[Severian]

Fucking lame. I like Swans like ⅓ less now.

[eternal]

Yeah, this was probably my least favourite of the 3 Swans shows i saw of the recent incarnation.

[whorefrost]

:-( Was looking forward to seeing them in Glasgow later this year as well..

[Severian]

Stunning realization: I may have actually liked Thor Harris more than I liked this incarnation of Swans.

I too have plans to see them again later in the year, as I have with each new album this decade, but I'm significantly less stoked about it now than I was.

[Bytor Peltor]

SWANS not playing Houston this time around. I was considering driving to San Antonio, but that's 4 hours for me and it's during the week. If Thor was still with them, I have no doubt I would make the drive......but he's not, so I probably won't!

The Glowing Man is growing on me with each listen.

[_slavo_]

I love this album so much. Never cared about Swans too much - maybe this could be the gateway.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

https://swans.bandcamp.com/album/the-glowing-man
Ok FINALLY got around to sitting down and listening to this whole thing ( I had previously only listened to the Glowing Man Live track from the DVD) and I must say I am definitely and particularly digging it. It has many of the elements of "new" Swans that I enjoy.

Originally Posted by Severian

Wait, you think it sounds like To Be Kind?

I totally hear To Be Kind on this one, much more so than The Seer. Though really they all three have very similar sounds. The Glowing Man seems to have a more "piano" type sounds, a bit less droning guitarwork, a bit more ethereal in the soundscapes with more emphasis on apreggios...

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

https://swans.bandcamp.com/album/the-glowing-man
Ok FINALLY got around to sitting down and listening to this whole thing ( I had previously only listened to the Glowing Man Live track from the DVD) and I must say I am definitely and particularly digging it. It has many of the elements of "new" Swans that I enjoy.



I totally hear To Be Kind on this one, much more so than The Seer. Though really they all three have very similar sounds. The Glowing Man seems to have a more "piano" type sounds, a bit less droning guitarwork, a bit more ethereal in the soundscapes with more emphasis on apreggios...

Meh. To me it's got more of the Seer's "colors" and "hues" to it. More blues, greys, whites, purples... Less of the Reds and oranges of To Be Kind.

I've gotta be honest, of all the 2010-2016 Swans LP's, To Be Kind, while strong and undeniably great, is my least favorite.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

you're nuts man.. i don't even listen to The Seer anymore just To Be Kind

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

you're nuts man.. i don't even listen to The Seer anymore just To Be Kind

Well that's just ridiculous. What, like, you're DONE with Seer because you like To Be Kind more? Insanity.

The Seer was the real epic gem of the bunch. Got folks who didn't listen to Swans to listen to Swans. It's perfect. To Be Kind is great, but how many times can you hear the words "Bring the sun!" before drone/chant turns into just not having anything else to say.

I remember hearing that in the store when it came out, with a bunch of Swans fans at my old vinyl m haunt, and after, y'know, like 15 minutes of the same three words, someone deadpanned, "I think he wants us to bring the sun," and we all laughed. Bunch of Swans fans, laughing at a Swans song, for being so ultimate-beast-mode-Swans that it lost all meaning. Great album, in general, but it's no Seer.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Severian

Well that's just ridiculous. What, like, you're DONE with Seer because you like To Be Kind more? Insanity.

insane or not its true. its not that i reject The Seer, its that i have no interest in it anymore. whenever i am about to dedicate an hour to Swans music To Be Kind gets my attention more.

The Seer was the real epic gem of the bunch. Got folks who didn't listen to Swans to listen to Swans. It's perfect. To Be Kind is great, but how many times can you hear the words "Bring the sun!" before drone/chant turns into just not having anything else to say.

this is true. i never particularly liked older swans. i had of course checked it out. i just didn't dig much of it, not my kind of noise music. The Seer on the other hand, that was a beautiful record at the time. however i personally feel like it was a stepping stone to To Be Kind, and i now find TBK to be the superior listening experience, it just resonates with me more. and hey, i get it, i am the king of unpopular musical tastes even among fans of bands i like. i ALWAYS seem to like the records people like less, and i always seem to think less of the records that are people's hands down favorites. i mean, Sonic Nurse is my all time favorite Sonic Youth record, not anything from the 80s even if i fully understand that such an opinion is anathema to Sonic Youth fans.

I remember hearing that in the store when it came out, with a bunch of Swans fans at my old vinyl m haunt, and after, y'know, like 15 minutes of the same three words, someone deadpanned, "I think he wants us to bring the sun," and we all laughed. Bunch of Swans fans, laughing at a Swans song, for being so ultimate-beast-mode-Swans that it lost all meaning. Great album, in general, but it's no Seer.

i know its no The Seer, that is because its better

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

and you sir are indeed nuts, ring the Sun / Toussaint l'ouverture is a MASTERPIECE. i can listen to over and over and over again

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

i like To Be Kind the way 10,000 Days is my favorite tool record. sure, i understand intuitively why tool fans find Lateralus to be the superior record just like i totally understand why swans fans would say The Seer is the superior swans record, but To Be Kind does more of the things i like in "new" Swans, it has soundscapes that just resonated with me more, and the other songs are more "conventional" which i also like..

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

ok listening again last night in the second half i hear The Seer, first half more so To Be Kind

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

insane or not its true. its not that i reject The Seer, its that i have no interest in it anymore. whenever i am about to dedicate an hour to Swans music To Be Kind gets my attention more.


this is true. i never particularly liked older swans. i had of course checked it out. i just didn't dig much of it, not my kind of noise music. The Seer on the other hand, that was a beautiful record at the time. however i personally feel like it was a stepping stone to To Be Kind, and i now find TBK to be the superior listening experience, it just resonates with me more. and hey, i get it, i am the king of unpopular musical tastes even among fans of bands i like. i ALWAYS seem to like the records people like less, and i always seem to think less of the records that are people's hands down favorites. i mean, Sonic Nurse is my all time favorite Sonic Youth record, not anything from the 80s even if i fully understand that such an opinion is anathema to Sonic Youth fans.



i know its no The Seer, that is because its better

Well, I have a different opinion about which album is better, but I still dig you.

I too have been known to prefer less popular/obvious albums. Sonic Nurse is without question an example of peak Sonic Youth. If not for "Dude Ranch Nurse" (fine singed, great groove, but I wish it had been a b-side), I'd call it a perfect album.

Before Sonic Nurse even existed, I argued that A Thousand Leaves was the best SY album. This didn't sit well with most, as you can probably imagine. Now I'm pretty firmly a Sister guy, but when it really comes down to it, my favorite SY album could be Bad Moon, Sister, DDN, ATL, Murray Street or Sonic Nurse depending on my mood.

Regarding Radiohead — just as a for instance — I think Hail to the Thief is their best album without question. People don't tend to agree.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Severian

Well, I have a different opinion about which album is better, but I still dig you.

I too have been known to prefer less popular/obvious albums. Sonic Nurse is without question an example of peak Sonic Youth. If not for "Dude Ranch Nurse" (fine singed, great groove, but I wish it had been a b-side), I'd call it a perfect album.

Before Sonic Nurse even existed, I argued that A Thousand Leaves was the best SY album. This didn't sit well with most, as you can probably imagine. Now I'm pretty firmly a Sister guy, but when it really comes down to it, my favorite SY album could be Bad Moon, Sister, DDN, ATL, Murray Street or Sonic Nurse depending on my mood.

Regarding Radiohead — just as a for instance — I think Hail to the Thief is their best album without question. People don't tend to agree.

ATL is my no 2 for Sonic Youth mos def

Hail to the Thief is a fantastic record, i just can't put it as my top radiohead though to be honest i don't have a ranking for radiohead i really feel so equal about all their post OK Computer records that its a tie

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

did Glowing Man again today while doing housework. definitely cloud of forgetting and cloud of unknowing are my favorite tracks on it, indeed possibly can become my favorite Swans tunes in general. i agree with my initial assessment, the first songs and the title track sound like To Be Kind, the second half definitely sounds more like The Seer. in that regard its like a hybrid of sorts.

People Like Us, definitely Frankie M, and When Will I Return channel the Seeer so i totally "hear" what Severian was saying.. i still think Glowing Man, Cloud of Forgetting/Unknowing, and The World Looks Red/Black channel To Be Kind..

i would be interested in seeing how their set lists are, it could confirm or deny this based on how they sequence tracks from The Seer and To Be Kind with the new stuff

[Skuj]

Wow.



I saw Swans at The Venue in 2014 and that was a great show. But the 2016 show at the same place was longer, darker, louder, and way more exhausting.



Someone posted the setlist as:
The Knot
Screen Shot
Cloud of Forgetting
Cloud of Unknowing
Some Things We Do / The World Looks Black
The Glowing Man


They were onstage at 10pm. That first piece, unknown to me, ended at 10:35pm. They could have walked off the stage then and I'd be satisfied. Whatever shape future Swans takes, I really hope they can record a version that captures the power and the glory of this mighty mini-symphony. Gira continues to compose new pieces of the very highest order. Perhaps we can get a fantastic live recording from this tour, which goes to the end of 2017. I delved into Swans Are Dead on the drive to/from this show, and I yearn for a similar document in 2018. The Knot needs to be heard.



Thor has been replaced by a guy who does wonders with keyboards. I love and miss Thor, but the new guy brings a new angle, dark ambient washes and some subtle special effects. Swans is forever changing, and a house is not a motel. The new guy is great.



Songs 3 and 4 were songs that I really dig from Glowing Man, but I didn't think they'd do them live. On the record they are rather chill and "world musicy", in a fantastic way. But here, live, the calm at the core of these songs is grabbed by the short and curlies and twisted into epic-trance-rock, if you will.



I didn't recognize song 5 as that listed above. This was a complete transformation, but by that point my brain was jello.



The title track of the new album finale was monumental. This piece has many twists and turns on the record, and live, but it never feels like Yes. It was a fitting way to end the show, and I really did not think they were going to outdo the opener, but I was wrong.



2hrs20min. My friend and I headed for the exit, dazed and confused, and we both remarked that we had lost our fucking balance. Out in the street we were zombies. Completely drained. But after some walking we both remarked about how "cleansed" we felt.



This was a performance that demanded a hell of a lot from the audience. Some around us could not withstand it. I'll remember this and cherish it for the rest of my life. The 2014 show pales in comparison, and I thought that 2014 show was great!



Gira demands so much from his coworkers. He seemed at times to be the aerobics instructor from hell. At times I sensed the drummer was spent, but he had to respond to Gira's increasing demands. Gira conducts all this with his whole body. The man is 62, and a marvel.



But of course, there is that controversy. While lined up outside, a quiet candlelight vigil took place in front of us, attended by several women, in support of Larkin Grimm. There were no arguments or debates. I felt conflicted, and I do not want to dismiss anything that anyone has said, but what do we really know?



I'm very tired as I type this. After the show I had to sip wine to 3am at my friends place while we listened to Glowing Man, in order to take stock of things, and there has been little sleep since. This show was magnificent.

[Severian]

Fuck. I had plans to see them earlier this summer at their Lincoln Hall gig in Chicago, but I bailed. Or, rather, simply didn't follow through. After reading your review, I'm kind of kicking myself.



I guess I figured:
a.) I've seen them on every tour since My Father.
b.) I learned Thor wasn't going to be on board and I immediately lost some interest.
c.) I have other gigs coming up, and there was going to be a lot of driving. Of the band's I had lined up, Swans were the only one I'd seen multiple times in the last few years, so if someone was going to go, it made sense for it to be them.
d.) The Larkin thing left a bad taste in my mouth.

But goddammit it sounds like that was one hell of a show. And now I've missed my chance, unless more U.S. dates are going to be added later.

Shit.

[Severian]

Re: Larkin Grimm

It's not that I've come to any conclusions, because as you said, we don't know what happened. But still, it gave the whole thing a kind of unpleasant "vibe." If there was a candlelight vigil at the show made up of female protestors, that would have made me extremely uncomfortable. I may have even decided not to go in after seeing such a thing. Conflict of conscience, I guess. Though again, I can't claim to know what happened, but I'd have a tough time crossing a line in the sand like that. It's unfortunate. Whatever happened, a shadow has definitely been cast over public perceptions of Mr. Gira.

Wish there could be some closure on the matter.

But seriously, sounds like you had the kind of Swans experience that their legendary live reputation is based on. I long to be temporarily incapacitated by Swans-induced disorientation. It's happened before, and it's an overwhelming and awesome feeling.

That's not to say they always live up to that hype. But I've never seen a Swans show that didn't blow my mind. Why did I think it would be somehow less intense minus Thor?

I'm an idiot.