At first, Cardiff art-rockers Super Furry Animals were part of a Welsh renaissance that sprung up adjacent to the 1990s Britpop movement. But the band outlasted many of the biggest names in Britpop before going on hiatus in 2010. They briefly reunited in 2015 and 2016, but they haven't performed together in a decade. Instead, there's been plenty of solo output from frontman Gruff Rhys, and in recent years the other four members started a prolific new unit called Das Koolies. But the Super Furries announced a reunion tour last fall, and it finally kicked off tonight in Ireland.
Technically, the band got together earlier this week for a BBC6 radio session, but that hasn't aired yet. So the first public sniff of Rhys and the Koolies together again came at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin. They focused on songs from early in their discography, opening with "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" from their 1999 album Guerilla and finishing with the '90s b-side "The Man Don't Give A Fuck." They didn't play anything released in past 23 years.
So far the announced dates are only in the UK, but if we're lucky, they'll soon be running rings around the world. Check out footage from the gig and the full setlist below.
SETLIST:
01 "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)"
02 "(Drawing) Rings Around The World"
03 "Do Or Die"
04 "Golden Retriever"
05 "Something 4 The Weekend"
06 "Focus Pocus / Debiel"
07 "If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You"
08 "Ice Hockey Hair"
09 "Hello Sunshine"
10 "Northern Lites"
11 "Ymaelodi â'r Ymylon"
12 "Run! Christian, Run!"
13 "Juxtapozed With U"
14 "The Piccolo Snare"
15 "Fire In My Heart"
16 "Play It Cool"
17 "Receptacle For The Respectable"
18 "God! Show Me Magic"
19 "Mountain People"
20 "Slow Life"
21 "Night Vision"
22 "The Man Don't Give A Fuck"
