WIKIPEDIA: The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, originally active from 1986 to 2001. They have since reformed. At their peak, the group – with core members Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), and John Curley (bass), as well as various drummers (including Steve Earle and Michael Horrigan) – evolved into one of the leading groups of ‘90s alternative rock, rising up around the grunge movement but ultimately transcending it. Evolving from a garage punk band in the vein of the Replacements, Dinosaur Jr., and Mudhoney to a literate, soul-inflected post-punk quartet, the Afghan Whigs would ultimately become one of the most critically acclaimed alternative bands of the early ’90s[1] and one of the early pioneers from the American indie underground to exploit the support of major labels.[2] Called “more than just a footnote in the annals of the Nineties alternative scene”[3] by Rolling Stone, Afghan Whigs albums like 1993’s Gentlemen would place on numerous critics’ polls as one of the greatest albums of the ‘90s.[4] In the band’s fifteen-year career, lead singer Greg Dulli would also gain a reputation as one of the most notorious frontmen in rock, both for his provocative behavior and dark lyrical subject matter.[5] While Dulli frequently claimed in interviews that the Afghan Whigs would never get back together following their dissolution in 2001,[6] the group announced in 2012 that it would reunite for a series of major concerts.[7] On May 22, 2012, the reunited Afghan Whigs made their debut performance first on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” , playing one new song, the soul cover “See and Don’t See,” and old favorite “I’m Her Slave” from Congregation.[70] The reunited Whigs played their first full concert the next night, however, at Manhattan venue The Bowery Ballroom, receiving critical accolades from the major media. “Regardless of how the surprising reunion of the Afghan Whigs turns out, their show last night at the Bowery Ballroom will go down as the ’90s alt-rock heroes’ greatest concert ever,” Glenn Gamboa wrote in Newsday,;[71] meanwhile, Steve Kandell noted in a SPIN review that “their first show together since then, at New York’s Bowery Ballroom last night, felt less like an easy nostalgia trip than a reminder of problems we, perhaps selectively, forgot we ever had. …Leader Greg Dulli was leaner, meaner, fitter, and in better voice at 47 than even during the band’s heyday… From the opening strains of “Crime Scene, Part One,” all the old drama and menace and hurt feelings and failings were right there, palpable and visceral, all couched in the equally palpable sense of relief that none of us are that fucked up anymore.”[72] MORE
We have a pair of tickets for tonight’s show at the Electric Factory to give away to the 7th lucky Phawker reader to sign up for our mailing list (SEE right, at the bottom of the masthead). Good luck and godspeed!