The Welsh band left no hit unturned (okay maybe a few) in a 23-strong set
Gruff Rhys, lead singer of Super Furry Animals(Image: Getty Images)
It’s taken me a bit of time to sit down and write this review. One, because I’m moving house, but two, it felt like a bittersweet, emotionally charged show at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff for the triumphant return of the Super Furry Animals.
Their sold-out, six date Supacabra tour – plus they’ve got some extra special festival slots over the summer, like the National Eisteddfod – was very much looked forward to, not just by me, fan since 15, but you could just feel the anticipation in the room for this show.
The crowd was a blend of 40-years-plus original fans and a younger contingent, a trend I’ve noticed at recent ’90s indie gigs and the latest Gorillaz tour which erupted inside the same arena, and also featured Gruff Rhys as he popped up for Superfast Jellyfish.
Whoever made up the crowd it didn’t matter, it crackled in the build up for the show, the band’s first in the capital in 10 years and that was preceeded by a pop-up shop with special merch like coffee collaborations and a ceramic tank to celebrate the 30 years since they rocked up with a big blue one at the National Eisteddfod in Llandeilo.
The band, Gruff, Cian Ciaran, Huw Bunford, Guto Pryce, and Dafydd Ieuan with minimal interaction as usual with the crowd, seared through a 23-song set list and sated, I would say, the fans of all eras of the band (no Hermann Loves Pauline, though, which is one of my favourites and a song that enables my brain to time travel back to the spring of 1997 when I was revising for my GCSEs).
Their unique Welshness bares no exclusivity on who can enjoy their music, but means everything to homegrown fans. Their Welshness means so much to me, none of this ‘Cool Cymru’ rubbish, and yet their backcatalogue’s depth transcends nationality. They are ethereal musical magicians with an unequivocal Welsh accent, sometimes a scream.
I digress, mainly because I felt this gig was special and I get the gut feeling we might have to wait a long time to see them all perform in Cardiff again, if ever. This is my hunch, no more, mind. And thankfully they have a roster of live dates yet to come this summer.
A day later it bares all the hallamarks of a great gig. My throat is hoarse, my eyes bleary and my legs absolutely wrecked from bouncing and dancing. They played classic after classic like Do or Die, Something for the Weekend, Golden Retriever before cooling it down with If You Don’t Want Me to Destroy You from Fuzzy Logic and crowd pleaser Hello Sunshine.
It was great to hear Demons and Mountain People – both showcase the fragile, quieter edge of the band in comparison to the let loose electronic dance thrill of Slow Life, pogo-ing God! Show Me Magic (the leg-wreckers) and busting rock of Receptacle for the Respectable.
Wrapping up with Man Don’t Give a F**k isn’t a surprise, but it still feels a powerful clarion call. It’s the B-side track to Yma o Hyd that would need a parental advisory sticker and whips the crowd up.
The band leave the stage with a big sign saying “diolch”, but it’s them really, we should be thanking. True one-offs, they’ve brought so much joy to our ears over 30 years. SFA OK, alright?
Super Furry Animals setlist at Cardiff Utilita Arena, May 16 2026
- Wherever I Lay My Phone (That’s My Home)
- (Drawing) Rings Around the World
- Do or Die
- Golden Retriever
- Something 4 the Weekend
- Focus Pocus / Debiel
- If You Don’t Want Me to Destroy You
- Ice Hockey Hair
- Hello Sunshine
- Northern Lites
- Ymaelodi â’r Ymylon
- Run! Christian, Run!
- Juxtapozed With U
- The Piccolo Snare
- Nythod Cacwn
- Demons
- Play It Cool
- Receptacle for the Respectable
- God! Show Me Magic
- Mountain People
- Slow Life
- Night Vision
- The Man Don’t Give a F**k
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