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Pre-or-early Jarboe era? Was it really as batshit intense as everything I've read and all the videos I've seen?

I'm on a huge Swans kick right now (not so coincidentally it's lining up with an absolutely awful week at work) and tonight while drinking some beers I've moved backward from The Seer to The Great Annihilator and now into Greed.

Paging Aquaman and Pilster. Maybe Midge if he wasn't going to see Ratt that night.

I saw them at the Ritz in 1985.
They were loud and very boring.
GOOD at that thing they were doing...I was just not in the right space for it
I was all of 19 and still very "loud fast rules".

Only on the Kings of Independence video.

Tons. Not as good as Live Skull. Amusingly brutal, however.

Once, at The World. 1988 or '89. Great, but super-loud that it actually distorted some songs to static. Gira is a serious presance though.....

First time I saw SWANS was on 'Burning World' tour at CBGB with ALL, Lemonheads and Bullet Lavolta. (Yes...fer real)

SWANS were in their mellow-Jarboe stage.

Saw them on their 'Soundtracks for the Blind' 'Final' tour at Irving Plaza. 1996-ish I believe. One of the best shows I'd seen in my life. In my top 10. They played a really good mix of all eras. They did a very creative reworking of 'I Crawled' with Jarboe singing lead instead of Gira. She started screaming at the audience and I was stoned, making it plenty scary.

Great Annihilator is the only album I do not like. Listening to The Seer these days. It's not bad, but nothing beats the ugliness and intensity of the of 'Raping a Slave' EP

The Great Annihilator is the only record I have of theirs between Children of God and the reunion and I love it. I'm surprised you're not into it.

tango fistula wrote:I saw them at the Ritz in 1985.
They were loud and very boring.
GOOD at that thing they were doing...I was just not in the right space for it
I was all of 19 and still very "loud fast rules".

I saw them at the Berghain (Legendary techno kingdom with one of the best PAs ever) in 2012.
They were EXTREMELY LOUD and very boring.
GOOD at that thing they were doing...and just the right space for them.
I was 47 and tried to give them a "second chance".

Back in the late 80's-early 90s, I had a friend who worked at the 9:30 Club who would let me in for free. I'm pretty sure SWANS were one of the bands I walked out on. Really loud and they didn't hold my attention. I often wondered if I had paid to see some of those bands would I have cared more and stayed? I walked out on Jane's Addiction, Dinosaur, Jr. (it was the first time the played D.C. after Lou left) and a few more that I don't remember.