By now the trickle of great but in their time under appreciated (in my opinion, anyway) bands who reform to play live once again has built from a trickle to a small but insistent stream, and I’m more than happy about it, especially when bands of the caliber such as SWERVEDRIVER join the ranks of this movement. Despite having been signed to a major (A&M) and having what I consider an impeccable approach to the craft of rock music, ADAM FRANKLIN and the rest of the band couldn’t catch a break, and when they got tangled up in the Creation/Geffen snafu, the momentum was gone and they sputtered to a cruel and undeserved end. That this band didn’t create an audience at least as large as DINOSAUR JR or SONIC YOUTH remains a head scratcher. Though they got tossed into the shoegazer ghetto, likely because of both their Creation affiliation and the stage floor amassed with various effects pedals (after the show, the tech geeks of the audience swarmed up front to see the various bits), their main thrust was not to explore textures until they were fully mapped out, but to create a real sense of energy and atmosphere via urgent rock songs. The PIXIES may have written about a planet of sound, but Swervedriver lived there.
Swervedriver wasted no time with stage banter on the hottest night of the year so far, and immediately sent a strong signal about who they are and what they are about via the opening cut to the debut full-length, “Sci-Flyer,” a great choice. The flanger and whammy bar sets it up, and JIMMY HARTRIDGE comes flying in with a muscular riff to knock you back on your heels. Welcome to their planet. The next song (“The Birds”) would perfectly encapsulate their career duality, with the second half being punctuated by a brilliant streak of 60’s pop sensibility. Feed this to any unsuspecting KINKS or WHO fan and watch them scramble to their feet, eager to find the source; what a fantastic song. The laconic vocals of Adam never pushed their songs forward, but that wasn’t needed. For those enthralled with a two guitar attack, perfectly balanced and in sync with each other, you just can’t find much more empathetic players than Adam and Jimmy. “Duel” underscored this point so clearly, the driving riff giving way to an obliterating buzz and bent string frenzy, snapping back instantly to formation to set up the chorus.
The set list continued to be a great mix of older (“Sandblasted”) and newer (“Planes Over the Skyline”) and a rare b-side tossed in for good measure too (“Scrawl and Scream”). By the time they were ready to close the set, they reached for the silver bullet, loaded, and fired “Son of Mustang Ford” into the crowd. Petrol fumes and burnt tire rubber about filled the room, as their epic tale about motoring off and just giving the single finger salute to all that is mundane and boring in the world. Point me to another song who can fill me with the same emotion and I’ll owe you several dozen. The band tore into this deliciously, with drummer Jez flashing grins and bashing away, the lads having the time of their lives as audience confirmed their hunch that Swervedriver are still essential listening. The encore of “Last Train to Satansville” and the closer “Duress” capped a perfect night (well, had I a vote, “Blowin’ Cool” or “Kill The Superheroes” would have made it to the list). Thanks for coming back, guys.
TERRA DIABLO is a quartet from Glasgow (managed by Jez; I wonder how they got on this tour?) who opened the night with a brash, noisy set of sublty-tinged psychedelia, and had the good sense to do a proper cover of “Tomorrow Never Knows” alongside a song which stuck in my head, “Diablo Style.” LONGWAVE was next, a band which would certainly appeal to followers of the Big Takeover; they had a really nice sense of atmospherics (not too far away from FOR AGAINST) and could dig the spurs into the song when needed, but I thought they could have actually done that with a bit more frequency. The first song (“River (Depot Song)”) had a somewhat unhinged solo from leader STEVE SCHILTZ which carried the song far beyond the well-mannered territory that most of their set stayed within. Break out of those boundaries a bit more, please.
As always, more photos of all the band are available at my site
