Franz Ferdinand Take Out Hits and Rare B-Side at V Fest

Scottish indie-pop sensations Franz Ferdinand gave Toronto's Virgin Festival its first headline-caliber set with a riveting rock show. Their career-spanning performance consistently got the packed general admission section to rise, scream and boogie their hearts out.

Plowing through crowd-pleasing singles 'Michael,' 'Walk Away,' 'No You Girls' and a stirring version of 'Take Me Out' -- dedicated to fellow Scottish V-fester Paolo Nutini -- the foursome also gave a nod to longtime fans by playing the rarely heard 'Van Tango,' the B-side from the band's very first UK single, 'Darts of Pleasure.'

While most of the set favoured the band's short, punchy dance-driven numbers, the closing couplet of 'The Outsiders' and the electronic psychedelic meltdown of 'Lucid Dreams' provided a trippy jam element which rang closer to the night's headliner Ben Harper than most Franz Ferdinand fans are used to.

"You know what the best part of these things is?" plaid-adorned singer Alex Kapranos asked the crowd during 'The Outsiders.' "It's that sometimes it's alright to just go f---ing mental!"

Then, after filling the stage with a sea of fog, the individual band members left one at a time as the last notes of 'Lucid Dreams' faded, eventually leaving drummer Paul Thompson to trash his drums all alone on the stage before he, too, walked off.