Any good shows lately?

It takes time to know for sure but I feel Swans a few nights ago ranks as one of the best shows of my life. Macca at Roo, Sufjan during Adz, and Modest Mouse cracking my concert virginity as a yearning teen in rural North Dakota, and a few others form the only competition.

I became aware of Swans with The Seer. Have been an occasional listener since though only dived through their catalog the past few years. I inhale little music these days but return to them again and again. "Vibes" is such an empty phrase and yet their sound demands an inward and enthralling flagellation like no other. We all have bands like this but Swans' music carries me to a place I didn't know my emotional wavelengths attuned themselves to. I use them while writing to drop deep into the flow. I skipped them at Roo and then Portland a few years later due to other shows but now wish I could clone myself to catch them all.

I can't think of what to compare their show to. I suspect they're a unique thing (help me with this!) but whatever falls similar I've never felt kin to. I'm not a metal person at all. Forgive my ignorance of the scene but NIN is the only comp I have. I caught Reznor and Co. last summer and it was stunning but nowhere near the level of Swans and all they imbued. Quiet metal that was also the loudest show of my life? That loudness didn't come across as grating for it rang crystal clear. There were moments where sound shot through my body. Rang my bones like a bell.

I loved the setup where they sat in a circle and Michael acted as conductor. Bands look so apart on stages and this solved that. Unsure if it was venue specific but the only set dressings were red velvet curtains and matching lights with a touch of white. That did so much more for mood than any million dollar display.

It fuggin rules that it's a bunch of old men dressed dapper who kill their instruments with a visual and visceral power. Their age sets them apart. The only woman in the band destroyed every second and was fun to watch. For one song a drummer shook a rope of bells as if in ceremony. Michael's voice burrows. It felt like a whirling portal to hell that'd either turn to an unending party or pit of misery. That tightrope's a thrilling tension to toe.

There was no dancing and the least amount of phones I've seen in years. The music possessed almost no pause so one song washed into another. The only banter came as a quick thanks. It ended in stunned silence then spatters of applause. Perhaps one of the greatest experiences of my life. Hard to say for now but this show's filled my mind ever since.

This is why I film myself jacking off in the sewer.

Janelle Monáe killed it last night.

i always take at least a clip or two at a show. i do go back and re-watch. it's for me myself and i and i don't get the internet hate/judgement of people claiming people never go back to watch. i love going back in my phone quite a bit. it's also useful when describing a venue to someone or telling them about a show/how close you were for some band, what the set was like, etc. so a total of a minute out of a show to record a bit for future me? worth it!

seeing him next month and really looking forward to it!

www.setlist.fm/setlist/pj-harvey/2023/3olympia-theatre-dublin-ireland-4ba2434e.html

I wasn’t there but I would die. OMG!

wtf

I didn't see a thread for it but I attended the last day of Louisville's Louder Than Life fest with my wife and two friends.
This was our first festival (and my first concert) since her stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis at the end of January. She appears to have beaten it by the way. No evidence of disease, though she's still undergoing radiation therapy for a month to wrap up active treatment. And we have a 14 month old daughter. Shit is crazy people, let me tell you.

ANYWAY. It was good to be back. That long away, You kinda forget the overwhelming social aspect of festivals. Last festival before this one was...Bonnaroo 2019? So yeah, been a while. But we're old pros at this point. Navigating crowds, finding bathrooms and water, getting a decent spot for bands. It's like riding a bike.

Jehnny Beth was really cool. Love the industrial sound. Love that she came down in the crowd 3 feet from us. Wished I'd heard her NIN cover, but it was still a fun way to start.

RTJ first 4 songs were really fun. They are still doing that thing. It never changes much. For better or worse.

Viagra Boys have something, don't they? A certain manic energy that you either got or you don't. Love the songs. Some of their blasts of noise or several minute off key saxophone solos are meant as fuck yous to the audience, so I get it. You're weeding out the true fans. But also, I could've done with like half as much of that. Punk Rock Loser is sick though.

Turnstile is solid. You can kinda tell they skyrocketed to the big stage because they don't quite have presence yet. But they sounded great.

Queens was awesome and the main reason we went. I wish they played longer.

Green Day was mixed. I'm annoyed that they play the entirety of Bohemian Rhapsody before the show. That's 6 minutes of set time in the trash, and I love Queen. They kinda feel a lot like seeing Foo Fighters live. Like the audience interaction and the stop start nature of it. But that said they won me over by the end of it. Glad I checked them off, even if some of it didn't work for me.

Now Mars Volta and Depeche Mode in the next few weeks before going back on concert hiatus. Maybe I'll even get to a big festival again in 2024. Dreaming big!

Ratboys were great last night, I needed some midwest emo and they delivered. Not sure what song it was but they had a nice little jam session with some very nice guitar playing. Free Range was also very good opening, their debut record that came out at the beginning of the year is really nice.

so unreal. i was the big mfer in the fiona apple tee by the sound board beautiful room

Got some videos from a buddy who caught U2 at The Sphere last night. Damn.

I went to a planetarium in Poland once that had a U2-soundtracked experience and I wish they would have used those visuals for the Sphere, it was horrifying.

pretty lights just melted me

I didn't do much of a recap of Furnace Fest on the board, but I just gotta talk about Turnstile for a second.

I have this lame personality trait where I'm really hype on uber pop stuff like Doja Cat & Olivia Rodrigo, and I love tons of lesser known shit as we all do on this website. But I have a real stick up my ass about the stuff that gets popular right at the edge of the indie/mainstream cutoff really fast (Zach Bryan, Fred Again..., Noah Kahan, etc.). I consider Turnstile to be in this group and as such have written them off for quite a while.

Wow was I happy to be proven wrong. I would describe Turnstile as the most psychedelic punk show I've ever seen. The genre bending intros and interludes, the pink & blue backlit stage set up, the soaring vocals. It was almost like if Beach House & Rage Against the Machine popped out a baby. The pit was ludicrous. There was a circle pit for 2 stepping and throwin' bows, a huge block of people for crowdsurfing and stage diving, and a sizable crowd behind those sections. There were moments of such chaotic euphoria it's hard to describe. 5/5 show for me. I pretty much haven't stopped listening to Glow On since I've gotten back. Can't wait to seem 'em again.

Fun crowdsurfing PS: I'm pretty tall so I don't often crowdsurf, but it's basically to be expected at Furnace Fest, and I really wanted to stage dive once during Turnstile, so I got hoisted up for one song. I made it to the stage right as the song ended, so I ran off to the side and laid down on the lip of the stage. Brendan the lead singer came right up to the front to start the next song. When the drums hit I jumped up and stage dove right in front of him. It was a blast. Thanks 4 readin'