SFA @ Sub29

I just realised I never actually posted about the three gigs the Super Furries played at sub29 in Cardiff. Originally billed to play just Thursday's gig, they added Tuesday and Wednesday due to the ridiculous demand for tickets. I hesitated and missed out on a ticket for Thursday but managed to get hold of a couple for Wednesday's gig.

It was a 550-mile round trip for me with an overnight stay in Cardiff but it was well worth the time and money. Didn't have much time to sight-see in Cardiff, which was a shame but, on the plus side, I did see both Bunf and Gruff in the street prior to the gig (Gruff in a fetching orange boiler suit). My boyfriend went all fan-girl at the sight of Gruff (the only Furry he'd actually recognise) and seemed more excited than even I was...

The gig was fantastic, although I don't think the venue was that good. The UEA LCR in Norwich is just as small, if not smaller, and the sound quality there is much better. Despite a few sound issues, they were good-humoured and energetic and whipped the crowd into a bit of a frenzy. It wasn't the greatest gig in SFA-history but it was intimate and they were obviously happy to be playing to their home town.

Other people have complained that they just played DD/LY all the way through and didn't have a very varied set. I didn't think that was a bad thing. They were there to promote the album after all and they're warm up gigs for their festival dates later in the year, so they have to practice the new material as much as possible. Plus, the encore that everyone in the front row knew was coming, as we could see the setlist, was absolutely fantastic. Slow Life, RATW, Juxtaposed with U, TMDGAF and, my personal favourite, Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy. Great way to end the gig and everyone was singing along at the top of their voices.

As for DD/LY, I think a few of those songs could become staples of the Furry live gig. The Very Best of Neil Diamond, Where Do You Wanna Go?, Moped Eyes and Inconvenience all stomped along and show just how raw and rocky this album is compared to their earlier albums. Cardiff in the Sun I think suffered the most from the venue's hit-and-miss sound but come the summer time, at outdoor gigs (Somerset House!), I think it will really come into it's own. Would be fab to hear it actually played in the sun...

Overall, well, it was groovy. What more can I say.

Oh yeah, and I took some pictures. Yes, they are all Gruff but he was the only one I could see to get a good picture of. Honest.











See more here

Gruff on (Behind) Closed Doors

Just stumbled on this on YouTube, perfection in two parts;

Gruff in a lift part 1
Gruff in a lift part 2

It's the same show that Gruff and Bunf were on, the link to which you can find elsewhere on this blog.

It's a very adorable and good humoured performance from Gruff, from the Yr Atal Genhedlaeth era, and is one of my favourites. Love the fact that he's really going for the one-man band thing here. I half-expected him to strap a drum to his back and some cymbals between his knees.

Great stuff.

The Music of Moondog

I think I must have a Super Furry radar.

Twice recently while watching Sky I've randomly flicked to Welsh language channel S4C (and I don't speak Welsh), just as they've started talking to the Super Furry Animals. I flicked over while Uned5 was on and saw Cian and Guto talking about some football stadium and the new album. Then I happened to switch on to Bandit just as they started talking to Cian.

Now, I had a sudden urge to check the Clinic website (I'm a bit of a Clinic fan but never actually looked to see if they have a website) and lo and behold, there's a picture of Gruff Rhys smiling at me!



He and Bunf will be performing as part of the Barbican's 'The Viking of 6th Ave - The Music of Moondog', on 30th May. I'm afraid I've no idea who Moondog is but then I'm just one of the unwashed masses, so that's not surprising. Gruff and Bunf will be part of the 'specially assembled All-star Moondog Choir'.

Clinic, Caribou and 2/5ths of SFA... I wish I was gonna be there.

He's the greatest, he's fantastic

More on that Dangermouse/Sparklehorse collaborative behemoth; Chrysalismusic are streaming tracks from the... er... album? Sounds funky, although I'm not sure that using various singers really works as an album. It's like your music library on shuffle. If you have cool taste, mind. But then who said it'll actually end up as a conventional album...? Well, ok, it probably will...

Here's the link below;

Chrysalismusic

If I'm not mistaken Gruff is singing on track 2, his voice sounds a little different but that's definitely his accent. I've lost track of what number song I'm on now, but I've heard Jason Lytle and Iggy Pop (that I can identify) so far. And now I'm feeling all nostalgic for the days of Grandaddy! I really wish Jason Lytle was doing a full UK tour, but I think he's just doing Manchester and London in May.

Anyway, it all sounds excellent! I highly recommend listening to the stream on Chrysalismusic and also visit the Dark Night of the Soul website for more info. Which is sparse at the minute. But apparently it's going to be released in the summer. Plus if you go on the website you can see some of the Lynch visuals, which I really hope there'll be more of.

From the Basement

I've just noticed that the Super Furry Animals are on From the Basement on Sky Arts 1 tonight (in the UK) at 10. Which is in... 10 minutes time. I'm guessing it's a repeat of the show they recorded a while ago but if it's new or a repeat, it's still worth me pressing record!

Non-tour news

The Furries keep saying that they won't do a conventional tour for Dark Days/Light Years, apparently as they feel the album will work better outdoors. But y'know, they always have their tongue placed firmly in their cheek and I have a feeling there's probably a more mundane reason (the expense/the boredom/homesickness) than an artistic reason there's not going to be a tour. But that's fine. I don't expect them to perform for me like dancing monkeys... well, maybe I do a little.

They will, however, be doing plenty of festival gigs if you simply have to have a Furry fix this year. I've been ignoring the fact that there are some festival dates lined up as tickets are so expensive and festivals aren't ideal places to see your favourite band. Shorter than usual set lists, surrounded by a lot of people who aren't there just for SFA? Not value-for-money from a Furry point of view... If you can afford it, however, and there are more bands there that you like, here's the list of festivals SFA are appearing at this summer, straight from their website;

29/05
Wychwood
Cheltenham

13/06
Rockness
Inverness

27/06
Sea Sessions
Donegal, Ireland

04/07
Blissfields
Hampshire

05/07
Hop Farm
Kent

11/07
Wakestock
Abersoch, North Wales

30/08
Beechdown
Brighton

All those festivals basically take the Furries on a wide berth around where I live. So, instead, I'm taking the fight to them and travelling down to London to see them at Somerset House. Which is not really a festival, more a gig... so a longer set list and lots of glorious Furry fans! Can't wait.

18/07
Somerset House
London

That's it for SFA live gigs this year. So far, anyway. I have a sneaking suspicion they will probably end up touring this album but maybe it'll be later in the year/next year. No worries, they're hardworking and deserve an easier touring schedule for this year. But after that... Y'know... I'll be cracking the whip.



As if I had that power.



...If only...

Emerging from the wilderness...

Still no internet connection at home at the minute, but here I am leeching from someone else's.

There's a couple of SFA-related newsy type things for your delectation;

Dark Days/Light Years
The album is now fully formed and available to download from SFA's official website. As a dedicated follower of the Furries I opted for the CD + mp3 bundle. No mention of the vinyl release but I assume there is one. And I'll be purchasing that too... I'm so sad.

But, the album is, as ever, groovy. I won't do a review as I'm hardly unbiased and I border on illiterate but I have been listening to it quite a lot. And I wouldn't if it was crap... It's quite raw and has a jamming-70s-prog-rock vibe to it, a departure from the smooth poppiness of Hey Venus! (as great as that is). It's that speaker-blower that Gruff was promising us on the release of Hey Venus! Y'know, turn it up to 11. Favourite songs so far;

Moped Eyes - Gruff's voice may just be the sexiest it's ever been on this song and there's a nice driving rhythym to back it up. Cool stuff.

Cardiff in the Sun - pure bliss, especially when followed closely by the sitar-laden The Very Best of Neil Diamond. It's a toss-up which of them I like the most.

I realise now why I like SFA... everything they do is extraordinary. I mean, they've recorded nine albums and all of them I would happily listen to for years and years to come. There's no-one else that come close to them in terms of consistency. Even David Bowie, who I've loved since before the Furries, has had hits and misses. The Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, Eels... they're all bands I adore but only the Furries seem to remain so vital to me. They tip-toe on that line between seriousness and silliness but always sound the better for it. They have warmth, style and humour and I adore them. The stars must have been in a once-in-a-millennium alignment when SFA formed. Anyway, enough gushing!

Pete Fowler
I highly recommend keeping an eye on Pete's blog as not only is he a great artist in his own right, but there's bound to be some SFA goodies pop up on there from time to time. Recent posts include teasers about the Dark Days/Light Years album artwork, a collaboration with Keiichi Tanaami, some of which is included with the downloaded album. Can't wait to see the full artwork on the physical release. Which is approaching fast, just a couple of weeks away, now!

Mr Fowler has also got a compilation album out, and there is a shiny new track from Gruff Rhys on there. Although with no lyrics/vocals... and that's what I love Gruff for... but it's still nice to hear some electronic noodling from him. Have a read about it here.

Plus, some of Pete's work will be in London at the Monsters Inked exhibition, which sounds groovy. What better on an Easter weekend than to visit a gallery exhibiting hundreds of monster illustrations?

NME
In the new issue of NME there is an interview with Gruff and Bunf entitled "What Rock'n'Roll has taught us" complete with an old photo of the band. Apparently from when they liked hanging around in graveyards. Ah, the follies of youth, eh? There's some nice anecdotal-type stories from the two. Particularly liked the idea of a Philadelphia fan tattooing misspelt Welsh SFA lyrics onto himself, and Gruff not having the heart to tell him he'd spelt it wrong. I'm guessing the cat's out of the bag now...

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse
I have images of 80s British cartoons running through my head now, but apparently Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse (I've always had a penchant for a bit of Mark Linkous...) are collaborating on some mysterious album/movie/plan-to-take-over-the world. Of which nobody knows anything apart from one poster doing the rounds that lists a load of names alongside theirs including Gruff Rhys. There's a lot of others (The Flaming Lips, Iggy Pop, Jason Lytle et al.) but I'm intrigued by the inclusion of David Lynch (I'm a Twin Peaks fan). Linkous, Rhys and Lynch? My excitement levels are rising...

My time's almost up. Back through the internet-free darkness I roam.