Gruff Rhys and his long-dead ancestor John Evans have much in common.
Both are black sheep: Rhys is the oddball musician from a family who work “proper jobs”; Evans is the maverick explorer who turned his back on Caernarfon to voyage to America.
He wanted to verify the myth of Welsh explorer Prince Madoc, who might just have been the first man to discover America.
This part-gig part-lecture, with Rhys retelling Evans’ tale in his gentle deadpan style, revealed it is a dreamy sense of adventure which really unites the pair.
After the psych-exploration of Super Furry Amimals and the concept-driven Neon Neon, Rhys has penned American Interior, which comprises an album, book, film, app and tour.
Rhys, dressed as Davy Crockett, arrived after clips from a 1970s documentary about Madoc by the historian Gwyn A Williams.
He played an acoustic guitar, sampled his voice, used a table’s worth of electronic musical gadgets to vary the sound, and switched between props.
A 3ft-tall puppet of John Evans, fashioned by illustrator Pete Fowler, got the biggest cheer of the night.
In between slides, stories and older numbers including Shark Ridden Waters and Honey, he sung the sweet melodies from American Interior, his charismatic voice having lost none of its power nor appeal.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article