tech issues and hecklers. Buzz worth believing in.

There's nothing like a bit of rock'n'roll theatre to round out the weekend. More than merely musicians, Franz Ferdinand are showmen of the highest order, and tonight the Tivoli stage has been cleared to allow for as many rock kicks, hair flicks and hip thrusts as we the crowd can endure. As it turns out, it's a hell of a lot. Sure, it's not 2005; the four-piece are no longer the hottest indie band on the planet. Thankfully, no one told Franz. They kick off with Right Action, which smoothly moves into No You Girls – our voices are suitably warmed up by now and frontman Alex Kapranos knows it. He cranks up proceedings with The Dark Of The Matinee, Evil Eye and Do You Want To, flirting with the front rows while the rest of the band tweak the songs ever so slightly to keep them spicy and fresh without losing the elements we love. It's pretty special when the band cover The Go-Betweens' Was There Anything I Could Do?, Kapranos dedicating the track to tonight's support (“From one Brisbane band to another”), while a cheeky disco curveball comes at us by way of Donna Summer's I Feel Love, which is worked into Can't Stop Feeling.

In between all this Franz draw freely from their latest LP, with Fresh Strawberries, Brief Encounters and Bullet seeing the quartet energised and the crowd quickly onside. Kapranos is moving like a dapper conductor, while running mate Nick McCarthy bucks like a little rock jockey, darting seamlessly between guitar, keyboard and synthesiser, making each instrument sing. The love seen during those tracks though is nothing compared to Take Me Out; you know you've written a timeless riff when people sing along with the strums. By this stage we've already got far more than our money's worth – everyone could leave happy – so the fact the band then perform Ulysses, This Fire and Goodbye Lovers & Friends, before an encore featuring Stand On The Horizon and Michael, means we're more than spoilt tonight. Outsiders then concludes the unfaultable performance, with the Franz frontline – including Bob Hardy's temporary bass replacement – picking up sticks with drummer Paul Thomson for a tribal drum beatdown that stops the show, figuratively and literally.