Concert Review: Super Furry Animals at Crystal Ballroom, 2/5

Gruff crowd.

Does Portland care about indie-rock anymore? Judging from the underwhelming crowd at the Super Furry Animals show at the Crystal Ballroom on Feb. 5 5, the correct answer is probably more of a shoulder shrug than a definitive yes or no.

Most of this question has to do with a matter of size. Though Super Furry Animals—the perpetually underrated Welsh band led by singer-guitarist Gruff Rhys—are a pretty big hit in the U.K., I'm not sure how much of a crowd they ever really attracted on this side of the pond. The 300 or so Brit-rock fans in attendance at the Crystal were surely thrilled to see SFA back in the states for the first time in seven years. But with no new album to promote, and most of the band's cultural cache more than a decade behind them (hello, The OC stans), the band couldn't overcome the limitations to playing a cavernous, empty ballroom.

That's not to say it wasn't a great performance. Opening with the slow build of "Slow Life," the last track on 2003's Phantom Power, Super Furry Animals played a set rich with both greatest hits and deep cuts. SFA's power always came in its uncanny channeling of both the psychedelic '60s and '90s rave and house music, presaging Tame Impala's Currents by a good 15 years. There's always something thrilling to see a song like "Juxtaposed With U," with its vocoder-assisted verses and swinging tropicalia sound, and think back to a time when rock bands were so open to experimentation and genre-hopping. And the biggest cheers of the night rightfully went to "Hello Sunshine," the band's simplest and sweetest pure-pop singalong.

The last time Super Furry Animals played in Portland in 2008, it was at the relatively tiny Doug Fir, and the intimate venue and tight confines seemed to give the group extra juice. It was near perfect. In theory, it's a good idea to get a band like SFA to play the venue it deserves, but in reality it's always best to box at your own level. Next time these Welsh weirdos return, let's hope it's at the right spot. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER.

All photos by Bridget Baker.

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