Dream Your Sins Away: Afghan Whigs live

AFGHAN WHIGS

PAPPY AND HARRIET'S

PIONEERTOWN, CA

10 APRIL, 2014

 

The Afghan Whigs returned to live action, wedging in a warmup show at Pappy and Harriet's in Pioneertown, before they got down to business at Coachella. The occasion is Do To The Beast, their first album of new material since 1965 came out 16 years ago, also marking a reunion with Sub Pop, the label that served as their launchpad. Founding members Greg Dulli and John Curley remain, joined by Cully Symington, Rick Nelson, Dave Rosser, Jon Skibic, and Mark McGuire, and the signature sound of the band is intact. What started with All Tomorrow's Parties in 2012 grew into European Festival appearances and a hand full of stateside dates, including a two-night stand at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood.
The setup was outdoors in the desert night, and Dulli's guitar strap, fashioned from a vintage car seatbelt, was a portent of things to come. Kicking off with the first two songs from Do To The Beast, "Parked Outside" proved the perfect opener, setting the tone as surely as it does for the album, and "Matamoros", was shorn of its studio beats, but still slinky. The energy level far outweighed the wobbly sound, which surely sent the night creatures scambling for safe underbrush. Having dove straight in with new material, they paid back the audience, (most of whom traveled over from LA), with "Fountain and Fairfax", (from Gentlemen), and when Dulli hit the climactic title refrain, he could have easily cut his mic and it would have gone unnoticed, such was the audience's fervor. Keeping it in old school mode, Black Love's "Going To Town" and "Blame, Etc" kept things tense, and set the stage for "Conjure Me", (Congregation). Emblematic of the night was Dulli's reading of the "Going To Town" verse: "Don't worry baby, that's okay/I know the boss", providing an electrifying moment when he took the last line in a high register. Cully Symington, (Okkervil River/Shearwater drummer), got the shout out to kick start the martial beats of "Algiers", which, if you've seen the "High Plains Drifter" referencing video, sounded perfectly at home here. "The Lottery" continued a run of what would be seven of the ten songs from the new album. "Royal Cream" received an extended jam, and,  as it turns out, was one of the songs tracked right down the road, as Dulli observes in the liner notes: Shot On Location. The title track of Gentlemen provided another bat-shit crazy moment for the oldsters, then Dulli reached into his trick bag, and brought out LA soul man Van Hunt to do the honors on "It Kills". Crowd pleaser "66" set the stage for the last, and maybe best, of the new songs, "Lost In The Woods", with it's haunting refrain of "Fear has a mind of its own". Not content to let it go at that, Dulli trumped matters by ending the set proper with a segue into The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper chestnut "Getting Better", which seemed entirely appropriate to an Afghan Whigs catalog of examining one's frailties. The encore was all about desert, and Dulli saluted "Heaven On Their Minds", from Jesus Christ Superstar, as a song he's always wanted to play in the desert...so he did, then without pause the band ripped into "Something Hot", following it with "My Enemy", and when it seemed the intensity could not be raised any more, finished with the incandescent prayer meeting that is "Faded", leaving not too many dry eyes among the faithful. A stunning finish to the night from a band reinvigorated.

With special guest Van Hunt (left)

Vanquishing Indecision: Afghan Whigs at Fonda

AFGHAN WHIGS

FONDA THEATRE, LA

09 NOVEMBER, 2012 

What a difference a night makes.  Strictly in terms of age, compared to the Japandroids show the previous evening, let's say it skewed a little grayer.  The atmosphere, however, was more electric.  The time had come.  What started as a far away echo, was now made manifest, in the flesh.  The Afghan Whigs were back in business.

L.A. soul man Van Hunt opened the night.  He's put in a lot of miles, and manages the tricky combination of keeping it old school, yet having big ears and covering a lot of ground.  He would later make an appearance during the main set.

The 90's being somewhat of a blur, I'm still scratching my head, trying to figure out how I missed them the first time around.  It was comforting to finally lay that particular ghost to rest.  Head honcho Greg Dulli was in full BAMF mode, and the band, including original members John Curley and Rick McCollum, was fit and in fighting form.  The first night of a two night stand at the Fonda Theatre drew off of their core LP's of Gentleman, Black Love, and 1965.  Interestingly, the set was book ended with the first and last songs from Black Love, recreating the desperate journey that was that album, perhaps their finest hour.  From the opening of "Crime Scene, Pt. I", any questions about Dulli's voice, intensity, or the rest of the band were settled.  The old formula of heavy rock shot through with a dose of soul that stood out starkly in the days of grunge, now fits like a comfortable old coat, such has their influence wormed onto successive generations.  That they've never turned up on a Tarantino soundtrack was always a mystery to me.
Jumping into "I'm Her Slave" from their Sub Pop album Congregation, and following it with "Uptown Again" from their final (to this point) work, 1965, gave a quick band history lesson and delineated what was to come.  Another treat was "Magazine", cut in 2006 for a greatest hits CD.  The one/two punch of "My Enemy" and "Son Of The South" drove the intensity level through the roof, and provided a coda for the first half of the show.


This year saw them release two new performances of cover songs, both of which held position of pride in the set.  "See And Don't See", an obscure soul gem by Marie Lyons prompted a walkabout into the audience from Dulli.  He moved over to piano for a stirring take on "Love Crimes", (done originally by current soul iconoclast Frank Ocean), then moved slyly into The Weeknd's "Wicked Games".  When the band kicked in halfway through, it elevated into one of the night's highlights.

Opener Van Hunt came out to join the proceedings for "Mean Sleep", and then a snippet of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" led the set back into Afghan Whigs territory for a raveup on "66".  The regular set drew to a close with a racked but triumphant "Fountain and Fairfax", a fact not lost on the rabid local denizens.
For the encore, the band essayed the last three songs from Black Love, with each song taking things higher.  "Bulletproof" and "Summer's Kiss" were the setup for the pentultimate band anthem, "Faded", which neatly segued into the soaring coda of Prince's "Purple Rain", a perfect capper for the evening, and the house lights coming up seemed besides the point.  There was just no topping that.

01 “Crime Scene Pt. 1″
02 “I’m Her Slave”
03 “Uptown Again”
04 “What Jail Is Like”
05 “Conjure Me”
06 “When We Two Parted/Dead Body”
07 “Gentlemen”
08 “Debonair”
09 “Magazine”
10 “My Enemy”
11 “Son Of The South”
12 “See and Don’t See”
13 “Lovecrimes”
14 “Wicked Games”
15 “Mean Sleep”
16 “66″
17 “Fountain And Fairfax”
18 “Bulletproof”
19 “Summer’s Kiss”
20 “Faded”

Afghan Whigs: New Track/West Coast Dates

Behold the second new track from the Afghan Whigs since their resuscitation.  "Lovecrimes" is a cover of a Frank Ocean track that they've been dropping into their live shows lately.  An utterly compelling rendition-I've had it on repeat all week.

 

Speaking of live shows, the band has announced more new dates, including a West Coast swing that involves Seattle, Portland, the Fillmore in San Francisco on November 7th, and the Fonda Theater on November 9th.
Tickets go onsale Sunday-22 (SF) and Saturday-21 (LA), and presale action has been brisk, so it's probably advisable to strike sooner, rather than later.

Afghan Whigs: Back In Business

 

Brand new music from the newly reformed Afghan Whigs, right in time for their return to live action in an upcoming show at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC, followed by summer European festival dates, and two here, at Lollapalooza in Chicago in August, and All Tomorrow's Parties: I'll Be Your Mirror festival in Asbury Park in September.  Hold your breath for more U.S. dates in the fall, and keep an eye out for an appearance on Late Night w/Jimmy Fallon May 22.