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Swans at Le National
() - M. Gira, Michael Gira, SWANS, to be kind, young god
If You’re Hearing This, You’re Already Dead On Thursday night, I went to see Swans. It was a viciously cold evening, snowing like hell, the wind whipping up and making my eyes water as I marched against the wind tunnel that is Ste. Catherine St., making my way toward Le National. My fingers were actually blue by the time I stumbled in the doors, I was greeted by a nose bleed as soon as I hit the wall of steamy heat inside. I sighed, and bought a drink. It was a strange way to start an evening, but probably appropriate for seeing a band like Swans. The blood certainly was, anyway. This is Swans’ first show in Montreal since June, when they played with another groundbreaking act, Jamie Stewart’s rock n’ roll/avant/partial, electronic/partial, orchestral/partial art piece, Xiu Xiu. This time around, Swans maintained their fantastic taste in openers, bringing out duo Xylouris White, featuring George Xylouir and Jim White of Australian Dirty Three. They were fantastic, not only as a band, but as an opener. They absolutely shredded – Xylouir scampering around the fretboard of his lute, White casually alternating with utmost ease and natural flare between halting, fitful jungle......
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Concert Review: Swans and Xylouris White @ The Phoenix – Toronto (A Music Blog, Yea?)
() - M. Gira, Michael Gira, SWANS, to be kind, young god
I had certain expectations when I walked into the Phoenix concert theater on Friday, with Swans as the headliner I had prepared myself for a fairly loud evening. As I made it past the coat check I heard music that I wasn’t prepared for… klezmer music. Passing the stage, a large crowd basked in pale white light was gathered listening in relative silence to Xylouris White. Consisting of drummer Jim White and virtuoso Cretan laouto (lute) player George Xylouris, the the duo played a mix of jazz, psychedelia, and folk music (not just from the Balkans, but from many different traditions). With George singing intermittently, Jim White played complex but subtle drumlines while playing with his drumsticks like a baton twirler, spinning them around with flourishes of his arms with every other beat. I found a spot between two older men near the sound booth and had started settling in when I heard a scream. Behind me someone had collapsed on the ground near the back bar. Staff rushed over but didn’t seem able to do much because a lot of the rest of the set was punctuated by cries and moans of the injured person. This added in a......
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‘Young God’ Author Katherine Faw Morris Interviews Michael Gira of Swans (Flavorwire)
() - M. Gira, Michael Gira, SWANS, to be kind, young god
‘Young God’ Author Katherine Faw Morris Interviews Michael Gira of Swans BY JASON DIAMOND MAY 7, 2014 10:15 AM Young God, the debut novel by Katherine Faw Morris, is a dirty book. It’s full of the the kind of grit you can only pick up in the South, and it sticks in your teeth no matter how hard you try and get it out, with its lightning-quick paragraphs that sometimes take up entire pages. It’s a book with this crazy energy and angst, the type that has always made the South (where Morris is originally from) the region that produces some of America’s most intriguing fiction. The book follows 13-year-old Nikki, who navigates her way through places children shouldn’t wander, seeing things they shouldn’t see, and learning that “smoking heroin’s harder than it looks.” It’s at times a waking nightmare the likes of which David Lynch or Bruno Schulz could have contrived if they lived in North Carolina, combined with that eerie and exciting feeling writers like Flannery O’Connor and Harry Crews — or contemporary author Scott McClanahan — conjure up.And, as I noticed the second I looked at the cover, the book takes its title from a song and EP by the band Swans. That, I should point out,......
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SWANS’ MICHAEL GIRA SOUNDS OFF (Electronic Beats)
() - M. Gira, Michael Gira, SWANS, to be kind
Swans frontman Michael Gira sounds off on electronic music's inherent flaws, his time in Israeli jail, and cosmic unity in an interview with A.J. Samuels. BY A.J. SAMUELS Swans frontman Michael Gira sounds off on electronic music’s inherent flaws, spending time in Israeli jail, and his violent past in an interview with A.J. Samuels. Since reforming in 2010, New York noise-rockers Swans have experienced something of a renaissance. But unlike the resurrected projects of so many rock contemporaries, the group surrounding songwriter Michael Gira has lost exactly none of its pathos and only increased in volume. While the band has churned out one critically acclaimed album after the next—most recently 2014’s To Be Kind—it’s their explosive, overtone-rich live performances that have cemented their reputation as arguably the most formidable and influential rock band around today. The last time I saw Swans was here in Berlin at the Volksbühne a few years ago, and— No, I know. We’re one of the best rock bands ever. I know that. I just know it. Swans have congealed and are one of the most volcanic, eruptive, virile rock outfits ever. I think one of the things that makes what we do so powerful is......
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Swans live in Shanghai
() - M. Gira, Michael Gira, SWANS, to be kind
Photo gallery from Smart Shanghai...