Concert Review
Artist: SWANS
Date: May 5 2024
Venue: Club Soundwell
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Supporting act: Kristof Hahn
Certain bands in history will go down as having delivered epic legendary live performances. I have seen several that lived up to their reputation. For one of the most enigmatic bands ever live, there is SWANS. Carrying the idea of something so beautiful and so violent at the same time is what you can expect from this band.
I have seen SWANS several times since I first got into them in 1989, through many iterations, Micheal Gira the singer and mastermind of the “family” that SWANS has become. They are legendary for their loud and intense shows, and you would be hard-pressed to hear a band so loud, and so “Tight” in their sound, maybe you will hear someone as loud, only trying to shock you with volume, but I can’t imagine anyone sounding as good as SWANS live at that kind of volume. I have described their live shows in the past as “having your brains smashed out of your head with sounds from an acoustic guitar”.
I had enjoyed the dark, and beautiful sounds from “Children of God” as my first foray into their music as I was sifting through the visible failures of religions, now here it is 35 years, and several concerts later, I get to see them on tour supporting the album “The Beggar”.
I was in the venue with people my age, and kids as young as I was the first time I saw them. That was reassuring that such a band has maintained longevity to be pulling fans from across the generations.
KRISTOF HAHN
Berlin native Kristof Hahn came out to the stage, sat down on a stool, and started playing his lap guitar, with an array of pedals, he was able to sound like a hard metal orchestra with swaying sounds, reminiscent of “Godspeed You! Black Emperor”. I noticed he was recording his songs with his phone, and after the first song announced that he had just made that one up on the spot. It was 23 minutes long, and just a great “jam” with his instruments. He asked us if we had brought our earplugs because we were all going to need them. He played a set of about 45 minutes, and I spoke to him in German, I asked if he knew Alexander Hacke from Einzurstehende Neubauten, and it turns out we have a mutual friend in the Berlin noise movement scene. (He also happens to be a full-time member of SWANS)
SWANS took the stage, and in a strange formation, they had 2 bassists, who came out and played and tuned, while Chris the principal bassist was tuned in with his bass, and he started playing his lap steel guitar, much like Kristof had done just a few minutes earlier. Dana tuned her bass, then started playing her steel lap guitar off of Kristof. Larry Mullins sat down at his Moog keyboard and began tuning to what the others were playing. With his old-school cowboy jacket, long thinning hair comb-over, and sideburns, he looked like he was just cut and pasted right out of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Well, he probably was). While Phil started playing the cymbals as almost waves of the sea building under the guitars, Michael Gira came out, sat down on his stool, and began tuning the strings on his acoustic guitar. While Gira was “picking” the individual notes on the strings, playing out like a folk musician, or bluegrass, were pounding across the venue from the PA system.
They played into the title track from the current album “The Beggar”, though it didn’t really start that way, it was more or less a jam of each musician until they got in tune with each other and then the different lines flowed into the song after a few minutes. Michael Gira led the band through the song, as Dana focused on Chris, and Chris focused on Michael and his lead and directions, this was very much the old “Jam” style performance, that allowed for each member to play fluidly around what they were following. Michael would sort of hum and chant while strumming into the mic, and everyone played off that with the lap steel guitars having the most volume to them. For 28 or so minutes it was absolutely beautiful. The title track had in many ways encapsulated the “Zeitgeist” of the album, and I have to say I did love listening to the album before release. It was during this one that I can honestly say, I felt the “burning heat” again, in the sound they were playing. It was the strangest sensation to say it, though some describe it as “synesthesia” a phenomenon where certain stimuli can cause sensations with other senses, like “Hearing” the color black, or certain sounds make a person smell something. Listening to “The Beggar” I felt an actual scorching dry heat, and not necessarily from the words. It was an overwhelming sensation to have this happening while trying to concentrate and take photos.
While Gira was waving a hand around, astute to everyone in the bands’ eye, it was almost as if by the twitch of a finger they knew which sounds to make, chords to play, and at what volume. I had been dying to hear the music from “The Beggar” live, and the feelings it brought out were so intense. “Without your eyes upon my weakness, Will I forget where I begin?” I got lost in the music and was pretty deep in a trance at this point. I just remember having to put my camera down and listen to the song to finish. This was not a song I could concentrate on anything else while listening to. So I just enjoyed the single strumming on the acoustic guitar, and ride on top of the bass lines hypnotically thumping from Chris, and though it seemed like it was improvised, it was just flowing together too tightly off Michael singing. It finished close to an hour into the set, and we all “felt” like we had survived something with the band.
That was just the intro and the first song.
Larry stepped away from the keyboards and with a set of drumsticks started playing drums off the snare, while Chris started thumping out the notoriously AWESOME bass riff “The Hanging Man” leading the rest of the band for several measures. The bass was louder than Gira’s vocals which seemed the point, as I could hear the “Chanting” going on behind, “I steel the space between the filthy and the clean” pulling the imagery from Isaiah. Something that I loved about SWANS is their use of religious imagery, while I used to be a religious person, it was cool to hear musicians pulling from the Bible. Though I am no longer a believer, last year during our interview, Michael said that he does still love the idea of someone believing in things beautiful, if it gives them purpose.
Listening to “The Hanging Man” live, as I have heard it so many times before, I found myself not trying to make sense of the lyrics this time. Even If I knew what they meant, I just “Felt” the power of the song.
This was also one of those moments, where I noticed the pure musicianship of the band. Several gigs ago, they had a set of tubular bells on stage, and they were playing them with everything else. What SWANS can do, is play all of these instruments in ways that they were never meant to be played, an acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, bass, and tubular bells, all at incredible decibel levels, in perfect tune. There was a sense of euphoria I got when I was hearing the bells, and acoustic guitars playing like that, while my entire frame was shaking to pounding drums and bass. That was so magnificent back then, and I began to see it as their trademark, not just that they were loud, but that it was in perfect tune. At this point, Michael stood up, had his back to the audience, and was conducting the band by waving his hands everywhere, bending down to the floor, standing up, and waving one side to another, in some way that the band knew what he wanted from them. The band was playing to Gira’s directions, as he “Felt” he wanted it played. I have heard this song so many times, but tonight, the song was a living breathing experience almost like it had never been played this way before. I felt like it was “Here is the basic frame of it, let’s fly with this on how it feels”. This was an exceptional band performing this work tonight.
Phil began playing the cymbals and then Kristof and Larry came in while Michael Gira sat down and with his eyes closed, and hands up, just a slight wave here, or nod there, we enjoyed a few minutes of pulsating orchestral musings, and Gira would pop a “Fishermens Friend”, then look over at someone in the band with an intense face, then a slight smile. They played a song “I am A Tower” that was not on the album, but showed up recently in the sets. Apparently, it was a B-side. About halfway through it, the music became very melodic, and it sounded much like the other songs on “The Beggar” album.
I think the words were “I alone will fix it” that Gira began singing almost like a chorus. I was thinking this was going to flow into “Ebbing” from the new album because it sounded so much like the new album. Something I love about SWANS Live is that you will go through so much strength anxiety, intensity, pain, and beauty with a graceful ride through the music. Now playing in a major key, the song felt uplifting, almost like a fun epilogue to end a heavy film. The end of it somehow reminded me of Heroes by David Bowie, listen to it for yourself to see if you hear it.
With a song ending on such an intense and positive vibe, Michael Gira has proven to have quite a sense of humor over the years, and it pops out during interviews, but this time, he let it fly when introducing the members of the band. A theme running through what each member does in the band, around changing diapers, I am NOT making this up, it caught everyone totally off guard, and was pretty funny. (recorded it on my phone and have gone back for the laughs a few times).
I had honestly been hoping to see a set of tubular bells or chimes on stage because of how they had been used in past live performances and the album, but there were none on this stage. They seemed to be making up for it with the other instruments to give the layered melodies. When we got to “Away” the music was just beautiful. This was the shortest song on the set, and changed the feeling completely, in a strange way I felt like I was in a parallel universe and if YES had been SWANS instead.
To close out with “Birthing” which has been a staple since they started playing last year *(post covid) seemed perfect. The song has this thread of so much old classic SWANS music but only really seems to fit with the new work. The bassline somewhere in the middle of it has remnants of some wonderful Peter Hook. I found myself sort of actually dancing, not just swaying to the music.
In the end, this was, believe it or not, the least loudest show I had ever seen of SWANS, it was plenty loud, and intense, but it didn’t have to be overpowering with sound to be wonderful. They had no “Lights” to say, just a red one on them at all times. No gimmicks or tricks, just music that you will only hear live, and I would venture to say, very different from one night to the other. I was expecting to hear more from “The Beggar” as it is such a fantastic album, but the setlist of “in-between” songs was incredible, I was satiated by the end, who wouldn’t have been?
This was indeed, the BEST SWANS show I have ever seen.
Did you catch one on this tour? If not, look forward to the next one, SWANS live is not just a concert, they are an experience.
#swans #experimentalrock #michaelgira #postpunk