LIVE COVERAGE:

Sled Island 2015: Day 1

Wednesday, June 24th

Swervedriver

Calgary, Alberta

When heading out of town to attend a music festival, particularly one that doesn’t feature camping, one should always be sure of their itinerary. “Be prepared”, and all that jazz. Well, after a series of events that one day will seem comical, I made it to Republik, the beloved venue that sadly will be closing its doors shortly, for my first Sled Island show of 2015.

The venue was buzzing when I arrived, evidently the previous bands on the bill, The Neutral States, Slow Down Molasses, and Birdstriking had been doing a good job of stoking the crowd, and as the showtime inched closer, the patrons spread out across the venue started to concentrate near the front, filling the club’s main floor quite nicely.

Swervedriver are an important part of the shoegaze genre’s history, being one of the many acts signed to Alan McGee’s Creation Records, with the likes of The Jesus & Mary Chain, Oasis, and the shoegazing kings My Bloody Valentine. The band didn’t fall in to the tropes of the genre the way the press (especially NME) wanted them to, being a little more, well, exciting in their performance and songwriting, while still displaying the technical virtuosity required to make walls of feedback and distortion sound melodic.

The band technically never broke up, but an extended hiatus made it seem like things might be finished for the Oxford band. However, the shoe gaze genre, and it’s musical contribution, has seen an incredible resurgence in it’s importance, and with the holy trinity (according to the Primavera Sound organizers, that would be MBV, Slowdive, and Ride) all dusting themselves off in the last half-decade or so, Swervedriver not only threw themselves back in the ring, but presented new material that critically stands right alongside their existing work.

Last night, the band took the stage and kicked off with just that: new material. “I Wasn’t Born To Lose You” kicks off with “Autodidact”, and when Adam Franklin started ringing out the first chiming, melodic lines on stage last night, the tone was set. This was going to be a set that paid respect to the classics, but firmly stated that the band isn’t just in this for nostalgia.

A highlight for me came right after “Autodidact” as the band tore through “For Seeking Heat”, one of my favorite Swervedriver tunes, the opening cut off “Mezcal Head”. That track is actually a perfect example of the more aggressive edge the band had over their “softer” (read: not quieter, it’s shoegaze!) counterparts, with roaring guitars letting up near the last third of the track, for a more atmospheric release. We’re spinning “For Seeking Heat” on Side By Side this week, by the way, so tune in Saturday night!

The band seemed to be enjoying themselves, which is always something that improves the mood of the room. It’s hard to tell when a technically gifted act is focused or bored, but Adam’s mood on the mic briefly addressing the crowd a few times made it clear they were happy to be a part of Sled Island.

The main set came to a conclusion with another cut from the new record, “I Wonder?” and finished with an absolute explosion of noise. I would have suspected the guys to close with a more classic cut, but the show last night is making me want to revisit their latest. Maybe something gets lost in the recorded translation, but when they came back for their encore, they opened with “Everso”, ANOTHER new tune, and I was floored with how seamlessly the new material fits in, and how well it plays live.

The band weren’t going to go gently in to that good night, so they tore it down again with “Duel”, another killer track from “Mezcal Head”. The crowd had definitely thinned out at this point in the evening, it was almost 2AM, but I’m sure if the band had kept playing, the faithful remaining would have stayed for many more.

My dance card is much, much fuller the next few days here at Sled Island. After the complications I had getting settled here, I was glad I managed to get to the show, and even more excited that it was such a killer set. I made it back to my accommodations, jotted down some quick notes, and fell asleep almost immediately.

I can’t wait to see what today will bring.