Mad Fur It! Super Furry Animals at Cardiff Utilita Arena

David Owens

So we gathered – the rave refugees, the semi-retired indie kids, the acid casuals and those for whom the ’90s were their own cultural nirvana*.

We came together at the Cardiff Utilita Arena to once again worship at the altar of Super Furry Animals – the most singularly inventive band Wales has ever produced.

Argue over the nation’s greatest group all you like, but it’s indisputable that nobody can hold a torch to the sheer creative wizardry of Gruff Rhys, Cian Ciaran, Huw Bunford, Guto Pryce and Dafydd Ieuan.

Since their emergence in the ’90s they’ve been proving beyond doubt that together they are musical alchemy; magical, majestic, conjurers of pure sonic joy.

The era of Britpop brought with it a wave of musicians for whom the twin tenets of ‘guitar’ and ‘pop’ were sacrosanct.

A head rush of young heroes from Wales took a wild ride across the Severn Bridge bubbling with youthful exuberance. Capturing the prevailing zeitgeist they established a scene with a moniker all of its own – whether the bands liked it or not.

The music press created ‘Cool Cymru’ witnessed an expansive assortment of talented Taff trailblazers, the likes of Catatonia, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics, demonstrating the Land of Song finally had something to sing about which wasn’t Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and male voice choir shaped.

However, in Super Furry Animals, Cymru created a band who didn’t so much push the envelope as post it from outer space.

While every conceivable band from the much vaunted ’90s heyday appears to have reappeared to enable forty-fiftysomethings to relive their callow youth, whether their creaking joints like it or not, Super Furry Animals have largely kept their distance.

Nevertheless, as their one time Creation Records label mates Oasis have have ably discovered much to their bank manager’s delight, stay away long enough and absence most definitely makes the heart grow fonder.

So when the Furries revealed they were to make a triumphant return after 10 years away, the excitement was palpable, demonstrating our hearts hadn’t dimmed any for these nonconformist musical auteurs, it had only solidified our love.

The reacquaintance resulted in a run of quickly sold out gigs and even Oasis-like pop-up stores selling an array of madcap items befitting of a band whose genius concepts are legion, resulting in shelves brimful of SFA footy shirts, tank incense chambers and Yeti plushes.

The hometown gig in Cardiff then was always going to be special. For one, it was a Saturday evening. While Saturday nights in the Welsh capital have a tendency to degenerate into some sort of dystopian vision of hell fuelled by fancy dress, lager, and pink cowboy hats, there was plenty of beer, but thankfully an absence of alarming cosplay and wild west headwear at the Utilita Arena.

When the lights went down and the roar of the crowd rose to a crescendo, the anticipation was an endorphin hit to the veins. Judging by the reaction of the audience throughout the show, we all stayed happily stationed on cloud nine for the duration.

Opener ‘Wherever I Lay My Phone (That’s My Home)’ set the tone, Gruff bestriding the stage singing into a large inflatable mobile phone, the crowd chanting the ‘I’ve got a mobile phone’ refrain back at the stage.

In a two hour 23 song set, all your crowd pleasing Super Furry singalong standards were here from (Drawing) Rings Around the World, Do or Die, Golden Retriever, and Something 4 the Weekend to Ice Hockey Hair, Northern Lites, Juxtapozed With U and God! Show Me Magic.

There was something magical in the air – a tangible sense of hopefulness, which seemed to represent the prevailing political mood. With Plaid Cymru winning the Senedd election we’ve awoken in a Cymru where hope now springs eternal.

Maybe it’s because of their unwavering ability to put smiles on faces, but Super Furry Animals couldn’t have returned at a better time. When they launched into the radiant Hello Sunshine with its lyrics ‘In honesty it’s been a while since we had reason left to smile’, I half expected new First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth to walk out in a yeti suit (more of which later)

 

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In a set that packed in some heavyweight favourites, there were a few surprises, a smattering of rarities reminding us that the band have recently released Precreation Percolation – an album of curios, outtakes, demos and long hidden tracks to satisfy our musical cravings.

Turning every page of their burgeoning songbook we were treated to the embryonic punk pop strut of Focus Pocus/Debiel, originally released as the closing track of the 1995 Moog Droog EP.

Two songs from the biggest-selling Welsh language album of all time Mwng, the breezy pop of Ymaelodi â’r Ymylon and the haunting baroque ‘n’ roll of Nythod Cacwn was a welcome reminder of their steadfast bilingual approach.

In addition was the rarely heard Piccolo Snare from Phantom Power, with its gorgeous ’60s vibes – more Laurel Canyon than Rhondda Valley.

The tender melodies of the elegantly beguiling Run! Christian! Run!, beatific fan favourite Demons, the perfect pop of Play It Cool and the gleefully unhinged Receptacle for the Respectable only served to underline the incredible depth of the Furries’ songwriting prowess.

When we hit the home straight with the plaintive climes of Mountain People with its techno twist in the tail, the euphoric synth pop meisterwerk Slow Life and the ghoulish stomp of Night Vision (The Cramps if they came from Betws-y-Coed), most of the attendant 7,000 gathered in keen anticipation no doubt knew what was coming next.

And to be honest, we could not wait.

So it was that perennial set closer The Man Don’t Give A F*ck arrived in a 20 minute collision of pulverising riffs, techno squalls and no holds barred caterwauling.

When a crutch was waved in the air you wondered just what wonderful recuperative qualities the sweary anthem held.

At the moment the band eventually reappeared in their trademark yeti costumes (hopefully deloused), the dial was turned up to 11 and we happily lost control in the ensuing chaos.

With the news agenda continuing to resemble the end of days, music provides sanctuary – a dopamine fix for our mental well-being, a joy-bringing shot-in-the-arm. Never have we needed its transformative and transportive power more.

Tonight Super Furry Animals took us on a transcendent trip to another dimension. What a beautiful place it was.

* The spiritual high as opposed to Kurt Cobain’s grungeslingers

SETLIST
1. Wherever I Lay My Phone (That’s My Home)
2. (Drawing) Rings Around the World
3. Do or Die
4. Golden Retriever
5. Something 4 the Weekend
6. Focus Pocus / Debiel
7. If You Don’t Want Me to Destroy You
8. Ice Hockey Hair
9. Hello Sunshine
10. Northern Lites
11. Ymaelodi â’r Ymylon
12. Run! Christian, Run!
13. Juxtapozed With U
14. The Piccolo Snare
15. Nythod Cacwn
16. Demons
17. Play It Cool
18. Receptacle for the Respectable
19. God! Show Me Magic
20. Mountain People
21. Slow Life
22. Night Vision
23. The Man Don’t Give a Fuck

MORE:

The true story behind Super Furry Animals ‘The Man Don’t Give A F*ck’

SFA@30: The thirty greatest Super Furry Animals songs as voted for by fans

Super Furry Animals release ‘lost’ track featuring Hollywood star Rhys Ifans