Swervedriver veers into Motown

This past Thursday night, Swervedriver swung by St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit to promote its outstanding new LP, "99th Dream." The band, which could very well be the most underrated act in rock, once again proved it deserves to be considered among the genre's elite.

REVIEW
	Swervedriver St. Andrew's Hall March 19, 1998

The set began with "For Seeking Heat," the opening scorcher from 1993's "Mezcal Head." The band members were visually tired, no doubt due to their exhaustive touring schedule of late. But when lead singer Adam Franklin began singing, one could sense that Swervedriver would not disappoint. Despite the band being in town to promote a new CD, the playlist included a variety of songs from all four of the group's albums. Included were great renditions of "Rave Down," "Never Lose That Feelin" and "These Times." But it was when the group played "Duel" that the show really took off. This classic song, which with proper promotion could have easily been a hit in the United States, reinforced just how good this band is. The band's thick sound never gets in the way of the traditional songwriting that exists at the core of its songs.

Surprisingly enough, the band only played three songs off of "99th Dream:" the aforementioned "These Times," the title track and "Wrong Treats." The live rendition of the title track began with the same "Pulp Fiction"-esque intro found on the album, but was extended an extra minute or so in the live version. At this point, the band seemed to have summoned the energy that it lacked at the initiation of the show. "Wrong Treats" retained all of its emotion when done live, with guitarist Jimmy Hartidge soulfully strumming the melancholy riff that lies at the center of the song. As any Swervedriver fan will concede, the song "Duress" is not to be missed live. This was reiterated Thursday night. Clocking in at 8 minutes plus, "Duress" seemed to work the crowd into a trance. To close the night, Swervedriver played a two-song encore consisting of "Son of Mustang Ford" and "Kill the Superheroes." The performance of "Ford," one of the band's most popular tunes, was by far the night's high water mark.

While other British acts like The Verve are climbing up the charts and receiving airplay on VH1 and MTV, Swervedriver will probably remain in the shadows, a tragic case of near-misses. Fortunately, it will probably continue to do what it has always done: provide a soundtrack for the lives of fans of great rock music.

03-24-98