An odd crowd gathered to see an equally odd lineup when the Super Furry Animals, known for their progressive power-pop, played the 9:30 club Sunday night. The floor was surprisingly packed for an early show, but the swarm that assembled appeared to be equally as intrigued by SFA as it was with backup help from electronic post-punkers Holy Fuck and eclectic indie rockers, The Fiery Furnaces. Budding fans mingled with old-school pros as the mismatched triple threat played an equally mismatched and uneven show.
Holy Fuck came to the stage amid their usual tangle of lo-fi electronic equipment and played a tight set of uninterrupted surging electronic improvisation. Promoting its debut album "Holy F**k," the band worked off the basic beats, sounds and lines on the album but veered slightly off course from its original work to create music with its own very unique identity.
The Fiery Furnaces - whose 2007 release "Widow City" is probably their most accessible album and approaches the most radio-ready they've ever been - took the stage next. They are well-known, though not always positively so, for using live shows to repackage songs from all of their albums. This proves to be a significant hang up for people who go to shows to hear their favorite bands play only the hits.
It can be difficult to listen to if you're hearing the band for the first time, but the practice actually allows the band to showcase its great talent and gives hardcore fans a taste of something entirely new.
The Fiery Furnaces are admittedly an acquired taste. Two-thirds of the audience stood, heads askew, nonplussed and uncomfortable, while the other third bobbed and bounced, entranced by the urgent vocals and playful electric keyboards of the brother-sister duo.
A sense of relief was apparent when the what-you-see-is-what-you-get Super Furry Animals eventually made their way on stage. By this time, the preheadliner shuffling had sandwiched groups of too-cool-to-move hipsters in between raucous middle-schoolers out past their bedtimes. With little effort, however, the 15-year-old Welsh band got all of its fans moving from their cemented positions as it began to play.
They opened somewhat unimpressively with "The Gateway Song," the first track on their newest album, "Hey Venus." While many in the audience were clearly comforted to hear something that sounded like familiar album material, the band's unwavering execution of playful progressive pop ballad after progressive pop ballad soon became rather humdrum.
The live performance could easily have been prerecorded, evidenced by the ridiculously bored look on the face of bassist Guto Pryce.
The fact that the songs they played sounded exactly like they were cut from the album is not entirely negative. The upbeat psych-pop tracks, though unsurprising, were definitely good for a fun listen.
The Welsh power-pop rockers did not disappoint in the arena of gimmicks, and their showmanship saved the show from being entirely expected and prepackaged. During one song, for instance, the band invited a 9:30 club crew member to "play" the scissors for added rhythmic effect. Humorously, lead singer and guitarist Gruff Rhys munched on celery during their song "Receptacle for the Respectable."
When Rhys appeared on stage for the encore with a glistening red Power Ranger mask, the real message of the band was solidified. This is a group that doesn't want anyone to take it too seriously. While they might not put on the most enthralling or surprising of shows, they know how to partner up with unique-sounding groups and bring an oddball audience together to take part in a little bit of their music-making fun.
