|
As homecomings go, they don’t get anymore auspicious
than this. With rumours rife of a bingo set list, the
atmosphere in the Barfly is one of anticipation and
excitement. Stripped down to the bare bones of (whisper
it) a conventional band, SFA casually sidestep the majority
of their electronica induced numbers and opt for a set
tinged with nostalgia and an acoustic. When it turns
out that they’re doing requests, what ensues can only
be described as chaos. Amidst the cacophony of noise,
you could be Irish, Scottish or Welsh, but it all amalgamates
to an ‘International Language of Screaming’. ‘Out Of
Control’, and ‘Calimero’ clearly weren’t written with
the Barfly in mind. With stage lighting so low, and
heads so high, letters from lawyers are probably in
the post.
Tonight it was more of an audience with... Gruff and
Bunff are genuinely talkative in both Welsh and English,
with a constant call for ‘5 Beck’s plis’. Impromptu
jams and half songs (they played half of ‘Chupacabras’)
showed them in a relaxed and playful mood. Although
not as spontaneous and perky as usual, witnessing SFA
in such humble surroundings and in their own backyard
makes for a special event. The only negative to the
night was the missing ‘Man Don’t Give A Fuck’ their
trademark curtain closer, although ‘Nightvision’ more
than lived up to the task in closing the show.
With their ability to almost lazily churn out the anthems,
the classics and the sing a longs, a greatest hits will
come easy, and like the ‘SFA OK!’ chants that resounded
and lingered tonight, hopefully SFA will do the same
for quite some time..
Relevant sites:
http://www.thekillers.co.uk
Sherief Younis for Crud Magazine 2004©
|
