Swans

Blue Moose Tap House – Monday at 9:00 p.m. ($22)

Iowa City has a long history of hosting rare, legendary shows and the Swans gig on Monday will most certainly be another notch on the post. Michael Gira and company are elegant, violent and confrontational all at once. They’ve evolved from no wave to industrial murder ballads to monstrous acoustic landscapes and back since the early ’80s and have quite a legendary story themselves.

The Swans line-up has been a revolving cast over the years, surviving a 1997 breakup with Gira’s former bandmate and muse, Jarboe. Although, long-time guitarist Norman Westberg has been playing with Gira since the proper reformation of Swans in 2010. Their latest record, The Seer, is a double LP 30 years in the making, according to Gira. Pick it up — it’s scary and beautiful.

Their show Monday will be intense, emotional and as real as it gets. They will also play for a couple hours, which is refreshing these days. We’ll see you there.

Find out more:

An enlightening half-hour Pitchfork doc on recent Swans activity

Watch as Gira gives a detailed introduction for each band member, readies copies of The Seer, prepares for the show, hangs out backstage, and performs.

— via Pitchfork

A deep look at Swans nearing their end with Jarboe, ca. 1997