GIG NUMBER TWENTY-SEVEN
Who
After Gruff appeared, jumping onto a table to sing Fire In My Heart before forgetting the words and climbing back down again, the plan for the show started to make sense. A lottery system had been set up and "every" Super Furry Song was written on a massive piece of paper on the wall and each tune assigned a number. When the number appeared on one of the lottery balls, the song was played. But this was the first show of the Rings Around The World tour, and it wasn't a lie to say that the band were somewhat rusty. To put it mildly they were able to play very few songs from their back catalogue! Also Bunf seemed to be quite ill, and the abundance of ambulances around the show were, as we joked, there to take Bunf to the gig. It was also Cian's birthday, and he'd been given the afternoon off, although to be honest his importance at an acoustic gig is questionable anyway. There was also a stereo on the stage along with all the SFA CDs, so the tunes that weren't played live could be played on record.
I think first song picked was Do Or Die, which wasn't played as it was in the main set. Next arrived Guacamole to a big cheer from the crowd, but a look of horror from the band, as they started to realise just how few of these songs they were able to play. For about five minutes though the chorus was tackled, so it was still very much worth it! Gathering Moss and If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You were delivered quite normally, and a fan came onstage to help out with nO.K. The singing of the alphabet in Welsh and English seemed naturally an easy task, so why Gruff needed someone to help out is a question I can't answer! We also learnt the story of the tune: it was a Kula Shaker protest song, called nO.K. to counter the album K! Also there is no letter K in the Welsh alphabet, giving a typically clever double meaning. Down A Different River was next up and particularly amusing, as Gruff had to be reminded what the next verse was each time! Torra Fy Ngwallt Yn Hir was most probably excellent, whereas The Placid Casual wasn't performed due to the complexity of the introduction. The gig seemed to had settled down slightly now and I think She's Got Spies, Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon, The Citizens Band and Cryndod Yn Dy Lais were all dispatched with relatively few hitches, except for the words to The Citizens Band.
Someone then pointed out that Calimero had been left off the list of songs on the wall. Whether this was true was another matter, but the main thing was that it was then played! Shoot Doris Day was then performed for just about the first (possibly even the last) time, Y Teimlad was excellent, and the lottery system was then rigged to ensure that the set closed with an acoustic take on The Man Don't Give A Fuck. I then got Gruff's attention and gave him a little piece of paper with the address of this website on, although whether he checked it or not is another matter. On the basis of this show, I think doing so could have helped, as it seems scary to think my knowledge of the lyrics exceeds that of the band! We then rushed off to the Academy, presuming there'd be a serious queue for the main show later on, ignoring the possibility of an encore, or the likelihood of more music from Teflon Monkey. Generally this was pretty chaotic stuff, but that was what made it fun: very much a once in a lifetime event!
Mark: 9.0/10
Super Furry Animals
Support
Teflon Monkey
Where
Manchester Night And Day Cafe
When
16th June 2001
Price
£5.00
Who with
Nick
Position
At the front, in the middle!
Comments
SFA really made a big thing out of their first gigs for Rings Around The World so we travelled up to Manchester to experience Furrymania! I wasn't able to see the DVD cinema showing or go to the club night since it was quite hard enough getting up there from home, but we still eventually found the Night And Day Cafe where the "secret event" touted by the band was taking place. It was basically just a small pub featuring live music and I suppose provided the natural place for a daytime acoustic gig before the real action of the night, meaning I'd seen SFA twice in one day. We arrived early but there was quite a queue anyway: it seems the word had spread quite quickly even though nothing had been announced until the last minute! After paying £5 to get in and being awarded with a lottery ticket (but no prize of course), it was straight off towards the front and the best view. A little support slot came from Teflon Monkey who was just one man and his guitar. He was quite popular in SFA circles but seemed of little note to me.
How the balls rolled
Fire In My Heart
Do Or Die
Guacamole
Gathering Moss
If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You
nO.K.
Down A Different River
Torra Fy Ngwallt Yn Hir
The Placid Casual
She's Got Spies
Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon
The Citizens Band
Cryndod Yn Dy Lais
Calimero
Shoot Doris Day
Y Teimlad
The Man Don't Give A Fuck
