Brainwashed.com

Larsen were 2 guys on guitar and some mumbled vocals (and one played some sort of squeezebox thingy for a song), 1 guy on drums and glockenspiel and 1 guy on accordion, keyboards and triangle - 3 shaved heads, many tats and 1 nose ring amongst the lot. They began around 10:15 and they were good. Their avante-rock ranged from mellow to heavy and minimal to groove driven, much like "Rever" (though I didn't recognize anything from it). The goateed guitar player was the most interesting to watch as he was the most emotionally invested, visually at least. They were difficult to read really as they just played. The aforementioned guitarist was a bit frustrated though when he had to spend the entirety of one song replacing a string. They were done around 11 ...

Jarboe and Larsen plus Victor Tank on fretless bass guitar took the stage after a short break. I've waited 6 years since the last SWANS show I saw and ... damn was it good to experience her again. She was wearing loose clothing like a workout outfit complete with split toe ninja shoes and immediately removed a jacket that said "Prayer Warrior" on the breast. An approximate set list: Feral, (new song, I think it was the one with this line - "there's a reason we're alive and it can't be love"), Found, Miracle of Love, Dear 666, My Buried Child, To Forget. Not surprisingly, in the space of just 50 or so minutes, Jarboe amazed and moved me, turned me on, intimidated and flat out frightened me half to death. Her voice and presence is as powerful as I remembered. It's unbelievable how she can hold and contort notes with such grace and might. Larsen and Tank made for a fine backing band, equally capable of quieter and heavier moments, and the arrangements were well composed (the accordion was especially nice in "Miracle of Love"). Something in "Dear 666" really stirred me up emotionally and I almost lost it until the guttural screaming of "you're a filthy boy, you're a dirty boy" neutralized it ...

I was sitting on the floor about 6 feet from her snapping pictures (most without flash to avoid annoying them and the professional photographer) and early on in the set she jumped off stage and came towards me ... I about had a heart attack as I thought I was about to be relieved of my camera. But she just walked around me and stood right behind me to become a member of the audience for the remainder of the song. She did this a few more times, one time standing directly in front of me - head down and gently gyrating in time to fling her arms - and giving me a rather nice view of her rather nice posterior. On stage she commanded, intently staring towards the back of the room or upwards, and acted out her various personalities - especially the sarcastically innocent little girl in Dear 666. There was no chat whatsoever. In-between songs she usually turned her back to us and later in the set held her hair up over her head. At the end of "To Forget" she sincerely held a clutched hand over her heart as she sang "I love you" ...

Mark Weddle - meddle at brainwashed.com
http://www.brainwashed.com/weddle/