It has been over a year since Franz Ferdinand graced our shores for the 2009 Big Day Out. Back then their third record, Tonight, was not released yet and they were happy to quietly slip in the songs into a greatest hit set list which had the hardest rock dogs pull out their favourite dance moves.

Twelve months on and with Tonight dearly embraced by the Franz faithful their return to Australia as part of the Future Music Festival was more of a heroes salute.

While Franz are more than capable in captivating a festival audience, it is in the club venues where they truly shine and the sound of their angular riffs and disco stomp is best appreciated.

Supporting band, the Brisbane outfit band Yves Klein Blue worked the crowd well with their signature blend of laid black swaggering and gentle sense of humour. Their euphoric cover of Lou Reed’s Take A Walk on the Wildside was a particular highlight as well as stripped down version of Polka.

The last time I saw the Scottish four-piece was in 2004 on the Melbourne leg of their debut tour of Australia. Back then they were possibly the coolest band in the band and the boys put on a solid set and played all the songs of their classic self titled album.

Six years, three albums deep and a hundreds of shows later the group which took the stage to a sold out Forum were a revelation. While the band of six years ago were polished and tight, Franz circa 2010 were raw and came armed with a killer set list aimed to destroy the foundation of unsuspecting venue.

The affair started energetically enough with No You Girls, easily the most disco-tastic moment from their latest release and had the crowd singing along to the sugary chorus. It was then followed by two tracks from their first album, a more muscular take of The Dark of the Matinee and Tell Her Tonight.

The band then returned to their latest release with the barn storming Can’t Stop Feeling. Then the first big moment arrived with the stomper Do You Want To with the 2,000 plus crowd joining singer Alex Kapranos for the song’s signature ``do, do, do’’ refrain.

The second big moment arrived half way during the set with Take Me Out. The track’s ever green quality live and on radio cemented itself as one of pop music modern day classics.

The fact that it was placed midway shows the depth of live gems the band has cultivated throughout their albums as the band’s high tempo performance never faulted. New tracks Ulysses and Turn it On were played before the punk androgynous gem Michael, the spy guitar riffs of 40 and the anthemic Outsiders finished a stellar 60 minute set.

The encore delivered more thrills with a smooth rendition of Walk Away, one of the group’s most Beatle-esque music. Dance heads also got the nod with a joyful cover of *LCD Soundsystem*’s All My Friends before a stadium rock version of This Fire.

The 8 minute epic of Lucid Dreams, the group’s most experimental track, was a fitting way to end with its heady marriage of groovy guitar riffs and the electronic melodicisim of Kraftwerk. With a group bow in front of an ecstatic crowd, Franz Ferdinand established themselves as band for all seasons.

Where others flirt with genres and achieve novelty results, these Scottish boys approach genres with ears of music nerds and always with an eye to the dance floor.