Two weeks ago, patrons at Seattle’s Tractor Tavern were privy to a rare performance by Gruff Rhys, a true mad scientist of modern music. Better known as the frontman for Welsh experimental-pop group Super Furry Animals, Rhys is an accomplished and innovative artist in his own right, and was in Seattle as part of a North American tour to promote his third solo release, Hotel Shampoo.
Rhys is somewhat of a musical surrealist, and with Welsh surf-rock openers Y Niwl soldiering through the entire set to also play as his backing band, unveiled an ever more playful-yet-absurd host of instruments, from a vocoder to electronic drumsticks to demonstrating his corrugated plastic extension, which when applied by velcro to the body of his acoustic guitar, appears to be an electric – a device he says gives him more confidence in his upside-down guitar playing (yes, he is right-handed, but plays left-handed on an upside down right-handed guitar).
