Last Night: Franz Ferdinand

I hadn't seen Franz Ferdinand since they played Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern right around the time their self-titled debut album came out in early 2004, but that disc and its follow-up, 2005's You Could Have It So Much Better, both made my year-end top 10 lists for those respective years.

It's been more than a three-year wait and album three, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, is still eight weeks away from its release. So I was eagerly looking forward to hearing some of the new songs at Lee's, one of a handful of North American club gigs the Scottish quartet are playing before a proper, larger venue tour next year.

But there was an added bonus before the Scotsmen hit the stage. Toronto trio Born Ruffians were added as openers on Tuesday, which was great for me since their Red, Yellow & Blue made my personal short list for this year's Polaris Music Prize and I'd only previously seen them while scarfing down barbecue in Austin, Texas at the South By Southwest Music Festival in March.

Luke Lalonde has an interesting voice and I like the tones he gets out of his Gibson hollowbody guitar. Those two elements, combined with inventive songwriting and the solid rhythms provided by bassist Mitch DeRosier and drummer Steve Hamelin, make Born Ruffians a group that could have a big future. Franz Ferdinand singer/guitarist Alex Kapranos called them "fuckin' amazin'" later on, so I'm glad to see they have a more influential fan than me.

"Badonkadonkey" and "Barnacle Goose" from Red, Yellow & Blue were among the five songs I heard, but the trio also played two new numbers — one of which I liked more than the other. Still, it was enough to leave me looking forward to the next album.

I used the between-band downtime to catch up with a friend and former co-worker, who informed me that DeRosier is her boyfriend (and that former CHARTattack intern and current metal specialist Logan Broger is her cousin), before the crowd erupted when the Glaswegians walked on stage at 10 p.m. The $25 tickets for this show sold out instantly, so I figured the club would be filled with hardcore fans. It was.

Franz Ferdinand opened with a rocking new song called "Bite Hard" before shifting into You Could Have It So Much Better hit "Do You Want To." It was a pattern that was loosely adhered to throughout the 15-song set, which had a good balance of repertoire from all three albums.

"Turn It On," a hip-grinding rocker with synthesizer played by guitarist Nick McCarthy, was a standout among the new tracks. "What She Came For" closed the 45-minute main set with Kapranos and McCarthy letting loose on their guitars. New album lead single "Ulysses" opened the four-song encore and exhibited the "groovier" sound that McCarthy said Tonight: Franz Ferdinand possessed when he talked to CHARTattack last month.

Kapranos, whose form-fitting leather jacket zipped to the top made him look like the only "rock star" on stage, pulled a few crucifixion poses before urging the crowd to clap along to the group's art. But many audience members needed no prompting to sing, dance and jump along to past favourites "Michael," "Walk Away" and "40." The excitement level deservedly rose even higher for "Matinee," "Take Me Out" and "The Fallen."

Kapranos played synth for the first time on the second last song, "Outsiders," which ended with the three stringed-instrument players putting their tools aside to join drummer Paul Thomson pounding away on his kit. The frontman introduced his silent bandmates before launching into an extended and incendiary version of "This Fire" to close the show.

Will Tonight: Franz Ferdinand make it three straight albums to make my year-end top 10 list in 2009? It's too early to tell.

Will Thursday night's performance make me want to see Franz Ferdinand again? Yep.