I was reading an old (15 years?) interview with Michael Gira a few nights ago and came across this gem on moshing/dancing at shows:
SECONDS: Is there an appropriate audience then?
GIRA: I'm not saying I expect reverie or admiration from an audience, but I would like to have the feeling they're actually listening to the music and
not just using it as an excuse to twitch and rub their bodies up against each other. Why don't they just go out in the parking lot, if that's all they
want, and just massively buttfuck each other-get it over with? But anyway, no, just judge by our lack of commercial success; there is no appropriate audience
for Swans, and I don't really care who's there in front of us, so long as they're not repulsive to behold.
SECONDS: How much does the composition/attitude of the audience matter?
GIRA: As I say, for the most part the audiences job is to be still and listen, sort of like bipedal cows, or less disparagingly, like someone who is actually polite enough to sit quietly and listen to what you have to say during a conversation. As long as they don't distract me, they're fine with me.
SECONDS: To what extent was physical violence between you and the audience a part of early Swans shows?
GIRA: None, really. Except one time years ago when we were touring with Sonic Youth when we typically had an audience of about ten people, some guy was
actually pogo-ing in his bright orange Devo jumpsuit at the front of the stage as we played, and it was just so pathetic I couldn't help myself. I climbed
down from the stage and threw him to the ground, yelled at him to get the hell out of there. Similarly now, if anyone stage dives or moshes(what a joke!) at one of our shows I'll stop the music. I really hate group identity rituals like that. They're just a microcosm, a little factory workshop exercise in
conformism.
