ACL Music Fest Live Shots

Franz Ferdinand

Zilker Park, Sept. 25

It was 107 degrees out late Sunday afternoon. Good money says that it probably doesn't get up to 107 degrees in Glasgow, where this energetic quartet calls home. Shocking, then, to see these wafer-thin lads bounding around the stage in long-sleeved shirts and plasticky-tight pants while the rest of us sweated and wheezed along from the pit. The Scots brewed up a balanced blend of tunes from both their debut and its imminent follow-up. Older tunes included the disco-punk of "Auf Achse," metrosexual "Matinee," and, of course, "Take Me Out," which singer Alex Kapranos dryly introduced as "still a bit new." The hit, unsurprisingly, inspired screaming and bobbing and singing along with the chorus. "I could actually see movement out there," joked Kapranos as the song ended. "I thought you might faint if we kept going!" New tunes like "The Fallen" and "Walk Away," which featured drummer Paul Thompson stepping up to contribute jangly guitar, would've inspired equally enthusiastic dancing if it hadn't been so damned hot outside. Franz Ferdinand benefited from a considerable improvement in sound quality since last year's festival – every seat was a good one. Unless you were passed out from heat exhaustion.