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Concert Thu Feb 14 2008
Super Furries Bring the Tunes, Tone Down the Rest
The resurgence of Welsh rock music in the 1990s produced numerous good or even great acts that found success in pockets across Europe while remaining relatively unknown in the United States. But slipping between the Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics who followed familiar trends of being idolized across the pond and ignored here, Super Furry Animals took a different route by somehow being consistent in their work and fame. They've been lauded similarly in the UK and US for a tremendous string of top-notch albums, including perhaps the most successful Welsh language rock album of all-time.
Owing their successes to well-received singles and albums, a little luck, some famous fans, and an extraordinary live show, the Super Furries have come a long way since their techno and ambient music beginnings gave way to a more guitar-driven psychedelic rock sound. Since then they've dabbled in drum & bass, garage rock, electronica, soul, etc.
In the past the band has wowed audiences with a full audio/visual performance that begins as soon as the openers stop playing and ends minutes after SFA has left the stage. This time around, though, they're touring lighter and presenting a stripped-down rock'n'roll show that brings to the forefront the music instead of the gimmicks. (Although, the music has always been excellent behind the costumes, designs and go carts.) They'll support their first Rough Trade album, Hey Venus!, at Metro on Saturday. Columbus, OH's Times New Viking and New York's Jeffrey Lewis open the show at 9PM.