Recap Swans at Summit Music Hall

This was a show no one thought would be seen. The Swans disbanded in 1997, and were never exactly a group one could imagine hitting the reunion tour circuit. When it was announced that the band was not only touring, but also releasing an album of new material, longtime fans flocked to buy tickets alongside newcomers familiar only with the latest release. Expectations ran high as the venue began to fill. There was a palpable tension in the room as the show started, with most eyes carefully glued to the stage as Wooden Wand opened the show.

Wooden Wand played mostly delicate country music, but did so through very loud amplifiers and backed with heavy drums. The group became thunderous as a result, which saved the musical sameness of its songs from monotony. The lyrics and between-song quips were clever and funny, which also helped prevent boredom. After ending the set, the members of Wooden Wand humbly thanked the Swans for inviting them on the two-week tour, and climbed offstage.

One by one, the Swans took their places, each of them slowly, repetitively clanging away at their instrument of choice for minutes on end. Tension in the audience rose to the breaking point until Michael Gira sauntered onto the stage to frantic applause. Wearing a large cowboy hat, a big belt buckle, and an unsettling smile, he looked more like one of Faith Hill’s session players than the intense musical lunatic who has been sonically terrorizing everyone for the last 30 years or so. However, the sound that shrieked out of his guitar as he hit his first notes was 100 percent Swans. Each song was epically tribal, with an excellent drummer keeping time and the infamous Thor on a series of strange percussive instruments to add a larger-than-life quality to every piercing note slammed down on guitar strings by Gira and company.

The Swans are a legendary group, in large part because of Gira’s artistic nuances in songwriting, and also because they’re very loud and always brutal. Despite that, there were only about 200 people in attendance at the show. The Swans held the small audience’s total fascination, save for that of a few people who straggled off during the 135-minute exercise in harsh sound. After it was over, about half of the crowd remained, with about 100 people clapping their hands and cheering for more. Swans rewarded their dedication with a brief, single-song encore. Returning to the stage, Gira jibed, “I believe a few of your less stalwart comrades have straggled off!” before slamming into the final song, giving the most devoted fans the closure they needed to finally turn tail and go home, ears buzzing.