Over four years into their reunion, despite the massively acclaimed couple of albums they’ve released, if there is one place where Swans truly realize their power, it is on stage. Fully able to convey the physical potency of their music, it is a testament to the might of the band’s live show that not even their oldest fans seem to miss Swans’ industrial abjection days. On the contrary, the group takes their shows as an opportunity to develop new material for future records, while further mutating their already released cuts. Having witnessed the evolution of To Be Kind’s “Bring the Sun/Toussaint L’Ouverture,” I can assure you the live version easily trumps its recorded counterpart; and that is not an exception. I saw Swans live little over a month ago, and they are now opening their shows with a new song, apparently titled “Frankie M,” which goes on for over 45 minutes and quite probably is the most transfixing piece of music the reincarnated Swans have so far created.
All that longwinded introduction intended to highlight the joyful nature of the news I hereby bring you: Swans have announced their tour dates for the first part of 2015, and they will be traversing most of North America, with plenty of dates in the US and Canada, and will perform what, to the best of my knowledge, is their first-ever show in Mexico City. You can check the slate below:
02.17.15 - Portland, ME - Port City Music Hall
02.18.15 - Providence, RI - Columbus Theatre
02.19.15 - Montreal, QC - Theatre National
02.20.15 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theater
02.21.15 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
02.23.15 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Pyramid Scheme
02.24.15 - Cincinnati, OH - Woodward Theater
02.25.15 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
03.01.15 - Mexico City, DF - Nrmal Festival
03.23.15 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
03.25.15 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
03.26.15 - Richmond, VA - The Broadberry
03.27.15 - Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle
03.28.15 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
03.29.15 - Knoxville, TN - BIG EARS Festival
03.31.15 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbit’s
04.01.15 - Saint Petersburg, FL - State Theater
04.02.15 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall
04.03.15 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
04.04.15 - Dallas, TX - Trees
04.06.15 - Austin, TX - The Parish
04.09.15 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
Is your city not included on the list? Sure, you won’t be able to take an angry photo of Michael Gira — which is apparently a thing now — but you can still hear a live version of “Oxygen” in the EP Swans will release on November 25, including a remix of the titular song as well as an acoustic demo and a live take. Do you somehow prefer the band when they had two un-trained bass players, two drummers, a tape operator, and banging on a metal table was their percussion instrument of choice? Then you can get your hands on the recently reissued Filth, Swans’ 1982 debut LP. See how Gira and his boys always deliver?
• Swans: https://www.facebook.com/SwansOfficial
• Young God: http://younggodrecords.com
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