Franz Ferdinand performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Aug. 30, 2022. Nate McKinley/STAFF. OAKLAND — By the time Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand dove into “Take Me Out,” more than an hour into their 90-minute set at the Fox Theater, it might as well have been 2004…

Franz Ferdinand, courtesy David Edwards. Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand is looking angelic with a sheet of backlighting through a skylight in his band’s Glasgow studio. Though the video connection is a little fuzzy, he can spot the “Do You Want To” single cover tucked away at the back…

Messing around with COIN at BottleRock Napa Valley on May 25, 2018. Photo: Roman Gokhman. I think this column is morphing into more of a “my favorite Roman stories” list, but what still holds true is that memorable interviews still lead better stories. I tell the RIFF staff, which…

Christine and the Queens perform at Fox Theater in Oakland on Oct. 26, 2018. Photo: Shawn Robbins. This is the second in a three-part series. Read the introduction to learn how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” in PART 1. Favorite Shows 2017 | Favorite Shows…

Franz Ferdinand took you out, and made breakfast in the morning. It’s another edition of RIFF Rewind crowdsourced from the RIFF staff! Which means rock music was still overproduced and generic, and I couldn’t stand to slog through it. Look, I realize this may cause a minor mutiny among…

Franz Ferdinand performs at The Fox Theater in Oakland on May 17, 2018. Alessio Neri/STAFF. OAKLAND — Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos casually strolled onto the Fox Theater stage, following his four bandmates, stepped onto a speaker and looked out onto the gathered fans of his band, many of…

From its 2004 debut to 2013’s Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, no band other than The Strokes and Interpol epitomized the post-punk revival than Franz Ferdinand. As the genre experienced a steep decline in popularity, so did Franz Ferdinand. So for Alex Kapranos and company, it meant it was time…

Photos: Alessio Neri MOUNTAIN VIEW — Thomas Mars and Phoenix brought their traveling Italian disco show to radio station Live 105’s BFD festival at the Shoreline Amphitheatre Saturday. The Parisians, the final of 25 acts to perform at the annual radio station start of summer show, played three songs off…

Bob Dylan’s The Band has been an influence on Midlake’s Eric Pulido for years, because that band allowed each musician to have an individual voice. Each took turns leading songs in a round-robin manner, with the others supporting. All the musicians were friends outside of The Band, and had…

Some of MisterWives at Outside Lands 2015. I interviewed many talented musicians in 2015, so this list is not based on who gave me the best quotes or who is most-talented. This collection is based more on who I connected with the most and who I felt tried hardest…