Live Review: Franz Ferdinand, Shining Bird

Shining Bird sound like Franz Ferdinand's quieter, dreamier moments. Dane Taylor's booming baritone resembles that of The National's Matt Berninger, but these guys are from the sleepy town of Austinmer on the New South Wales south coast, and every now and then you catch an Australian twang in Taylor's lyrics. Meanwhile Alastair Webster is a stand-out, not only for his kimono and jelly sandals, but for his shimmering lead guitar work and angelic harmonies. Their new debut album, Leisure Coast, is promising: Stare Into The Sun is the perfect driving song, all rushing synths and pearly guitars, while the catchy Keep Warm is a gentle, bouncy piece of indie pop.

The Metro crowd is very well behaved tonight considering it's an all ages gig, but there's still a hell of a scream when Franz Ferdinand take the stage. They open with the fast-paced Bullet from their newest offering, this year's Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, before throwing back to their 2004 eponymous debut with Dark Of The Matinee.

Frontman Alex Kapranos is the epitome of swagger – not the hip hop variety that we hear more of these days, but a stiff, strutting rock'n'roll sexiness that sees him make piercing eye contact with his fans as he snarls out lyrics laced with tension and sarcasm. The crowd is delighted when he lets out so much as a “How are you doing?” in his Scottish brogue.

He introduces his bandmates in a hypnotic monologue, during a drawn-out instrumental break in Can't Stop Feeling. Drummer Paul Thompson – with “two sticks in his hand, and the beat in your heart… beat in your heart… beat in your heart” unleashes a frenzy during tracks like Ulysses, while Nick McCarthy, tireless in his guitar and keys duties, has “electricity in his veins”. Bassist Bob Hardy is tonight replaced by their friend Scott, who joins in an electrifying, all-in drumfest during the encore.

They seem to have matured from awkward sexual tension – as in Dark Of The Matinee: “I'm not to look at you in the shoe/But the eyes find the eyes” to the triumphant discovery of “sweet, sweet love” in the latest record's Love Illumination. But their encore, Outsiders, reminds us they haven't lost that brooding attitude, that charming cynicism that makes them so endearing – “It's been some years, but we're still outsiders/If everybody's here, then hell knows we ride alone”.

The audience start chanting “Lucky, lucky/You're so lucky” before Kapranos even utters the words in the frantic build up of Do You Want To – and we're the lucky ones tonight. Franz Ferdinand have still got all the right words and all the right actions.