Swans -- The Seer

i am hardly ever in the city, and also, who the hell cares, i fucking ordered the damn thing, get off my back.

I bought mine online, from Gira. It came with the limited version of We Rose From Your Bed.

Holy fucking goddamn was the Swans show tonight ever great! It's not just an amazing show, it's the sound of the crushing of your enemies. It was around 2 hours long, but it only felt like 30 minutes. It helps that a vast majority of the material played was from The Seer. I would double-hydrate up before you see them on this tour. The show takes a lot out of you.

It's here, finally. Is 11am too early for Swans? Maybe.

mackro mackro, this is excellent news. I'll see them in two weeks.

Really, really hoping I can make it to the Tuesday night show, but so far no luck with a ride up and back. Alas.

I've been ordering these directly from Young God because I like the fact that (almost) all the cash goes directly back into the label, and because there's a high chance that it'll come with a personal thank you note from Gira.

Your mix is strange but intriguing, Edward III, thanks!

No reply about the missing DVD yet, unfortunately - I hope I won't have to completely reorder and hope there's a DVD included that time around :(

Oh, and btw:

http://i48.tinypic.com/dqxid.jpg

Six ordinary guys, just thinking bout things.

i've literally never watched a DVD that came with a CD

headed up to Portland in a few hours, will take mackro's advice and hydrate.

also, earplugs.

i'm as big a fan of Swans as they come, but they really are a hard bunch to look at in those photos.

anyway, my thoughts on the album here:

http://walkingthelongmileshome.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/nothing-inside-you-is-real-swans-career-retrospective-and-review-of-the-seer/

Never thought I'd see the day but:

#114 on the Billboard Top 100 sales chart
#100 on Billboard top 200 Current Albums chart
#2 on Billboard new artist chart (18 less units than #1, Wild Nothing)
#24 on Billboard alternative chart

does this mean they're up for a New Artist Of The Year award anywhere?

The album was number one in the UK independent record shop album chart on the week of release, which is fantastic.

I liked them better before they sold out, man.

Re Seattle show last night: I should note that I saw them 1.5 years prior for the previous album's tour. That show was GREAT. But it's now a memory of a mere warmup to last night. The theme to the last tour was "hey kids, we're back! :-D". So far, the theme to the current tour is "you're in for it. See you on the other side"

They also did an oldie. It starts with C and that's all I'll say.

Gira posted the projected set-list for the tour on facebook a while back apparently.

Does it rhyme with Howard? xpost

hey La Lech -- reading back upthread -- one potential solution to yr dilemma is to go to the Milwaukee show. It's two weeks from tonite, Saturday, so presumably not a school night.

I'm seriously considering making the trip, cuz i'd like to see 'em twice on this tour. and, well, who doesn't love a good excuse to head to Milwaukee?

Amazing show. Holy shit were they great.

i'm not trying to be combative, but why order online when you could buy from a record store? they can order stuff too and you don't have to pay (or wait!) for shipping. and you can buy it from a real live human being.

Because Amazon doesn't slouch at the counter when I come up to it, pretending I'm not there and hoping I'll go away.

The real answer to that is you can generally find stuff for cheaper, even after shipping (but this is also usually older albums), and the other is I'm sure many people in the world aren't living near enough to a record store to go with that option.

Tix for Chicago: purchased! ILX user Je55e is going too.

Your mix is strange but intriguing, Edward III, thanks!

ha, strange how? was actually just trying to boil the album down to its song-muscle, removing all the 5-10 minute drones and any evidence of karen o.

Amen to that last part. I've ffwded her song after hearing it once. Too Miranda July-does-Cat Power for the rest of the album IMO.

Strange wasn't the right word perhaps - I meant more something like: unusual when you've almost gotten used to the flow of the normal song order and length to then hear them in another order which ALSO works nicely - xpost

yeah "Warrior" is certainly the weakest link on the record.

and also HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW. i can't even...."Coward" was amazing, the new songs were amazing, everything— definitely one of the best performances i've ever seen.

bummer, got to wait another week. Been expecting this to fall through my door at any moment but looks like what I got through email yesterday means it was only just dispatched. Not sure how long it takes a package to get across the Atlantic.

HAILING KRAKOW - does your shop still have copies of the double cd edition w/ DVD? And if so, could I reserve one until next Wednesday (payday!)

Thanks

HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW.
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW.
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW.
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW.
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW.
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A GREAT SHOW.

Portland show had some problems, unfortunately, most seemed to be due to bad onstage sound. Gira spent a fair amount of time looking cranky, cut one song a minute in and decided not to play it, and said they couldn't do an encore because they couldn't hear anything onstage. It was frustrating to watch them try to get in the zone and not quite make it. The opening song and "Coward" were still mind-blowing though. He seemed to take it in stride, I think the old version of Swans would have beaten up the sound guy.

or just walked off

doesn't seem to be much footage out there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0B1o-BaQag

im seeing them this Friday. never seen them before and I'm a bit protective of my hearing (what's left of it). so im guessing get earplugs and stand as far back as possible?

lol yes

that's what I did, it was great. every once in a while I would take the earplugs out, go "WHOA", and put them back in.

when I saw them on the first comeback tour it wasn't a hurty kind of loud, more of an air-is-fully-saturated-with-sound type thing

I usually do earplugs nowadays but made an exception in their case

yes, def earplugs

Yeah, I've put Frances through a lot of things which she doesn't always earplug for (inc Sunn). She didn't feel the need for earplug at all during the Swans (who she had never seen before) but was only managing 15 minutes at a time without a break outside from the 'fullness' of the air in the room and the general oppression.

you can feel your innards vibrating
it's great!

bump

HAILING KRAKOW - does your shop still have copies of the double cd edition w/ DVD? And if so, could I reserve one until next Wednesday (payday!)

Thanks

― Ward Fowler, Wednesday, 12 September 2012 15:17 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i brought earplugs for myself and some friends, and i put them in a few times, and then was like "I AM NOT GETTING THE FULL SOUND SCREW THIS." and my ears weren't ringing afterwards or anything, tho i obviously lost some hearing. i wear earplugs at a lot of other shows, so i figured i could let my hearing be pummeled one night a year.

I've got YOB the night before SWANS so I am definitely wearing earplugs for both. As it is I'll still probably be having hearing issues on Monday morning.

tickets purchased for tomorrow night. very stoked.

I wore earplugs (expensive ones too!) when the last Swans tour swung around to Leeds and felt so detached from the experience afterwards. I wished I hadn't worn them. But I am seeing them again next month and I'll kick myself if it fucks me over. And you really cannot trust yourself being able to tell when you're there.

I'd give them a go without plugs, as they probably will not be dangerously loud. (Although I realize this is all subjective and depends on venue). I saw them twice on the My Father... tour and again last month on The Seer tour. The two My Father.. gigs were only moderately loud; no plugs needed at all. Last month's gig was certainly louder, and I had to move from directly next to an amplifier to a more comfortable position, but I didn't need ear plugs. They were freely available anyway at all three venues.

I've come back from a few weeks travelling to find my signed copy of the Seer in my mail-box. I had been worried it would get stuck at customs (like my copy of "We Rose From Your Bed...") and get sent back to YGR because I was away for so long. Finally listening now....

Austin show was really great on Friday -- "Coward" was a total mindfuck, just massively great.