Text & Photos by Jorge Silva
Just a mere three weeks after Scott Kelly played in that very same room, it was time for Michael Gira to grace the stage at Passos Manuel (a venue that once was a cinema and that maintains its’ seated places). The rain that had been plaguing the town for days wasn’t enough to keep everyone confined to their homes and so the place was sold out.
Although the Swans played in this same town before, this was the first time as a solo performance for its’ founder and mentor. Michael Gira arrived with his trademark cowboy hat, having his guitar as his only companion – if we exclude the sheer volume being delivered by his amp, although he was playing an electro-acoustic.
“Jim”, a track from the Swans’ My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky album, was the starting point for a set comprised of material from Swans, Angels Of Light and Michael Gira’s own solo work. After an intense rendition of “New Mind”, Gira announces that that the track usually marks the end of his set, but that he will play a couple more songs if the audience wants to, to which everyone replies “YES!”. Although the bonus, which ended with “God Damn The Sun”, was more than welcome to the souls that were filling the room, it somehow worked as an anti-climax when compared to his usual final note.
