Super Furry Animals – Guerrilla Tour 1999

November 2nd 1999 – Rock City, Nottingham

A trip to Rock City is always fun. No way would I have instigated this one, Super Furry Animals has my friend Scott written all over it!!

I’d heard the single earlier that year “Northern Lites”, which was a hit and it had been ok, but Scott had assured me they would be rockier than that live…..and they were. No idea who the support were, but a Tuesday night gig in Nottingham, it is highly likely we had a beer rather than rush in to the venue. A night in Nottingham was always a nice treat.

Definitely a much better band live than on record.

Super Furry Animals are from Cardiff and had been around quite a few year by now. The band line up was Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian Ciaran (keyboards, synthesisers, various electronics, occasional guitar, vocals) and Dafydd Ieuan (drums, vocals).

They were a fantastically imaginative band and I loved that they never confine themselves to one sound. There is a mix of rock guitar, sampling, sound and light effects and soften, weird costumes….they were fairly normally dressed on this occasion.

So starting with “Wherever I Lay My Phone (That’s My Home)” was a weird mix of all of these things, followed by the brilliantly melodic “Bad Behaviour”.

I don’t have many memories of this gig, apart from being mesmerised by the performance. There was no great stage show but the vocals and sounds were incredible, well worth seeing again.

Set List (something like)

• Wherever I Lay My Phone (That’s My Home)
• Bad Behaviour
• Something 4 the Weekend
• Do or Die
• She’s Got Spies
• Chewing Chewing Gum
• If You Don’t Want Me to Destroy You
• The Turning Tide
• Play It Cool
• The International Language of Screaming
• Calimero
• God! Show Me Magic
• Some Things Come From Nothing
• Fire in My Heart
• Hometown Unicorn
• The Teacher
• Demons
• Mountain People
• Ice Hockey Hair
• Night Vision
• The Man Don’t Give a Fuck