GIG NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN
Who
My knowledge of London was sufficient that I booked a cheap room near Harrow & Wealdstone, knowing that unless the trains ground to a halt it was just as sound as a central location. After arriving at Euston in an eye-watering 80 minutes on a train from Stafford which didn't stop on the way I was unsurprised that the reasonably fast Metropolitan line to my hotel was suspended, only going up to a stop which I hadn't printed a map for so didn't dare try. I had checked the Bakerloo line was running though and it got me there safely but incredibly slowly, with the additional annoyance of most trains terminating halfway up the line! My hotel was as cheap and basic as it gets but served my needs, although it wasn't a good sign that the previous occupant had dozily left their bag in the room! I had planned to see Harry Potter 6 in Leicester Square so I rushed back there but was too late. It's ironic that the "cinema capital" of Britain is horribly overcrowded, hideously expensive and obsessed with showing obscure films rather than the big hits, and therefore was a terrible place to try and see it. I guess I hadn't tried particularly hard to research it anyway so quite happily walked to Trafalgar Square, saw the boring person on the fourth plinth just taking photos of the crowds, then decided to enter The National Gallery. I was in the mood for some Turtles and was pretty sure that The National Gallery was one of the few in the world to have works by all four Turtles. Sadly though there was nothing by Donatello, plus The Virgin On The Rocks, the best painting in London in my eyes, annoyingly had been taken off display. I then wandered towards the venue with plenty of time to kill looking for a nice quiet pub, knowing full well that the nicest and cheapest pubs are usually the deserted ones! I was proved right upon finding a pub cheaper and nicer than any I'd ever found in London before, featuring some extremely potent wheat beers and German-style lagers.
After three amazing pints and a super-cheap fish and chips I made a detailed note of its location so I'd find it again. For the record it's The Lyceum Tavern near where The Strand meets Waterloo Bridge! A guy chatted to me about my Achtung Bono Half Man Half Biscuit t-shirt and the pub gradually filled up with SFA fans before I decided I'd better make a move before I became too drunk to enjoy the show. I made two totally unnecessary visits to McDonalds, enjoying the new Cornetto McFlurry, Cadbury's Caramel milkshake and some Chicken Selects, then headed to Somerset House shortly after the doors opening time of 7:30pm. A familiar looking guy was hanging around outside and although I'm not sure it may have been Mark Beaumont from the NME. Somerset House was a lovely, albeit small, venue surrounded by a nice building with a little stage. I resisted the bar and official merchandise stand and made a beeline for a space at the front far towards the left. This was my first outdoors SFA show since Leeds 2000 and it's definitely a cool idea, I just wish the band had thought of playing Cannock Chase nearer to home! As time moved on it appeared to be a near sell-out and the crowd was a mix of semi-familiar faces from the many shows I'd seen before plus some young kids who were demonstrating SFA could mean something to the next generation. I've always have said the band were ahead of their time and now their sound fits in quite nicely with the present. Around the back of the stage were presumably the toilets and I could just about see the black and white stage banner from my position. I'd also picked up a leaflet for an after party on the way in but this was out of the question if I had any hope of getting back to my hotel.
This was my 13th consecutive Super Furry Animals show viewed from the front row, and I wonder if this is a fan record? I had been planning to hang back and chill out a bit but couldn't resist the open spot! There was no video screen (as the venue was just about small enough to render one unnecessary) and the sides of the stage were draped with a massive advertisement for Coca Cola. I understand that Coca Cola were sponsoring the whole Summer Series and that SFA probably had no choice in the matter but the artwork was so Pete Fowleresque I wondered if it was whipped up around the time when Coca Cola were offering SFA cash to use Hello Sunshine in an advertising campaign? I also spotted a guy wearing the same Half Man Half Biscuit as me, which was interesting as I've always felt the SFA/HMHB taste crossover was minimal. I hadn't taken the time to research who the support band would be but they took to the stage with a fairly promising sound. I eventually deduced that they were El Goodo who I'd seen twice before supporting SFA in 2005. Their self-promotion was a bit disappointing as they just occasionally said "El Goodo" without clearly saying "our name is El Goodo" but I was pleasantly surprised that they were still together. I also find it incredible that I was now seeing them for the third time, a record which I cannot boast for many of my favourite bands, including Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and The Supernaturals. I didn't recognise any songs though so either I'd forgotten them all or the band had totally reworked their setlist. The singer looked about the same as I remembered and a guitarist had a pretty awesome beard. Also there may have been a keyboardist but I was so far to the left I couldn't see him properly. El Goodo passed the time very nicely though before finishing in a wail of feedback.
I then spotted who could have been Will MacDonald from TFI Friday fame wandering around the stage but I wouldn't bet on it. I also remembered how I used to think that one of the SFA roadies was Martin Carr from The Boo Radleys! The time before SFA passed by quite nicely with some interesting DJing, including Kum Ba Yah by Turin Brakes plus a baffling drawn-out version of Good Vibrations. It was definitely interesting but I can't imagine singing it live and knowing that you are ruining the tune of one of the greatest songs ever just for the sake of reinvention. I also recognised Out Of Time but didn't know where from. I researched it afterwards and found it was a tune by The Rolling Stones and I'd heard its cover version by Manic Street Preachers. It was an excellent way of passing the time before the main event as the introduction music of Slow Life started up. I'd been hoping for something random and unexpected such as Lazy Life (Of No Fixed Identity) or perhaps Crazy Naked Girls so had mixed feelings. On one hand Slow Life is the perfect SFA opener but on the other it is too pre-recorded to be truly exciting and was far too predictable a choice. Gruff didn't bother with the Power Rangers helmet though and I was very pleased to see that for once I was on his side of the stage! I also suddenly decided to write down the setlist as I went along on my phone which is the first time I'd ever done this but it felt prudent. The SFA community seems to just get smaller and smaller and I doubted if anyone would ever bother posting the setlist so took the initiative myself. I find it utterly baffling how the band can be losing fans when the quality remains high but I know something's wrong when I've had so much trouble finding anyone who can be arsed to send me the lyrics to Lliwiau Llachar from Dark Days/Light Years!
I expressed my disappointment at the lack of originality in the opening of SFA's Preston show way back in 2005 so wasn't particularly impressed when Slow Life was followed by (Drawing) Rings Around The World yet again. Nevertheless, just like I said at that time, it's the obvious opening to a perfect greatest hits set and I'm sure most people were delighted. For me though it lacked a certain spark but this may have been because it was still daylight and this always kills atmosphere. Gruff reprised the awesome Neon Neon stunt of holding up signs saying "applause!" and "woah!" so we all knew what to do though, and I felt a bit better as Juxtapozed With U started up. I knew this would be played the second I saw the vocoder mic come out but it's a shame the big blue box has long been retired. Next up was the rocking Golden Retriever and by now the only downers were my distance from the animated people in the moshpit and my familiarity with it all. I'm pretty confident a first time viewer would be blown away by the show but I will never be a blindly fawning fan of anyone and, after fourteen viewings, a critical eye becomes inevitable! I guess Hello Sunshine is nice and popular enough to deserve to stay in the set whereas the new album was finally represented by Mt. Cian sung it with relish from behind his keyboards and it had a wonderful heaviness and power that the older tunes didn't possess. This was followed by Moped Eyes which was mostly distinguished by a person in a full crocodile outfit on someone's shoulders dancing along for the duration! I then half-expected SFA to bombard us with new songs so was surprised when they followed this with Demons. As I hadn't heard it live for so long and it's from the greatest album ever I avoided letting out my usual groan and, seeing as the crowd enjoyed it so much, I guess it's hard to complain about. Nevertheless I think Play It Cool would have been infinitely more welcome!
I was then delighted by If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You which was the first real surprise and very lovely. I have argued for a very long time that SFA should dip more into their rich back catalogue instead of relying on the same old choices. This delight turns to mild disappointment though now I read they'd also played this back in 2007 and it wasn't a reinstatement from olden days. It's a shame as it means maybe the band aren't reading my reviews and taking all my helpful advice, such as my list of what songs to reintroduce into the set I compiled in 2007! By now the sun was going down and the atmosphere was building up and Inaugural Trams sounded amazing. It was totally reworked, no doubt due to the practicalities of playing it live, but it's the only new song which I felt easily fitted amongst SFA's strongest works. It was especially inspiring when Gruff held up his "75%" sign to show us how much emissions had been reduced by and for the rap where he produced a picture of Nick McCarthy from Franz to sing his German bit and held up his microphone to Nick as he "delivered" the rap. Just in case we had been fooled Bunf helpfully pointed out that Nick hadn't been able to make it tonight and Gruff held up a final sign saying "danke" at the finish! Now we had a bit of a lightshow and some surprises thrown in there was much more to enjoy. Bunf and Guto both had awesome beards and rocked impressively whereas Daf and Cian simply got on with their business at the back as usual. Previously I had expressed concern about the band standing still and not "enjoying it" as much as an audience would like but this time around, once they'd warmed up, it wasn't a problem. The Very Best Of Neil Diamond was another newbie which made a lot more sense in the live arena and featured some awesome lights and a weird guitar from Gruff.
Meanwhile White Socks/Flip Flops demonstrated how much Bunf had grown in confidence and was probably the best lead singing I've ever heard from him. Pric was a critical point where the show could have veered into unnecessary new album excess and valuable time wasted on an unnecessarily long song. However the band pulled it off better than I could have imagined, keeping it short and sweet and increasing my appreciation of it. This was followed by the almost inevitable Earth as Gruff discussed the venue they were playing, arguing whether it was a court, an arena (which sounded better) or just an old colonial building. Once again we had to put our hands to our ears and it remains an interesting diversion, but I wonder if it could ever make any sense on record? A highlight of the evening then followed in the utterly unexpected Blerwytirhwng? This was the first time I'd heard it played since 1999 and is exactly the sort of random track I'd been hoping the band would throw in! It was also a definitive demonstration of how the group had evolved and what Dark Days/Light Years was about. When the band said the new album would be heavier I'd hoped for faster and madder songs but instead they meant heavier and more intense guitars. Blerwytirhwng? was played without reinvention but the band gave it added "balls" due to the intensity of the guitars and made my memory of the 1999 performance seem wimpy and childish by comparison. This was followed by The International Language Of Screaming for the first time since 2005. It remains their finest short song but was let down by my distance from the moshpit and the crowds general lack of appreciation for this masterpiece. In fact Neo Consumer sounded stronger and more exciting but maybe that's just a promising sign of my enjoying the newer stuff more? By now the sun had gone down and I'd noticed the advertising was also projected onto the back wall and the band finished off this short and speedy trilogy with a romp through God! Show Me Magic which made more sense than ever.
The true revelation was to follow though. Zoom! had been the prototype of the more heavy and intense SFA style but it just came across as too clever and uninvolving live. On record I'd disliked it as being too long and too loose but, played live, Crazy Naked Girls was an absolute revelation! Its lack of proper structure gave the band awesome scope to expand on it and rock out like crazy as the lights went mental and the volume deafened us. What I'd expected to be a low-point turned out to be the most amazing moment of the night and the vindication that I'd been waiting for of the new album, plus a worthwhile substitute for Receptacle For The Respectable! The crowd chanted SFA OK and all doubts about the new material or why the band felt the need to play outside had gone away. This led straight into The Man Don't Give A Fuck which is the only song that SFA have always played for me. Shame on anyone who wants it dropping from the set as it remains SFA's definitive anthem and strongest claim to the throne for the greatest band of all time. It was exciting and delivered in a concise and very effective manner. The only downer was the confirmation of just what a boring part of the crowd I was in. The person next to me came incredibly close to the hardest slap ever for spending half the song looking at the moshpit and taking photos of the people enjoying themselves rather than joining in the fun and moshing! Also the show had gone by without a single crowdsurfer but that can be attributed to the very hard concrete floor!
The set then ended with the lovely Keep The Cosmic Trigger Happy and more signs from Gruff including "the end" and "thank you"! SFA left the stage but the crew failed in their duty of raising the lights immediately, making some people think there'd be an encore when there never is. It was approaching 11pm so perhaps the band should have thrown in Calimero and another song before the climax but as usual they'd played long enough and don't see the point of pretending to finish then coming back on. Some people were whining at the lack of an encore but, seriously, what would be the point? Maybe the band should take this into account by letting The Man Don't Give A Fuck become the final closer once again. The extended climax left people in no doubt that it was the finish and the band don't seen to have lost any enthusiasm in playing it live. Indeed there were too many omissions to mention but it seems unreasonable to complain much when their back catalogue is so embarrassingly rich. The only dubious songs they played were Demons, which most people love, and a couple from the new album which were hard to begrudge such as Moped Eyes. Indeed they had made me appreciate Dark Days/Light Years without playing Inconvenience or Helium Hearts, two of its strongest tracks. I made my way for the exit and was surprised by the lack of t-shirt vendors, especially considering how all the usual touts were outside beforehand. It was a long journey to the hotel but I made it back OK so the £30 or so I saved on that front was justified! If SFA would like my advice on creating a radically different but equally brilliant setlist to mix things up next time I'd be happy to provide it. Nevertheless, due to the lack of a definitive competitor, their crown as best band in the world remains intact.
Mark: 9.0/10
Super Furry Animals
Support
El Goodo
Where
London Somerset House
When
18th July 2009
Price
£25.00
Who with
No-one
Position
At the front, towards the left
Comments
When SFA declared that Dark Days/Light Years was too expansive to play indoors and that no normal tour would happen I expected to have to travel far to catch a show. I had my fingers crossed that they'd play some proper dates and wouldn't just stick with festivals and I was relieved when they confirmed this weekend event in London. It was one of the last ones announced for the Summer Series at Somerset House and disgustingly was just about the only one which didn't sell out immediately, whereas no doubt shite such as The Enemy did! I'd only heard of the venue by watching a Goldfrapp live DVD filmed there. This DVD was released before Supernature and it was baffling as to how Goldfrapp could have been playing a show of this size and releasing a DVD for it at a time before they were famous. It's weird and random yet gratifying that they were able to do it without my knowing about them! I'd been trying very hard to get into Dark Days/Light Years but it just didn't click and I was feeling that it was the worst SFA album to date. Would my opinion change? I was seeing SFA for the fourteenth time and I'd seen them play a show for each album except Fuzzy Logic. I've also spent many years pointing out how SFA are special due to their infinite musical depth and my mind has changed in the past after seeing the new songs live so I had high hopes my opinion would change! I also was in reasonably high spirits after The Flaming Lips had announced a tour for November which somehow I hadn't heard about until two weeks after it went on sale! I knew nothing would stop me from seeing SFA live and that other people can't be trusted to see a show no matter how awesome the band may be so I only made a half-hearted effort to persuade others. I was totally unsurprised when they pulled out, but at least they'd only said maybe to begin with. It's definitely their silly loss, although it meant I now had to book a hotel to stay over in!
Setlist
Slow Life
(Drawing) Rings Around The World
Juxtapozed With U
Golden Retriever
Hello Sunshine
Mt.
Moped Eyes
Demons
If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You
Inaugural Trams
The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
White Socks/Flip Flops
Pric
Earth
Blerwytirhwng?
The International Language Of Screaming
Neo Consumer
God! Show Me Magic
Crazy Naked Girls
The Man Don't Give A Fuck
Keep The Cosmic Trigger Happy
