Friday, October 16, 2009

Right. Sorry.
I don't know what I'm doing with this at the moment.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Oh Internet Drama

For the record, you don't have to read all of this.

So I at first thought that I should keep my mouth shut and stay out of this. But after going away for the weekend only to come back and find some things said on a certain Franz Ferdinand fan board, I think we all need to take a break and sit back for a bit.

It's not my place to be a voice of reason but I'm at least hoping to impose some sort of unbiased viewpoint on the issue. At least, this is my perspective on the issue at hand. So to the members of the ffg, the members of leatherhips, the members of kyte, and heck - even the members of the muse boards and the lurkers, let's get down to business.

We're all passionate. This much is clear. We all like this band a lot, but this shouldn't be some sort of competition. It's not about who's the biggest fan, who's been to the most gigs, or who's met them. Seriously, it doesn't matter. It's awesome when people have stories and photos to share. But it seems silly to judge people on behaviour when you weren't there and don't know the story. Don't call people rude or creepy if they post a story that seems strange, because it probably made sense at the time. As well, no one should be considered less of a fan because they've never gotten the chance to go to a gig, or they've only become a fan of Franz since the release of 'Tonight'. We were all 'new' fans at one point, and it's hard - yes, it is hard - to become part of an already thriving community. It's imposing to walk in on a bunch of people that have a history and just sort of get in on it. Inside jokes can be taken as opportunities for exclusion (whether they are or they aren't) and it always seems to be an unavoidable issue with communities.

I think we need to realize that not everyone's going to get these jokes or feel like they're part of this community. I think what happened with the breakdown of ffg was that people who have been members for a while had felt ostracized by the increasing activeness of newer members and newer fans. These older members had their own set of social codes - whether it be the language they used or the attitudes they had towards things. Newer members might have interpreted this as strange behaviour, and said a few things against it, or displayed their own emotions through their own methods. Whatever the case, they - or we - just didn't mesh and it ultimately boiled down into what's just happened.

And things were said. Some of it uncalled for, some of it expected. I wish it hadn't been this way, because I felt that some of the posts were harsh personal attacks that no one would want to be on the receiving end of. It's all good and well to post your reasons for being angry and upset, but calling people names is just ridiculous. I think that if arguments had been made without such slander, a more reasonable reaction would have occurred. It's all good and well for people to want to leave, and it was even understandable in a situation such as this. Naturally, communities split apart and separate as they grow. It's human nature and change happens. I just wish it had been dealt with and expressed in a different way. It's not fair to call people out on their gig activities when you weren't there for the entire reaction. Having been in Montreal myself, I can tell you, there were indeed actual smiles. There was no fleeing, no hints of any anger, and absolutely none of that. In fact, they actually hung around for quite some time talking and telling jokes. Basing behaviour off of one silly photograph in an attempt to chastise someone isn't necessary. This misunderstanding between two very passionate groups was unfortunate, and I think we all need to realize that we're fans. And we're all fans of the same thing.

As for the pretzels, it's the same way. It's an inside joke - that's grown to a rather large scale. As far as I know, it doesn't bother the band. Assumably, it's harmless and inoffensive. If Bob wanted it to stop, he could by all means just say so and it would. We respect the band, but it's a joke. No, you might not get it, but that doesn't mean it's fair to slag off the people that do it. I've met some of the greatest people and had some of the funniest moments because of it (sentimental, I know). If you don't want to give Bob pretzels, nobody is cocking a gun to your head and forcing you to do it. They've got a sense of humour about it, and if you don't want to laugh at it, at least don't complain about how the people doing it are 'offensive' and 'rude'. Because that's silly. It's just a way for some fans to show a sense of community.

We've drifted apart. I'm sorry. I can't purport to understand everyone's logic behind how they handled the situation. Separate communities have separate languages. Maybe I shouldn't go so far as to say stop generalizing behaviour if you don't know the entire story, but I'd just like all this reckless judging of others to stop, because it's getting out of hand and dividing a group of people that should all be glad that they have a band like Franz Ferdinand to support. We know that they're great, and a huge majority of their fans are great. We either need to stop judging each other so harshly, or stay out of each other's way. This isn't going to turn into some big war between communities. When you see each other at gigs, you're not going to punch each other in the nose. The anonymity of the internet allows for things to be said that normally wouldn't. So calm down and breathe. Listen to some Franz Ferdinand. We love them, we just show it in different ways.

... And there's probably a reason why I'm not studying sociology.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

September News Update

Date: Friday, August 28 to Wednesday, September 23


Toronto, Ontario - Virgin Festival (Saturday, August 29) / Baltimore, Maryland - Virgin Festival (Sunday, August 30) / Montreal, Quebec (Monday, August 31) / Winnipeg, Manitoba (Wednesday, September 2) / Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Thursday, September 3) / Edmonton, Alberta - Sonic Boom Festival (Saturday, September 5) / Vancouver, British Columbia (Sunday, September 6) / Seattle, Washington - Bumbershoot Festival (Monday, September 7)


---


News

Okay, news.


- Franz Ferdinand dj set coming up this Friday (September 25, 2009) in the UK [Read More]

- You've probably heard of the private Brazil gig. It ended up selling out in 15 minutes. High five.

- Brixton after party (October 23, 2009) [Read More.]

- Franz Ferdinand in Jakarta on November 14 for Playground Festival [Read More.]

- April 17, 2010 Beijing Peace Concert? (Be warned, clicking on this link leads to the auto-start of a really crappy band. Ugh.) [Read More.]

- Potential South American tour in April/May of next year? I'll keep you updated...

- Little blurb/photos from Franz in Seattle (September 7, 2009) on 107.7 The End [Read More.] [See More.]

- A translated old-ish article from Hove Festival (published June 22, 2009) [Read More.]

- Alex remixed a song: 'Chew Lips - Salt Air'. keep an eye out for it [Read More.]

- Ben Sherman charity - bid to win something signed by the band, and do it for a good cause [Read More.]


---


The Cribs support FF

- 8 shows from November 20 - November 30, 2009

- Hamburg, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Paris, Rennes, Bordeaux


Music Go Music support FF

- UK section of the tour from October 11 - October 23, 2009

- Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Newcastle, Sheffield, Manchester, Wolverhampton, Leeds, Bournemouth, London


---


Photos


- One from August 12, 2009 [See More.]

- Two from Paredes de Coura (July 30, 2009) [See More.]


---


And this is from Spin Magazine's twitter, from a while ago:

"Nick from Franz Ferdinand is napping backstage by a tree while Taking Back Sunday brings the emo smackdown"


I'll be posting a full list of upcoming tour dates in the days to come. Tomorrow you get your Interview Update. I apologize in advance if it's a little late, I'm supposed to go to a concert.

We're almost completely sorted! Yay! ... And then you get to tell me if there are any blaring admissions I should be aware of. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

September Video Update

Date: Friday, August 28 to Tuesday, September 22


Toronto, Ontario - Virgin Festival (Saturday, August 29) / Baltimore, Maryland - Virgin Festival (Sunday, August 30) / Montreal, Quebec (Monday, August 31) / Winnipeg, Manitoba (Wednesday, September 2) / Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Thursday, September 3) / Edmonton, Alberta - Sonic Boom Festival (Saturday, September 5) / Vancouver, British Columbia (Sunday, September 6) / Seattle, Washington - Bumbershoot Festival (Monday, September 7)


---


Videos

(marked with a * means recommended)

Still no kyte updates. Like that's a surprise.


Live

- *Acoustic radio session at 103.9 (Phoenix, I think?) [Take Me Out] [Ulysses]*

- Nick giving a fan a beer at the Hollywood Palladium (August 27, 2009) [See More.]

- Last Call With Carson Daly: What She Came For at the Hollywood Palladium (August 27, 2009) [See More.]

- Live from Toronto V-Fest (August 29, 2009), courtesy of backpackdave [Intro/Matinee] [No You Girls] [This Fire]

- Live from Montreal (August 31, 2009) - This Fire! Paul as a tiger! Alex wearing my deputy sheriff hat! Etc! [See More.]

- Live from Montreal (August 31, 2009) - Alex and Luisa's fireman hat [See More.]

- F*ck the rain! Vancouver (September 6, 2009) [See More.]


Interviews

- *Alex and Bob. This is an old interview, but maybe you're like me and haven't seen it before [See More.]*

- Alex and Paul. I don't get it. [See More.]

- Alex & Paul interview at V-Fest Ontario (August 29, 2009). Perhaps a new EP at the end of the year? One of the rumoured collaborations is Clint Boon [See More.]

- Alex interview at FreeFest (August 30, 2009). Oh, the mustache [See More.]

- Alex and Paul interview. Somewhere in Canada [See More.]

- *Nick interview. Sort of. A brief video, at least from Bumbershoot (September 7, 2009) [See More.]*

- Nick and Paul and German words [See More.]

Miscellaneous

- Glastonbury - at 0:17 Alex Kapranos watching Pete Doherty (with Jimmy from Metric) [See More.]

- *Recommended by Mr. Kapranos himself, a fan version of CSF [See More.]*

- Jet talk about Franz Ferdinand (copyright boundaries) [See More.]

- The CW using 'Turn It On' for their fall preview. Yay background noise [See More.]


Other

- Keep your eyes peeled for a Franz Ferdinand-Nardwuar interview. Apparently it took place in Vancouver (September 6, 2009).

- MuchNews Weekly had a V-Fest Ontario special. It's unfortunately not online, so you missed Alex guessing Richard Branson's age (he said 98), not knowing who Pitbull is (I don't blame him), Paul failing at a rubik's cube, and Alex spelling 'amphitheater' correctly. A+


---


Other


*And this is just a story worth pointing out. From Winnipeg (September 2, 2009). Makes you wonder how someone under the age of 18 passed for someone who's 34. [Read More.]*


---


Check back for Wednesday's News Update!

Monday, September 21, 2009

September Review Update

Date: Friday, August 28 to Monday, September 21


Shows:

Toronto, Ontario - Virgin Festival (Saturday, August 29) / Washington D.C. - Virgin Festival (Sunday, August 30) / Montreal, Quebec (Monday, August 31) / Winnipeg, Manitoba (Wednesday, September 2) / Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Thursday, September 3) / Edmonton, Alberta - Sonic Boom Festival (Saturday, September 5) / Vancouver, British Columbia (Sunday, September 6) / Seattle, Washington - Bumbershoot Festival (Monday, September 7)


---


Reviews


Get ready to read!

(Marked with a * means recommended.)

Some of them have pretty photos too, so go be entertained.


Hollywood Palladium, California (August 27, 2009)

- Review #1 [Read More.]

- *Review #2 [Read More.]*

- Review #3 [Read More.]

- Review #4 [Read More.]

- Review #5 [Read More.]

- Review #6 [Read More.]


V-Fest Ontario (August 29, 2009)

- Review #1 [Read More.]

- Review #2 (shameless self-promotion) [Read More.]

- Review #3 [Read More.]

- Review #4 [Read More.]


FreeFest, Washington (August 30, 2009)

- Review #1 [Read More.]


Montreal (August 31, 2009)

- Review #1 [Read More.]

- Review #2 [Read More.]


Winnipeg (September 2, 2009)

- *Review #1 [Read More.]*

- Review #2 [Read More.]

- *Review #3 [Read More.]*

- Review #4 [Read More.]


Sonic Boom Festival, Edmonton (September 5, 2009)

- Review #1 [Read More.]

- Review #2 [Read More.]


Vancouver (September 6, 2009)

- *Review #1 [Read More.]*

- Review #2 [Read More.]

- Review #3 [Read More.]

- Review #4 [Read More.]

- Review #5 [Read More.]

- Review #6 [Read More.]

- *Review #7 [Read More.]*


Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle (September 7, 2009)

- Review #1 [Read More.]

- Review #2 [Read More.]

- Review #3 [Read More.]

- Review #4 [Read More.]

- Review #5 [Read More.]

- Review #6 [Read More.]


---


Photos


- From Spain (April 2, 2009) [See More.]

- From Rome (July 14, 2009) [See More.]

- From St. Louis (August 11, 2009) [See More.]

- From Montreal (August 31, 2009) [See More.]

- From Bumbershoot (September 7, 2009) [See More.]

- Thanks to Ootsider on FFG for this one of Alex, Nick, and Parker. [See More.]

- So this photo is a little... err... well. Hi Alex. Yeah. Great. Keep up the good work (September 21, 2009) [See More.]


---


Other


- I know this isn't interview-post day, but this old-ish interview with Paul needs to be posted(!!!). And for the record, Nick doesn't have anything to do with them. [Read More.]


---


Check back tomorrow for the Video Update. Getting back on track one long post at a time...

Sunday, September 20, 2009

September Photo Update

Date: Friday, August 28 to Sunday, September 20


Shows:

Toronto, Ontario - Virgin Festival (Saturday, August 29) / Washington D.C. - Virgin Festival (Sunday, August 30) / Montreal, Quebec (Monday, August 31) / Winnipeg, Manitoba (Wednesday, September 2) / Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Thursday, September 3) / Edmonton, Alberta - Sonic Boom Festival (Saturday, September 5) / Vancouver, British Columbia (Sunday, September 6) / Seattle, Washington - Bumbershoot Festival (Monday, September 7)


---


Photos

(marked with a * means recommended)


Los Angeles (August 25, 2009)

- Set one: [One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five]

- Set two: [See More.]


Palladium (August 27, 2009)

- *Set one: [See More.]

- Set two: [See More.]

- Set three: [See More.]


V-Fest Ontario (August 29, 2009)

- *Set one: [See More.]

- Set two: [See More.]

- Set three: [See More.]

- *Set four: [See More.]


FreeFest, Washington (August 30, 2009)

- Set one: [See More.]

- Set two: [See More.]

- Set three: [See More.]

- Set four: [See More.]


Montreal (August 31, 2009)

- Set one: [See More.]

- Set two: [See More.]

- Set three: [See More.]

- Set four: [See More.]

- *Set five (with review): [See More.]


Sonic Boom Festival, Edmonton (September 5, 2009)

- Set one: [See More.]

- Set two: [See More.]

- Set three: [See More.]

- Set four: [See More.]

- Set five: [See More.]

- Misc: [One] [Two] [Three] [Four*]


Vancouver (September 6, 2009)

- Set one: [See More.]

- Set two: [See More.]

- Set three: [See More.]

- Set four: [See More.]


Bumbershoot (September 7, 2009)

- Set one: [See More.]

- Set two: [See More.]

- Set three: [One] [Two]

- Set four: [See More.]

- Set five: [See More.]

- Miscellaneous: [One] [Two*] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six]

Miscellaneous:

- From Lyon (2006) [See More.]

- From Roundhouse (July, 2009) [See More.]

- From San Jose (August 18, 2009) [See More.]

- From San Diego (August 20, 2009) [See More.]

- *Parker and Nick in Edmonton (September 5). But mostly just Parker. [See More.]

- Two from earlier this year (May 10, 2009) [See More.]

- Paul got a new tattoo. [See More.]

- Alex had a new twitter profile picture. It's since been changed, but oh. The facial hair. [See More.]

- Another reminder to check out fan pictures on the official site. [See More.]

- Fan art. [See More.]

- Fans are strange, right? [See More.]


---


Quite the list. So that should keep you busy until tomorrow, when the Concert Review update will (hopefully) go up. Check back for that.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Plan

I suck. Forgive me.
Since Franz Ferdinand are on break for a bit, I guarantee you're not missing all that much in terms of news & interviews, but I'll hopefully get everything up-to-date fairly soon.

Here's the (tentative) plan:
Sunday: Photo Update
Monday: Concert Review Update
Tuesday: Video Update
Wednesday: News Update
Thursday: Interview Update
Friday: Everything Else / Tour Date Update / 4 photos of the week (or something like that, I owe you a few)

Yep. We can do this. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in...
Sunday. I'm resolved.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Oh, Right...

Whoops.
...
Okay. I'll make it up to you.
It's going to be a big one.
But what with school and the film festival, it's not going to be yet.
Don't worry though. Because it'll have a whole lot of things for you to click, so... There's always that. IT'LL GET HERE SOON! I promise.
...
Sorry.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Update

You'll get it tomorrow. Sorry...
Yeah, I need to stop going out of town.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Recap Dump! (Friday, August 28 - Thursday, September 3)

Date: Friday, August 28 / Saturday, August 29 / Sunday, August 30 / Monday, August 31 / Tuesday, September 1 / Wednesday, September 2 & Thursday, September 3

Toronto, Ontario - Virgin Festival (Saturday, August 29) / Baltimore, Maryland - Virgin Festival (Sunday, August 30) / Montreal, Quebec (Monday, August 31) / Winnipeg, Manitoba (Wednesday, September 2) / Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Thursday, September 3)


Roundup:

- Hi. Wow. Lots to catch up on. I'm still smiling over Montreal. But that's a different story for a different day (and believe me, you'll get it). Thanks for being patient about the update. In the interest of not going crazy, I'm posting the brunt of the Reviews / Pictures that need to be posted. There are still some that I have to look at, those will go up later. News, Interviews, Videos, and everything else are on the way later. For now, here's a lot to look at. Anything with an asterisk is recommended. Well, recommend by me, so I'm not sure how valid that makes it.


News:

- See pt. 2


Reviews:

- Winnipeg (September 2) [One]

- Montreal (August 31) [One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five]

- Virgin Freefest Washington (August 30) [One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six]

- Virgin Festival Toronto (August 29) [One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [**Six] [**Seven] [Eight] [Nine]

- Hollywood Palladium (August 27) [One] [**Two] [**Three] [Four] [Five] [Six]

- Arizona (August 22) [One]


Interviews:

- See pt. 2


Videos:

- See pt. 2


Twitter Updates:

- Thanks Montreal, you were an awesome crowd as ever, one of our favourite shows of the year. Until next time... Bob


Photos:

- Montreal (August 31) [**One] [Two] [Three] [**Four] [Five]

- Virgin Freefest Washington (August 30) [**One] [**Two] [Three] [Four] [**Five] [**Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine]

- Virgin Festival Toronto (August 29) [One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [Seven] [Eight] [Nine (2nd & 12th)] [Ten] [Eleven] [Twelve] [**Thirteen] [Fourteen] [**Fifteen] [**Sixteen] [**Seventeen (first 5)]

- Hollywood Palladium (August 27) [One] [Two] [**Three] [Four] [Five] [Six] [**Seven] [Eight] [Nine] [Ten] [**Eleven]

- 98.7 FM California (August 27) [One] [**Two]

- Sacramento (August 24) [One]

- 103.9 Phoenix (August 22) [One]

- Utah (August 16) [One]

- Zurigo (March 28) [One]

- Paul! [**One]

- Random Photos [One]

- There are also new photos up on the Your Pictures section of .co.uk


Tour Dates:

- Saturday, September 5 - Edmonton, Alberta (Sonic Boom Festival)

- Sunday, September 6 - Vancouver, British Columbia

- Monday, September 7 - Seattle, Washington (Bumbershoot Festival)


Other:

- See pt. 2

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Update

Wow, Franz in Montreal.
Sorry for the lack of updates, but everything should be back on schedule tomorrow.
... I love this band.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Recap Dump! (Sat Aug 22, Sun Aug 23, Mon Aug 24, Tues Aug 25, Wed Aug 26, Thurs Aug 27)

Date: Saturday, August 22 / Sunday, August 23 / Monday, August 24 / Tuesday, August 25 / Wednesday, August 26 & Thursday, August 27

Phoenix, Arizona (Saturday) / Sacramento, California (Sunday) / Los Angeles, California (Tuesday) / Conan O'Brien (Wednesday) / Los Angeles, California (Thursday)


Roundup:

- Quick! Someone get Alex Kapranos a barber! ... I mean, oh. Hey Conan appearance and What She Came For!

- Sorry for being negligent. There's lots to catch up on; but if I've missed anything, please email me at loveanddestroy@live.com


News:

- Lots. But it's scattered throughout this mess of an update, so read on!


Interviews:

- Interviews with Alex! [One] [Two]

- Interviews with Bob! [One] [Two]

- Interviews with Paul! [One] [Two]

- ... Nick fails.


Videos:

- Alex on the phone. [Watch More.]

- Alex talking about swimming in a sea of shit (not literally, ick). [Watch More.]

- Acoustics (not sure from when). [Ulysses] [No You Girls] [Walk Away]

- Fan recordings (August 24). [Watch More.]

- Green Day prank on their final opening night (August 25). [One] [Two]

- Conan (August 26). If you're in the states, you can watch it [Here]. Otherwise you can watch it [Here]. And you can read the internet discussion [Here].

- Acoustic performances on 98.7 (August 27). [Take Me Out] [Not Playing Womanizer]

You can also watch a bit of [Ulysses] (but check back Monday for the full performance).

- This is old (from 2005), but here's DYWT back when Andy was around. [Watch More.]


Twitter Updates:

- None!


Photos:

- Energy In The Park (August 1) [See More.]

- Houston, Texas (August 8) - Start here and keep clicking. [See More.]

- Las Vegas (August 21) [One] [Two] [Three]

- Phoenix, Arizona (August 22) - Start here and keep clicking. [See More.]

- Sacramento, California (August 24) [One] [Two]

- August 24 & August 25 (unfortunately watermarked). [See More.] You can also go [Here] to see some of them.

- Los Angeles, California (August 25). [One] [Two] [Three]

- In studio, 98.7 (August 27). [One] [Two]

- Bob and some fans. [See More.]


Picture Of The Week:

This weeks picture was chosen by those crazy Kyte kids. So if you don't like it, blame them... Though I guess it is fitting since it was taken in L.A. (if I recall correctly) the last time Franz were there, and hey look! They just spent the past few days there. What a coincidence. Sure, let's go with that.



Click Here For Big!


Other:

- Opening for Franz in Montreal is a band called 'Think About Life'. Check out their myspace here.

- Two photos of (new?) shirts that are being sold at the merch tables. I like them. Lots. Thanks to emmy for the photos! [One] [Two]

- Sorry to bring the bad news but Pitchfork is no longer showing 'Tour De Franz' on their website. Oh well. You should own it by now anyway.

- Old, but this is what my google searches bring me. And I can't help but laugh. People are silly. Read it here.

- I'm not sure, but something about Alex being on the radio...? Here.

- Band of the week over on this blog.

- Also, does anyone know what's up with the Franz Ferdinand-McDonalds ads? I haven't seen any (but that's probably because I'm in Canada), but apparently they're hella annoying.

- If you ever want to take photos of Franz live... Read about it here.

- And I'm just going to guess that they should take this as a compliment.


Shows:

- Two more shows to round-out a busy week! August 29th Franz Ferdinand will be in Toronto (yay!) for Virgin Festival, and on August 30th they'll be in Washington D.C. for Virgin Freefest. After that they're headed out for a week to do four solo dates in Canada and two festivals (one in Edmonton and one in Seattle).