TWO titans of Scottish rock took to the main stage of Connect Festival back-to-back on Friday night.
It was a drizzly overcast evening but that didn’t stop a sizeable crowd gathering at the Royal Highland Centre near Edinburgh Airport.
There were easily three generations present – and sometimes all in one group, with a pram or two dotted around the periphery. This was not one to be missed.
First up was Franz Ferdinand, led by a confident Alex Kapranos. The lead singer is known for his slick dress sense and today was no different. He donned an airline pilot-esque suit with a bolt down the left lapel, flanked by long standing bass guitarist Bob Hardy, guitarist Dino Bardot and Julian Corrie on keyboards.
They rattled off some fan favourites. No You Girls got damp bodies moving, as did Michael from their eponymous debut album in 2004. It was immediately obvious several of that name are present in the crowd as Kapranos belted out the line "so come and dance with me Michael".
The front of the crowd flirted with the idea of a small mosh pit at the start of Take Me Out. The iconic guitar-led intro, the band members atop mini-platforms – it seemed likely for a second yet no one quite pulled the trigger.
A brainstorming performance of This Fire saw the band tell the audience to drop before sending them into a frenzy by restarting the music with a spiky, impassioned guitar burst.
There’s an endearing and nostalgic feeling when Franz Ferdinand plays – so embedded are they in Scottish indie rock history.
And all that was left was for Kapranos to loft his guitar high up into the sky to call it to a close.
Dark then descended as the headliners – psychedelic rock icons Primal Scream – took to the stage to perform the album that gained them immense popularity upon its release in 1991, Screamadelica.
Lead singer Bobby Gillespie even wore a suit draped in the album cover artwork, joined by the band and a 5-piece choir that provided the choral backing vocals dotted throughout the album.
They kicked off proceedings with Movin’ On Up, with the crowd already captivated and singing along – lit up by a kaleidoscope of colour from the back of the stage.
Gillespie – at 62-years-old – confidently led the set with his distinctive dancing style.
The title track and Higher Than the Sun were notable highlights, as was their final track before leaving the stage – Shine Like Stars.
An encore swiftly ensued, starting with a spine-tingling bagpipe solo followed by the iconic Loaded – which the band used to pay tribute to the late Andy Weatherall who mixed and produced it.
A young man facetimed the entire song to his visibly emotional dad.
Between the psychedelic visuals, choral intensity and aging bucket hat-wearing parents – it hearkened a little to 91’.
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