The Afghan Whigs at the Bowery Ballroom

Greg Dulli

Born and raised in Hamilton, Ohio, by the 1980s Greg Dulli played in a local band called the Black Republicans, which bassist John Curley, a transplant from Washington, DC, later would join. In 1986, rising up as a garage rock band around the grunge movement, Dulli and Curley soon fused alternative rock and rhythm and blues and became the Afghan Whigs, based in nearby Cincinnati. The first song that the Afghan Whigs ever rehearsed was a cover of the Temptations' "Psychedelic Shack." Dulli later said he intended the Afghan Whigs to be "a cross between the Band, the Temptations, and Neil Young playing with Crazy Horse." The Afghan Whigs gained attention on MTV and college radio, but split after 15 years in 2001. The band reformed briefly in 2006, and then definitively in 2011. The Afghan Whigs' eighth and most recent album, In Spades, was released on May 5, 2017. The band presently consists of vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Dulli, bassist Curley, guitarist Jon Skibic, multi-instrumentalist Rick G. Nelson, and drummer Patrick Keeler.

The Afghan Whigs returned to the Bowery Ballroom tonight to perform two sets. The first set was comprised of the new album in its entirety and a second set included many of the band's best known songs plus a few covers. Bathed in dim blue lights for most of the show, the visuals were obscured, and for most of the set the audience could not clearly see Dulli's face, but his strong voice was turned up loud and boomed throughout the venue. Reeking with passion and angst, Dulli gave each song a rich treatment of sincerity and integrity, as the band ably backed his tone and delivery. For the second set, the Afghan Whigs gave the audience the retrospective it wanted plus four covers,  Prince's "I Wanna Be Your Lover," Sinead O'Connor's "Mandinka," the Beatles' "Dear Prudence" and, from Dulli's side project, the Twilight Singers' "Teenage Wristband." Har Mar Superstar joined the Afghan Whigs for "Demon in Profile." Dulli chatted between songs, acknowledging in particular several musicians who recently had passed on, including Afghan Whigs guitarist Dave Rosser, who died of colon cancer on June 28, 2017; Dulli dedicated "I Got Lost" to him, as a dozen or more audience members along the edge of the stage held posters that read "Viva la Rosser" and "Dave's light shines on." The special concert became a touching event for Afghan Whigs fans.

Visit the Afghan Whigs at www.TheAfghanWhigs.com.

Selist

Set 1: In Spades

1. Birdland
2. Arabian Heights
3. Demon In Profile
4. Toy Automatic
5. Oriole
6. Copernicus
7. The Spell
8. Light as a Feather
9. I Got Lost
10. Into the Floor

Set 2

1. Parked Outside
2. Matamoros
3. I Wanna Be Your Lover (Prince cover)
4. Mandinka (Sinéad O’Connor cover)
5. Debonair
6. It Kills
7. Dear Prudence (The Beatles cover)
8. My Enemy
9. Son of the South
10. Teenage Wristband (The Twilight Singers cover)
11. Lost in the Woods