Gruff Rhys
9/27/07
It was a summery day. The birds were singing. The sun was out and the weather was warm. All around, children were playing hopscotch and moving in slow motion when I heard that Gruff Rhys, lead singer of one of the most fantastic bands this world has ever known, Super Furry Animals, was going to be playing a solo show at Schubas Tavern. My breath almost stopped completely with the absolute exquisiteness of such a thought. My hands were shaking as I bought the tickets. I almost could not believe it was real. My heart raced so fast it could not be slowed down. I was in a state of pure bliss.
As you might realize by this point, I am quite fond of the Super Furry Animals and have been following their albums now for the past few years now. There is really nothing like this band on Earth. Such a pure mix of psychedelic, garage, and pop/rock with a combination that can only be described as pure Welsh. It’s something other worldly when Gruff sings, for example, on “Zoom!” off Love Kraft: “I can’t get enough of it. Kiss me with apocalypse.” And, if you’ve ever seen a proper live Super Furry Animals show, you realize just how crazy out there the band can be, putting on an unmatched spectacle where silliness is barely contained to present one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.
Of course, this night with Gruff was really for die hard SFA fans or people who are following his solo work, which is slightly more subdued though there are some fantastic songs therein. Touring on Candylion, Gruff played songs from this as well as other previous solo works with only a SFA bside. I can definitely respect him for sticking to his solo works, though I did long to hear those songs I love best from Love Kraft, Phantom Power, and Rings Around the World especially. The difference is sort of like the contrast between having an intimate moment with someone and witnessing a musical revolution.
Some of the best moments of Gruff’s set had to do with his singing in Welsh and the accompaniment by Lisa Jên of Welsh band 9 Bach, who also sang backup vocals as well as a more traditional Welsh song on her own. She also helped play the assortment of toys that served as a kid’s dreamy orchestra accompaniment to Gruff’s lyrics. Kliph Scurlock of The Flaming Lips also lent a hand on drums for some of the songs. Most of the night was very low key and a bit rambling as Gruff sat and played some guitar but mostly his different toy assortment. He showed some of the silly bits of his personality too, at one point holding up a thrift store banner that read “The Best of Neil Diamond” and joking in deadpan humor that he wished he had Neil’s voice, Though I’m looking forward to seeing Super Furry Animals come back and tour (hopefully in January) to support their most recent release, Hey Venus!, a slightly more garagey and less abstract affair compared to Love Kraft, this night of seeing such a talented and genuine person was perhaps more special to me than any other show I will go to this fall.
View the complete photoset on flickr
Setlist:
