Now that's some heat
by thankyougum on 2009-09-03Burton Cummings Theatre - WinnipegFrom the start, the show was amazing. Surprisingly, the opening act, Think About Life, was actually pretty good, and got people on the floor dancing by the second number. The people on the floor would only increase as the show went on. If the first act was alright, the real show would only get better. Franz Ferdinand was amazing. The energy in the room was palpable, as the band moved around the stange. The first part of the show included all of their hits, which, familar as they were to anyone who's listened the radio lately, - I swear, every time I turned it on, a song of theirs was playing - were even better live. The band kept moving on stage, and kept the audience moving on the floor. The first hour was solid hits after hits, till my friend and I wondered what they could do next, having played all of their big songs. We were dissapointed when they left the stage after only an hour, and thought maybe that was all they had to play. We were wrong. After a short break, they came right back to what we assumed was an encore. Instead, it was more like an intermission for the band. Another hour would ensue, with more vamping than I've ever seen. Long solos showed off the drummer in particular - till all three other members of the band joined him on the single drum kit. I'd never seen so many people play on one kit before, in unison. It was pretty awesome. Unfortuntely, not everyone got a chance to appreciate this. The venue was built in 1907, and obviously doesn't have air conditioning. After an unseasonably chilly summer, the day of the show managed to be quite hot. With all of the bodies packed into the place, particularly on the balconies, it was ridiculously hot and humid. Despite the emergency exits to the fire escapes being open for air, the breeze wasn't felt more than a couple feet from the doors. I saw more than a few people simply leave. The show was amazing, but I guess some people just gave up. Franz Ferdinand was great, but the Burton Cummings Theatre, as wonderful an old building as it is, just let us down. There's a reason not that many things are scheduled there in summer. I guess they thought by now it'd have cooled off.