Unbelievable how long it has been! Exactly seven years ago Swans played their last show in Hamburg - and at the time many fans even believed it could also be their last apperance at Kampnagel ever. Luckily that only applied to the long-lived incarnation which had shaped the post reunion works until then. But even though Michael Gira didn't take that long of a creative break until he announced the reboot of the band, the "Leaving Meaning" tour still had to be postponed and ultimately cancelled for good for the usual reasons of 2020/2021. (At least that Hamburg show still made it into a special end-of-the-year ranking.)
And since the band then worked on a whole new studio album, even more months of waiting had to added, until we finally could meet again here in Hamburg. So apart from everyone getting significantly older - what had changed?
And since the band then worked on a whole new studio album, even more months of waiting had to added, until we finally could meet again here in Hamburg. So apart from everyone getting significantly older - what had changed?
Well, first of all their long-time guitar player appearantly had been outsorced to play a solo support show on this tour...
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| NORMAN WESTBERG |
Norman Westberg's entire performance consisted of one continuous piece on looped and manipulated guitar, put together from many minimal pieces. A soothing Drone with more turns than expected, some subtle and quiet, other angular - definitely swansy - and aprupt. Not something I could write novels about, but not only interesting, but first and foremost very enjoyable to behold.
Some voice in the far back of my mind tells me I have seen it before, but I can't remember yet, where and when it occured; I wonder however why seeing a musician turn an hourglass half into his set to determine the rest of the playing time isn't happening on a more regular basis. Feels more natural to me than to anxiously stare at a watch.
Some voice in the far back of my mind tells me I have seen it before, but I can't remember yet, where and when it occured; I wonder however why seeing a musician turn an hourglass half into his set to determine the rest of the playing time isn't happening on a more regular basis. Feels more natural to me than to anxiously stare at a watch.
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| SWANS |
So who would play electric guitar as Westberg's successor in Swans now? Surprisingly noone.
Instead the sextet formation concentrated more on on bass and lap steel guitar. Even Michael Gira him self exclusively played an acoustic guitar.
So was the band going soft? Nope, not really. While the show indeed probably never reached the devastating volumes of all their previous performances in this place, this still felt gargantuan in its intention and intensity, something that made almost all other kind of music appear frail and tiny.
Swans themselves can also show vulnerabilities - which makes their noisy climaxes all the more harrowing and the black hole heavy, yet complex and elegant grooves supernaturally cathartic.
It was almost unbelievable how all of this raw but layered power could be achieved by only the five mostly familiar angry old men plus Dana Schechter (Insect Ark, Angels of Light), who I only saw a couple of times during the mammoth show, because I had just chosen the spot where Gira constantly blocked the sight onto her back corner of the stage. I still know that she - like Kristof Hahn im front of her - played lap steel guitar and bass, which often put Christopher Pravdica into the position of a lead bassist. Speaking of his playing: The only thing more destruction-proof than an old Nokia mobile must be his four strings! He hits every note so fucking hard and precise - and so many of them -, that you could believe there was no tomorrow. What a bass monster, as always congenially interlocked with Phil Puelo on drums.
The second "newbie" in this incarnation of the live band was Larry Mullins (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Iggy Pop) an keys and additional drums. All in all an amazing gathering of talent and experience, all conducted by the will of Gira, whose unfiltered powerful voice and sinister charisma completely sealed the deal on this show.
What struck me most about this set of mainly "The Beggar" and "Leaving Meaning" tracks though was its musical clarity. Where the ridiculous amount of distorted guitar frequencies of the past were possibly missing, I could actually at all times now understand everything that happened. Don't worry, Pravdica alone made sure it could still be heavy as an anvil dropping on your foot. So you had all the might and overwhelming qualities you'd expect from the group, but you could now also experience a lot more nuance and dynamics, which helped the songs (I think this tour is less loose with its material than previous ones, but that could very well be wrong since I can only judge on having seen this one show) and the huge emotions.
I know that the passage of time makes a direct comparison impossible, but in the end this show was so fullfilling in all aspects that I think this might really have been the best of my Swans encounters. It for sure was my favorite non-festival show of the year so far. And that already says something.
Bliss!
Instead the sextet formation concentrated more on on bass and lap steel guitar. Even Michael Gira him self exclusively played an acoustic guitar.
So was the band going soft? Nope, not really. While the show indeed probably never reached the devastating volumes of all their previous performances in this place, this still felt gargantuan in its intention and intensity, something that made almost all other kind of music appear frail and tiny.
Swans themselves can also show vulnerabilities - which makes their noisy climaxes all the more harrowing and the black hole heavy, yet complex and elegant grooves supernaturally cathartic.
It was almost unbelievable how all of this raw but layered power could be achieved by only the five mostly familiar angry old men plus Dana Schechter (Insect Ark, Angels of Light), who I only saw a couple of times during the mammoth show, because I had just chosen the spot where Gira constantly blocked the sight onto her back corner of the stage. I still know that she - like Kristof Hahn im front of her - played lap steel guitar and bass, which often put Christopher Pravdica into the position of a lead bassist. Speaking of his playing: The only thing more destruction-proof than an old Nokia mobile must be his four strings! He hits every note so fucking hard and precise - and so many of them -, that you could believe there was no tomorrow. What a bass monster, as always congenially interlocked with Phil Puelo on drums.
The second "newbie" in this incarnation of the live band was Larry Mullins (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Iggy Pop) an keys and additional drums. All in all an amazing gathering of talent and experience, all conducted by the will of Gira, whose unfiltered powerful voice and sinister charisma completely sealed the deal on this show.
What struck me most about this set of mainly "The Beggar" and "Leaving Meaning" tracks though was its musical clarity. Where the ridiculous amount of distorted guitar frequencies of the past were possibly missing, I could actually at all times now understand everything that happened. Don't worry, Pravdica alone made sure it could still be heavy as an anvil dropping on your foot. So you had all the might and overwhelming qualities you'd expect from the group, but you could now also experience a lot more nuance and dynamics, which helped the songs (I think this tour is less loose with its material than previous ones, but that could very well be wrong since I can only judge on having seen this one show) and the huge emotions.
I know that the passage of time makes a direct comparison impossible, but in the end this show was so fullfilling in all aspects that I think this might really have been the best of my Swans encounters. It for sure was my favorite non-festival show of the year so far. And that already says something.
Bliss!
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