Going to Town

There's a risk a beloved band can run when it reunites after many years apart. Is the magic still there? Is the tour a soulless cash-grab that will tarnish fans' great memories? More than a decade after last playing together, can the band still bring that special something to the table?

My fears for the Afghan Whigs reunion were nonexistent because I've seen band mastermind Greg Dulli several times since the Whigs split in '01, coming through fairly regularly with the Twilight Singers, Gutter Twins and solo. But given his reticence to revisit his past (until recently, at least), I did wonder whether he'd be going through the motions or if he'd bring the fire that he's brought to his other endeavors.

When I arrived at Boston's House of Blues Wednesday, it appeared that others may have had similar concerns because the venue was nearly empty for opening act School of Seven Bells, who soldiered on and played an excellent set of danceable synth-pop. I realized there was plenty of room up front on the floor, so I walked right up to the right of the stage where the great Brad Searles was encamped. Fortunately, the club filled up as it came closer to the headlining set.


I'd seen the Whigs play a few times on late night talk shows in recent months, so I knew Dulli had shed some pounds, but it was still striking to see him up close. He had gotten kinda pudgy in the last several years, so it was impressive to see him in fighting shape again. The Whigs were a six-piece on this night, Dulli and fellow original band members John Curley (bassist, who himself has trimmed down quite a bit) and Rick McCollum, along with Twilight Singers members Dave Rosser (guitar) and Cully Symington (drums) and multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson (cello, keyboards), who accompanied Dulli on his solo tour a few years back. The band has played several festival shows and just started a North American tour, and it sounded tight and thunderous. Curley broke out the fuzz bass funk for a few numbers, and McCollum delivered his slide-heavy solos with aplomb; occasionally Rosser joined in for dual-slide solos, which was pretty awesome.

Dulli was all business on this night, seldom engaging in the banter he usually does. I'd attribute part of that to playing in a club like HOB, where there's a hard 11 p.m. set ending time. As a result, the band didn't jam as much as it did back in the day, but there were still the snippets and covers the Whigs are known for. Launching into "Crime Scene, Part One" to open the show, Dulli had the crowd going from the first note.

Most of the focus was on the band's classic Gentlemen album (five songs, including a run of "What Jail is Like," "Fountain and Fairfax," "When We Two Parted" and "Gentlemen"), but also 1996's underrated Black Love, a cinematic opus from which six songs were played. The Whigs deftly jumped to and from the various stylistic eras of its career, from the angsty alt-rock rage of "I'm Her Slave" and "Miles Iz Ded" to the dark mobster stylings of "My Enemy" to the jubilant soul-infused "Crazy" and "66" (from the band's last album 1965). And the one guy to my right who kept yelling "RETAAAHHHHDDED!!!" got his wish, as the Whigs played that early song from their Up In It album. The band also played its two new releases, covers of Marie "Queenie" Lyons' "See and Don't See" and Frank Ocean's "Lovecrimes," which featured Dulli at the keyboard, where he segued into Andy Williams' "Moon River" in honor of the singer's death that day.

Dulli loves sneaking in lines from other artists and tonight was no exception, with a line from Prince's "Little Red Corvette" inserted into "66," the Supremes' "I Hear a Symphony" at the end of "Bulletproof" and even KISS' "I Was Made for Lovin' You" dropped into one song. But the best one came during the encore, which was a Black Love trilogy with "Bulletproof," "Summer's Kiss" and "Faded," a majestic song that rolled into the end of Prince's "Purple Rain," complete with the high-pitched "woo-oo-oo-oooh"s. Just a transcendent way to end a fantastic show.