LIVE: FRANZ FERDINAND & TEENAGE DADS – Perth, 26 Nov 2025

LIVE: FRANZ FERDINAND & TEENAGE DADS – Perth, 26 Nov 2025
The Ice Cream Factory, Perth
Reviewed by Melanie Griffiths
Photography by Stu McKay

If Perth’s concert is anything to go by, Franz Ferdinand’s Australian tour is off to a blazing start. They returned to Australia after seven years and were embraced by fans who waited too long to hear the Scottish band’s brand of tight, rhythm-driven indie pop-rock. Coming out to promote their latest offering their sixth album, “The Human Fear”, the band showed that they still can rock a room with old and new hits alike.

Aussie garage-punk outfit Delivery kicked things off before Teenage Dads took over with their bright, slinky, left-of-centre indie pop. Their sound was sunny without ever tipping into sugary, and if Vampire Weekend had a cheeky Aussie cousin, this is probably what they’d sound like. With songs that nod to Talking Heads and garage-band intimacy, Teenage Dads delivered a warm, clever, nostalgic set—the perfect taster for what was to come.

As Franz Ferdinand walked out to a crowd of enthusiastic fans, many may not have seen them since their appearance headlining the 2006 Big Day Out. Would the group rise to the challenge?

The group opened with The Dark of the Matinee a steady, familiar start that reminded us what this group is about, crisp, dance-leaning guitar work and double time drum beats. Visually, Alex Kapronas demanded attention in his vibrant red shirt while the rest of the band took a step back dressed in black. Warming up still with croon worthy Walk Away, the new track Night or Day sat snugly in the familiar sound of the band.

The middle of the set is where the group began tightening up. No You Girls and Right Action brought the art rock precision they are known for and Build It Up followed quickly while 40 injected some grit and pace. This was the point where the crowd started moving in time and the group loosened up becoming more playful with the crowd.

Do You Want To was the predictable turning point. With tight basslines and dance-floor drums, Kapronas now settled into the groove to unleash his theatrical swagger and conversational confidence. It’s the kind of song that always works no matter how many times it’s been played. Evil Eye upped the playful, sing-a-long merriment which kept the mood teetering on the edge. However some of the songs did lean dangerously close to blending together. Luckily the band managed to keep the tension taut through most of the gig.

What did cut through were oddities like Micheal, which had a bite reminding the crowd of the 2000s art-rock glory days, and Bar Lonely offered a welcome tonal shift. Love Illumination called for a foot stomp and interestingly the classic and beastly Take Me Out came straight after to a glorious roar of delight. Dwarfing everything that came before, it seemed an odd spot to place the song but perhaps that’s the unwanted evil of having a song that is bigger than everything else combined in your catalogued.

However the home stretch of Hooked and Outsiders did an admirable job, with Kapronas working the crowd like a puppeteer demanding hands in the air and even jazz hands questioning the crowd “Can we get higher?”.

An encore was absolutely necessary, with Kapronas returning with, “I heard a request for ‘one more song?’”. A man of his work Franz Ferdinand launched into a four song encore. First up, new track Audacious that included the crowd getting their hands up. Jacqueline dipped back into familiar waters and Ulysses and This Fire closed the night.

When Franz Ferdinand locked in, they were red-hot, playing with the energy of a furnace. For a band that soundtracked the Aussie indie scene twenty years ago, they proved they still had the chops to deliver and Perth fans showed that the hunger for rock music that got you dancing still remained a need rather than a want.

 

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries