Swans - Deep, Dark, and Loud
It has been years since I saw a Swans show. This one did not disappoint.
Opening for Swans were Annie Bandez (Little Annie / Annie Anxiety / Annie Bande), and Paul Wallfisch. With Wallfisch providing the music and soundscapes, Little Annie graced the stage with an intimate performance, half spoken word, half cabaret style. Seemingly right out of a performance of the Three Penny Opera, the audience was absolutely silent as they connected with the music.
Swans took a different approach to the evening’s performance. This was the first show of a long tour, and Michael Gira announced that the evening’s performance would be of songs that no one had ever heard before. Gira told the Union Transfer crowd that these were all new songs that the band had been rehearsing for performance.
Despite a few PA glitches, Swans were as intense, focused, dark, and loud as ever. Michael Gira acted as performer and conductor, interacting with the rest of the talented band. He molded their individual sound into a wall of intense music. Gira’s lyrics seemed deeply personal and set a mood similar to a shaman or dark-arts preacher. Growing out of the No-Wave movement in NYC in the early 1980s, Swans have been both consistent in their purpose while reinventing themselves many times over the course of these many years.
Little Annie and Paul Walfisch
Swans
