Tuesday night was a big night if you are a Swans fan as the band made their return once again to the beloved Metro here in Chicago. They headlined a two band bill and when Swans play, it’s always an event.
First up was Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch. This duo was really unique and likely not what you’d expect opening for a really loud band like Swans. These two were like a lounge band and very quiet and subdued. Think jazz and blues. Paul sat at a keyboard most of the time but also played some other instruments while Annie was center stage handling most of the vocal duties. They reminded me of something you’d see in a David Lynch movie, I could almost picture these two being in a club in Twin Peaks. Compared with what was to follow, they were very quiet, you could hear any conversation in the room over the music (thankfully the crowd was mostly silent and seemed to be into it). They played about 45 minutes and it was very chill, the calm before the storm.
Swans was next. This wasn’t just another Swans tour, this is the final Swans tour with the full version of the band (with its revolving cast of characters over the years) as we know it. Once this tour is done, Swans will never be the same, or may never be, it is unknown. Band leader/founder Michael Gira promises whatever he does beyond this will be radically different, and it may not even be under the Swans moniker. Gira is a man of his word so this isn’t like when Kiss or The Who tell you they are on their final tour. It’s no wonder why the Metro was sold out and packed to the ceiling with people for this occasion.
The seven band members took the stage and got into their positions and as Michael Gira took his place on a stool center stage, he made a couple of announcements/requests. He asked the venue to put a little lighting onto the crowd so he could see them, after which he promptly joked to turn it off. When the venue complied he said he was kidding, please turn them back on and leave them on. Having seen Swans multiple times over the years, I can’t recall ever seeing him make any kind of jokes before. He then asked the audience to please put away their cell phones and they actually complied! It was really refreshing to not see a sea of people with their phones up in the air throughout the show. Once he got that out of the way, the band started to play.
Swans don’t perform their shows like most bands. The first thing you’ll notice is that the band doesn’t face the audience, they all face Michael Gira. Michael will face the audience when singing, but when not singing he would often turn around and face various band members. This all happens because while they have a predetermined setlist they play every night, the way they play the songs can radically differ in length or composition depending on the mood, this makes a Swans performance also part jam session. Gira will give cues to his band members, mostly without even uttering a word, and they all pick up on this secret language and react accordingly. All the songs will start out sort of long and droning, while doing a slow build. You’ll sit there mesmerized by this hypnotic, repetitive sea of sound, just waiting in anticipation for something big to happen. It keeps building and building, and your tension keeps growing, and when you think it should happen, you have to wait a little more, until the moment finally hits and the big booming payoff will send shivers down your spine and then you’re just being blown away by this magical musical moment knocking you on your ass, all while this intimidating frontman is bellowing at you. It’s really unlike anything you’ve ever seen or felt before. Gira and his band really have made this modern iteration of Swans into one of the most unique and amazing live experiences you’ll ever see.
On paper, the set list for this tour is only six songs, but those six songs spanned well north of two hours! The first song along was nearly a half hour, the first 10 minutes was building and building. Watching the dynamic of Gira leading these extended jam versions of Swans songs was really fascinating, and I could’ve watched that for hours without ever getting bored, it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before in the thousands of live bands I’ve witnessed over the years. The audience was captivated the entire time, phones in their pockets, completely in the moment at the spectacle on the stage, only breaking their silence to applaud heartedly at the end of one of the pieces. It was also incredibly loud, as the band has always been known for top volume performances, so there was no way you weren’t going to feel that music, even with the best earplugs.
This recent era of Swans was something really special, it’s sad to think that this was it but it likely wasn’t sustainable forever, and the fact that they are going out on such am amazing high note should be commended. Many bands will stick around well past their sell-by date, but this incarnation of Swans is departing by leaving an amazing legacy and memories behind and this was the kind of thing people will be telling stories about for decades to come.
