{"id":2713,"date":"2015-02-17T12:11:25","date_gmt":"2015-02-17T12:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/?p=2713"},"modified":"2015-02-17T12:13:18","modified_gmt":"2015-02-17T12:13:18","slug":"gruff-rhys-american-interior-rescue-rooms-16-2-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/gruff-rhys-american-interior-rescue-rooms-16-2-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Gruff Rhys – American Interior, Rescue Rooms 16.2.15"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Screen<\/a><\/p>\n

A slightly extended version of my Nottingham Post<\/a> review.<\/p>\n

In the 18th century, a Welshman called John Evans crossed the ocean to America. He was searching for the mythical tribe of Prince Madoc, Welshmen who mated with native Americans and were the USA’s first European settlers. Two and a bit centuries on, his distant relative, lead singer of popular Welsh band The Super Furry Animals, has written a concept album about him. It\u2019s also an app, and a movie, and a very enjoyable book. All of them are called American Interior<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Gruff, in fur trapper\u2019s hat, takes to the stage at five to eight to introduce a quirky ten minute film that gives the background. Then Gruff and his four piece band begin, bringing with them a large felt puppet of, yes, John Evans, wearing a pirate\u2019s hat. Gruff took this figure round the US with him. The story is in the well-researched book, shortlisted for the Guardian first book award, which, unlike tonight\u2019s show, is also a travelogue.<\/p>\n

What follows is part gig, part powerpoint lecture. And it works superbly. Rhys is a hesitant raconteur, with a dry, laconic wit (eg Evans\u2019 family move to a hovel so poor it only has dial-up internet). He has a story full of twists, tall tales and escapades that takes us from London to New Orleans. All interspersed with ravishing pop songs like the title track and Hotel Shampoo<\/em>\u2019s \u2018Shark Ridden Waters\u2019 that recall the Beach Boys and the psychedelic Beatles of \u2018Strawberry Fields Forver\u2019. No spoilers, but it doesn\u2019t end well.<\/p>\n

After 90 minutes, Rhys finishes the tale. More silliness, as signs tell us when to applaud, and how hard. \u2018Now we\u2019re ready to start the gig\u2019. We think he\u2019s joking. But, no, he plays \u2018100 Unread Messages\u2019, which sums up the whole journey, then encores right up to the curfew, ending with \u2018Sensations In The Dark\u2019 and a lovely \u2018Year of the Dog\u2019. Terrific.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/1-02-American-Interior.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A slightly extended version of my Nottingham Post review. In the 18th century, a Welshman called John Evans crossed the ocean to America. He was searching for the mythical tribe of Prince Madoc, Welshmen who mated with native Americans and were the USA’s first European settlers. Two and a bit centuries on, his distant relative, lead singer of popular Welsh band The Super Furry Animals, has written a concept album about him. It\u2019s also an app, and a movie, and a very enjoyable book. All of them are called American Interior. Gruff, in fur trapper\u2019s hat, takes to the stage at five to eight to introduce a quirky ten minute film that gives the background. Then Gruff and his four piece band begin, bringing with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-songs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2713"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2718,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions\/2718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidbelbin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}