SHIT FLOATS

  Joe Bonamassa Live LP & Tour

  Pearl Jam New LP & Tour

  Feeder New LP & Tour

  “My country, right or wrong…”

  Heart Announce Live Tours

  Anais Mitchell HADESTOWN Returns

  The Photographer’s Selection

  My Favourite Records

  Gaza Nightmare Continues

  Gaza Nightmare Continues

  The Killers New LP & Tour

  Download 2024 First Acts

  Princess Goes COME OF AGE

  Springsteen 2024 Tour

  Philip ‘Seth’ Campbell Live

  This Troubled World

  Dark Side Of The Moon 50th

  The More I Hear The Less I Know

  Glen Hansard New LP/Tour

  Great Albums: Fresh New Life

  Hozier’s New Album

  Nicole Atkins Jim Sclavunos Live

  SBT (Sarabeth Tucek) Live

  I’m As Angry As Hell!

  Magnum - A Year in Ukraine

  Alessandra Sanguinetti Interview

  The Damn Truth Live

  Newton Faulkner Live

  The Handsome Family Live

  The State We’re In Pt II

  Eric Gales Live

  The Cavalry Never Arrived

  Chvrches Live

  Andrés Peña Flamenco Star Live

  Paul Draper Live

  A Fly-Free Zone

  Liverpool Jazz Festival

  The Charlatans Live

  UK Democracy Threatened

  Rag’n'Bone Man Live

  Sea Girls Live

  Martha Wainwright Live

  Politics is Failing

  Moby The Very Best Of Interview

  Lucy Kruger TRANSIT TAPES

  Joe Bonamassa Live!

  Rodrigo Y Gabriela Interview

  Amy Macdonald Rescheduled Gig

  Music & Brexit

  Happy New Year?

  On Barbra Streisand

  The State We’re In…

  Welcome Back! But To What?

  What Have We Done?

  A RISK TOO FAR

  Photojournalism Hero

  Samantha Fish Live

  Gill Landry Live in Chester

  Noah Gundersen Live

  David Gilmour’s Interview

  Snow Patrol Live in Manchester

  New Model Army Live

  Shakespears Sister Live

  Lamb Live in Manchester

  The Struts Live

  Sting & Shaggy Live

  Ana Popovic, Lynne Jackaman Live

  David Gray Live in Liverpool

  The Slow Readers Club Live

  Karine Polwart Trio Live

  Benjamin Folke Thomas Live

  Chilly Gonzales Live

  Gomez Live in Manchester

  John Lennon Interview

  Ray LaMontagne Live

  Satriani’s G3 Live

  Jim White Live in Manchester

  Tori Amos Live

  Bush & RavenEye Live

  Laura Marling Live

  Jimmy Eat World Live

  Roger Waters on Amused To Death


Swans Live in Manchester

sp-331

Ritz Manchester, 9 October 2016

Swedish singer/songwriter Anna von Hausswolff opened the show for Swans. She released her debut single, “Track of Time”, in February 2010, followed by the debut album SINGING FROM THE GRAVE. The album was very well received by the Swedish press. She played the Way Out West Festival in 2009. In March 2010 she opened for Tindersticks on three occasions and toured Brazil with Taken by Trees and Taxi Taxi! Then in 2011 she opened for Lykke Li thrice, and also for M.Ward at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. Hausswolff is noted for her expressive voice and her live performances, and is sometimes compared to Kate Bush.

hp-15

On July 9, 2013 CEREMONY was released in North America by Other Music Recording Co., and Anna von Hausswolff played her debut US show on July 10 at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn. The album received strong support from National Public Radio’s Bob Boilen, who said “Von Hausswolff’s voice possesses the power to soar with those mighty pipes and still hold tight to delicate, personal emotions. I hope to find one album like Ceremony every year — a rare, thoughtful, inspiring record for a night on the couch or a candlelit evening — and now I’ve got one for 2013.” Her latest album, THE MIRACULOUS, was released in NOvember 2015.

hp-25

Supported by a guitarist and keyboard player, Swedish artist Hausswolff provided a mesmerising and adventurous set which was dominated by long art-rock style instrumental passages. Her beautiful high-pitched vocals (interspersed with piercing screams) provided occasional punctuation marks which succeeded in underpinning the highly emotional vibe of her songs. The Swans audience reacted positively to music which was similar to that of their heroes, albeit with a more softer and optimistic sound. Hausswolff also played the keyboards and a guitar during her set. I was both impressed and surprised not least by the power of her voice.

Swans Band:

Christopher Pravdica -bass
Paul Walfisch - Keyboards
Michael Gira - vocals, guitar
Christoph Hahn - lapsteel
Phil Puleo - drums
Paul Westburg - guitar

sp-17

When I initially arrived at the venue’s stage I was warned by the security head that the sound levels from the Swans was extremely high. He even offered me ear plugs! Now as I had never heard the band before, on record or live, and in hindsight I was grateful for the heads-up…

The band assembled on stage and after a short delay Gira faced his drummer with his back to the audience and commenced a relentless, high pitched guitar drone which lasted for many minutes while his band mates looked on. Gira swayed back and forth while watching his drummer intently. Eventually his partners in crime joined in the fray (as signalled by Gira) and pretty soon after I understood clearly what Gira and the Swans were about musically. The song was “The Knot”, a new composition (or previously unreleased track) not included on THE GLOWING MAN (the title of the current Swans tour…).

sp-43

Some thirty minutes later the second song emerges, a much shorter and conventional, riff-driven  “Screen Shot” before my highlights of the evening arrived and cemented my admiration for the band. “Cloud of Forgetting” opens in quiet, reflective style before it starts to build in the most subtle way. The tension was almost unbearable as instruments join in (including piano) followed by the despairing, swooping vocal with lyrics that seem to me to be both desperate and terrifying. It’s nothing short of an incredible song and memorable, sincere and passionate performance.

After one cathartic experience another arrived in the form of “Cloud of Unknowing”. This was a more tangled affair which sounded like someone falling down through the flames of hell… I should mention the fabulous, intuitive drumming of Phil Puleo which featured heavily in the opening segment of the song (and others on the night). Then suddenly it seemed that whoever came tumbling down hit a heavenly calmness - you see great music can offer the listener opportunities to provide one’s own interpretation. It must have been about eight or nine minutes before the vocal arrived again thunderingly backed by the rhythmic derge of Puleo’s drums.

sp-28

I had arrived at this concert not knowing what to expect and was greeted by two acts that deserved the highest praise. The sellout audience were more attentive than many I can remember and it was gratifying to see such large audiences for music that was challenging and thought-provoking (unlike so much of today’s mediocre musical fare). Arguably, the sound was just a bit over-the-top but in hindsight well controlled. This was a performance for my history book.

SETLIST

The Knot
Screen Shot
Cloud of Forgetting
Cloud of Unkowing
THe Man Who Refused To Be Unhappy
The Glowing Man

http://swans.pair.com/


Back


Wrexham 2010 - Gallery: The King Blues
The King Blues
LATEST GALLERY IMAGES

A Tribute to Journalists & The Innocents - Gallery: Ukraine Remembered
Ukraine Remembered Gaza 2024 - Gallery: A Day In The Life
A Day In The Life
Shakenstir - Homepage Links Reviews Live Interviews Features News Contact Gallery Shakenstir - Homepage