Super Furry Animals @ Usher Hall, 12 Dec

Live Review by Lewis Wade | 15 Dec 2016

Super Furry Animals are a band that operate on the kookier side of the rock spectrum; a band that prides itself on tackling abstract and zany subject matter, one that trades in unpredictability. For these reasons it seems antithetical to their usual MO to embark upon a tour such as this one, the performative equivalent of a reissue package. By simply playing their first two albums back-to-back (with slightly reordered track listings), SFA are offering a neatly gift-wrapped form of aural nostalgia that may be fun to bask in for a couple of hours, but zaps any real chance of spontaneous creativity.

There is no doubt that seeing the boys saunter onstage in the ornate surroundings of the Usher Hall, boiler-suited up and brimming with confidence, sends a wave of excitement through the close-to-capacity venue. And as they launch into opener, God! Show Me Magic, it is quickly evident this is a band who were missed in their five year hiatus.

There are plenty of great tracks on Fuzzy Logic, but this is the more 'straight rock' album of the two, and a sense of monotony begins to creep into proceedings as the crowd patiently listens with the restrained appreciation expected of the nostalgia hunters that make up the majority of the audience.

Things get a little more varied with the more psychedelic offerings from Radiator (despite a ten-minute technical hitch). By the time we arrive at The Man Don't Give a Fuck, the subsequent costume change and guitar-shredding, the crowd are back in 1997, jumping around and trying to follow the no-fucks-given mantra spewed out by the unflappable Gruff Rhys.

Without a realistic chance of experiencing the hijinks of your youth, sometimes you just have to appreciate a couple of hours of escapist reminiscing. It'll soon be 7AM, again.

http://www.superfurry.com/