Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Krapanos doesn’t seem to mind the cold, dark Chicago winter. The Scotsman is thrilled to be at what he calls “one of the most incredible venues in the world” (it really is). He runs around the stage flaunting what I judge to be his signature move: a half-star jump. It’s only a half star because he only spreads his legs out wide while maintaining his arms in a reasonable place. He’s a bundle of joy on the stage, inadvertently bringing Christmas spirit to our dreary city. (At one point he said something to the effect of: “Merry Christmas, happy holidays. Now here’s a song that has nothing to do with Christmas.) Krapanos’ smile persists as his music does.
I was disappointed to miss the first band of three at Q101’s Twisted Christmas on Tuesday, Almost Monday. Disappointment turned into frustration when my friends and I were subjected to the cloister to the right of the stage for the first half of Franz Ferdinand’s set. The sound quality is considerably worse behind the columned arches, not to mention that a corinthian column was blocking my view. I felt bad as I always do budging my way into the main floor, but it was a game changer.
“Michael” was the first song they played as I was in my new position on the floor. It’s repetitive and not my favorite of Franz Ferdinand’s songs, but in the performance, Audrey Tait’s drums coupled nicely with Krapanos’ guitar. A few songs later “Take Me Out” captivated the crowd, as it has for many years. There is a reason why it is a song that transcends the popularity of the band. Yet, it was the song that followed that left me reflecting on the lyrical power of the band.
“Ulysses” tells a story at a greater depth than many other Franz Ferdinand songs, and that was clear in performance. Maybe I’m a sucker because of its reference to literary classics, but the ebbs and flows of both the lyrics and tempo of the instrumentation were brilliant. The premise is the protagonist, who moves between first and second person, is asking himself whether or not he is going to go home, like Ulysses did in the Odyssey (or like Leopold Bloom did in Ulysses). This protagonist, seemingly Krapanos himself, asks: “Am I Ulysses? Am I Ulysses?,” to which a temptress seems to answer: “No, but you are now, boy / So sinister.” This interplay between protagonist and the one responding, maybe an alter-ego, remains unclear until the very end. In Krapanos’ performance, I read his final statement of “You’re never going home / You’re not Ulysses” to be more of a “I’m never going home / I’m not Ulysses.” This back and forth, convolution between narrator and temptress, is a brilliant piece of lyrical work. Krapanos clearly had live performance in mind when writing the song. Maybe there is some of this character in Krapanos, who lives on the road, spending nights in places like the Aragon Ballroom, thousands of miles away from Glasgow.
The final two songs of the set were the new “Audacious” and the twenty year old “This Fire.” The contrast of these two songs served as a microcosm of the band’s rejuvenation that came with their new album. It seemed like every song they played either came out in 2004 or 2024. Obviously this isn’t true, as “Ulysses” came out in 2008. But, it seemed like the band wanted to remind listeners that they are still who they were in 2004. Maybe that’s why they still play “Ulysses,” as despite being on the other side of 50, they are not ever going back to their life before performing.