By Alex Palmer
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTor
[email protected]
Tuesday night, the Welsh band Super Furry Animals delivered a
politically-charged but pop-friendly performance at the El Rey
Theater on Wilshire Boulevard.
The Super Furry Animals played a remarkable fusion of guitar
rock, catchy pop and unsettling electronic freak-outs,
incorporating cheek-popping, celery-chomping and off-the-wall
sampling into the show.
In addition to the musical variety of the show, the band added
richness to the concert with a montage of videos projected onto a
screen behind the members.
The result was a powerful and memorable performance that
confirmed the Super Furry Animals’ reputation as one of the
most innovative bands making music today.
The Super Furry Animals played mostly new material off of their
recent “Rings Around the World” album, but also played
a number of older, more obscure songs and even performed a couple
songs in their native Welsh.
The show began with a set of upbeat and fast-paced songs
including the Beach Boys-inflected “(Drawing) Rings Around
the World,” and “International Language of
Screaming,” which the five members performed on the modest
stage with no props or decorations beside their instruments and a
potted sunflower.
After the spastic guitars and stuttering beats of
“Sidewalk Surfer Girl,” the band changed gears,
becoming more subdued.
Lead singer Gruff Rhys brought out his harmonica and had a seat
for the soothing, country-tinged “Run! Christian, Run!”
But the easygoing tone of the song was offset by images of fire,
religious quotes, and Bible verses that were projected onto the
screen behind the band.
Throughout the concert the running video screen was effective in
bringing out the band’s ironic sense of humor and smirking
social commentary.
Images of mushroom clouds and military personnel displayed
during, “It’s Not the End of the World,” gave the
catchy song a much creepier spin than the album version would
suggest.
The Super Furry Animals wrapped up their set of low key but
heavily political songs with “No Sympathy,” which began
as a folksy, acoustic tune but quickly built into an extended
convulsing drum and bass breakdown.
Audience members were clearly grateful as the band transitioned
into the danceable “Juxtapose with U,” and upbeat
“Receptacle for the Respectable.” Although the earlier
part of the show was well-received, the audience was ready for the
Super Furry Animals to take it up a notch.
For several minutes the energy was at fever-pitch when Rhys
mentioned he had invited a guest to come out for
“Receptacle.” Rumors were immediately circulating that
Paul McCartney, who appears on the album version of the song, was
going to come out.
Sadly this turned out to be only fantasy as the band brought out
the guest: a crew member in a John Lennon mask who helped with the
celery-chomping at the end of “Receptacle.”
The final highlight of the night was the performance of
“Man Don’t Give a Fuck,” which began with a
simple acoustic guitar accompanied by eerie samples of political
commentary.
The Super Furry Animals gradually turned up the power until the
song ended in a barrage of shouts and chants and a hair-raising
wall of sound that combined guitar fuzz and electronic
pounding.
Concluding the show with five minutes of blips, beats, and
pounding bass, the Super Furry Animals left the audience in a
stunned silence.
The performance was an exceptional melding of mediums and
musical styles, bringing together amusing pop, experimental
electronica and political commentary to create a quirky and
memorable show.