Super Furry Animals
May 26th at Sub 29 in Cardiff, Wales

If any Super Furry fans had had sufficient time to sift through the band’s new album, Dark Days/Light Years, it would have been the hometown Cardiff crowd. They packed Sub 29 for the first of three sold-out shows, but didn’t expect the Furrys to focus so much on new material.

“The basic plan,” said lead singer Gruff Rhys, “[is] for playin’ the record straight through, for the first time […] if the crowd is fucked up enough.” Maybe they weren’t fucked up enough, but they sure were quiet.

Guitarist/vocalist Huw Bunford estimated that the band performed “over 70 percent of [the record] right.” And some songs came straight off the disc and into the venue: “Inconvenience” brought its loose, funky shuffle; and “Cardiff in the Sun” rumbled with its beautiful bass patch (an imitation of the pedals on a cheapie organ according to these ears). But the mix got muddy when melodic feedback and bright keyboard patches were thrown in. And while the crowd listened dutifully, it wasn’t until the band finished their record and busted out a series of standbys like “The Man Don’t Give a Fuck” that they got rowdy.

To get asses into clubs, bands have increasingly relied on this conceit of playing albums straight through. But those albums are usually classics, not new releases. And it’s easy to see why. With new material, fans haven’t had time to forge the personal connections that make hearing a whole album live an ecstatic, rather than patient, exercise.

Dark Days/Light Years may, in time, turn out to be the best record in the Furrys’ discography, and if that happens, I’ll boast about drowning in feedback at the first live recital. Until that time, I’ll get to know the album on my own, on a stereo, where it sounds fucking great. – David MacFadden-Elliott

Watch: Super Furry Animals, “The Man Don’t Give a Fuck” [at youtube.com]

Big Business, Tweak Bird
May 27th at Bottom of the Hill, SF

Two bands on the bill, show at 10pm. Got it. Or did I? After a long hang with friends at Thee Parkside just a few blocks from Bottom of the Hill in SF waiting in anticipation, we showed up a bit late, but our bellies were full of whiskey and fried chicken. Line down the block. Eight tickets left. Oh no. The doors of the venue eventually opened to me and my friend, and music from openers Tweak Bird were puked onto us in one big wave of heavy riffs and machine gun drumming. My name was on the list, said friend got the last available ticket. Yes!

Tweak Bird, who I first learned of this year at SXSW, were as awesome as I remembered them being the first time around. This duo features brothers Caleb and Ashton Bird, and both times I’ve seen them live, it tends to get a lot more rockin’ and heavier than their recorded material (their EP Reservations is only about 17 minutes, in fact, and was also co-produced by Dale Crover of the Melvins, which is likely how they ended up touring with Big Business), with the experimental parts more experimental, the psych more psychedelic, and the extensions into improvised jams much more extensive. Overall, in a live environment, Tweak Bird become a more fully realized heavy act, creating an intense, fuzz-driven, hairy, stoner freak out atmosphere. Highly recommended.

By the time Big Business came on, the venue was completely packed, mostly with dudes. According to at least one source on the internet, the lack of females in attendance is a testament to the band’s credibility. My bad. So sorry to threaten their cred with my maidenly presence. Do people really still feel this way? Fucking incredible. Anyway. Core members Coady Willis and Jared Warren (who are also members of the current Melvins line up) are now a trio with Toshi Kasai (Melvins soundman) on guitar. From what I could tell, and I’ll be the first to admit that many of Big Business’ songs sound vaguely if not wholly similar, they played stuff from both 2007’s Here Come the Waterworks and 2005’s Head for the Shallow. I’ve yet to completely absorb their latest release, Mind the Drift, but realize they also played a lot from that as well as it’s quite different from their past efforts. Totally good stuff, just a bit of a departure. Perhaps cleaner and bigger, or more melodic sounding. Warren’s voice is something else; a thunderous, depraved bellow and a perfect match for the band’s bombastic, low-end tunes that steep in all things dark and enigmatic. Willis’ drumming… man, it’s something to behold. That guy delivered difficult, hardcore drumming the entire set. It’s the kind of drumming that can inspire smashing expensive stuff with a hammer until there’s just itty bitty pieces left. You might regret it later, but it felt fucking great in the moment. I was most impressed. The rest was all headbanging, beer swilling, and otherwise standing there awash in their sludgy awesomeness. The night ended and I was left damaged; a head full of mush, a melted face, and ears bleeding. In other words, Big Business lived up to every expectation I had that they could kill it, kill me… you know, in the good way. – Jocelyn Hoppa

Watch: Big Business [at youtube.com]

Tags:Super Furry Animals, Gruff Rhys, Big Business, Tweak Bird, Melvins

Animal Collective: May 26th at the Fox Theater, Oakland, CA

The Horrors: May 21st at Glass House, Pomona, CA and A Place to Bury Strangers: May 22nd at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn

dredg: May 19th at Great American Music Hall, SF