Swans, a prolific art house, avant garde ensemble from New York played the first of a two-show performance last night at the Lodge Room in L.A. The venue, a historic Masonic Lodge built in 1922, lodge is a nostalgic L.A. space adorned with a sort of renaissance-revival décor. The building includes a speakeasy gem of a restaurant called Checker Hall. Their Hamachi Crudo is amazing.

The opener was Christoph Hahn, a German guitarist and a member of the band Swans. He played a pedal steel guitar, and his set included a visionary sound and a haunting cover of Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel”. His set was followed by Swans who embarked on a treacherous wall of noise that shook the building and permeated the fabric of expectation. The highly anticipated set, led by Michael Gira, was met with massive praise and applause. Gira is a fearless artist and I liken him more to a mad minister preaching dissonant motets on the precipice of apocalypse than a conventional singer. The New York project started in 1982 and have played consistently outside of their thirteen year hiatus between 1997 and 2010.  It’s contribution to lesser-known musical movements is unparalleled.