I have a confession to make. The first song by The Afghan Whigs that I ever heard was the still amazing after all these years 'Miles Iz Ded'. The song so imprinted into my head that I went out seeking it immediately after seeing its haunting video on the Nu Musik, hosted by the inimitable Claude Rajotte on Musique Plus:
• The Afghan Whigs - Mil...
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One problem. I only saw part of the video and didn't catch the name of the song, only heard the info from the VJ at the end. By the time I got to the record store, my brain had fixated on The Smashing Pumpkins for some reason, so imagine my disappointment when I listened to 'Gish' front to back only to find 'Miles Iz Ded' missing. Now, this was pre-internet so it's not like I was able to fix my mistake by doing a simple google search. So it was not until I saw the video for 'Turn On The Water' off the excellent 'Congregation' that I finally ended up with the correct song in tow. It was included as an unlisted hidden track at the end of the album.
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I fell hard for The Whigs, who put out a series of amazing albums throughout the 90's. And it was The Whigs who gave me one of the most perfect concert moments of all time by playing 'Miles Iz Ded' as the final song on their encore when I saw them on the 'Black Love' tour at The Cabaret on Saint-Laurent in Montreal back in '96.
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The band put out the excellent '65' a couple of years later and then the band would go on an extended hiatus of more than a decade and half. Sure, I still got my Greg Dulli fix courtesy of The Twilight Singers and The Gutter Twins, but the Whigs would not return until 2014's excellent 'Do to the Beast', and luckily, I got to see them a couple of times in the insane 2014 edition of Riot Fest in Toronto and Chicago.
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It would be another ten years until I'd get the chance to see the band again on its 2024 tour with The Church at First Avenue in Minneapolis. The venue itself is quite special to me as I was a big fan of the Minneapolis sound in the 80's, so this felt like a bit of a pilgrimage.
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The Whigs were in terrific form, Greg Dulli is still a formidable frontman and goddamn if that John Curley ain't a dreamy bastard on bass. The way that his bassline on 'Going to Town' kind of sounds like the organ on Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition' is still magic to my ears -- what a badass song. And the drums on 'Summer's Kiss'? (chef's kiss). Among the newer material, 'Oriole' is such a highlight. And 'It kills'? it fucking killed, such a gorgeous song with its lovely strings. I was not familiar with Ed Harcourt but having him join the band on keys after his own excellent set was really terrific. An incredible show and yet The Church were still to come...hot damn.
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ps. please go out and see these bands and support them by purchasing their merch!!!
pps. One little thing...the lighting at the show was a bit of a mess, if we're being honest. At times the wash of blue lights made the band disappear altogether and I couldn't find the proper color adjustment to make it much better. Sorry about that.
The Set List
00:00 Pantomima (Greg Dulli song)
03:46 Gentleman
07:17 Matamoros
10:38 Catch a Colt
15:19 Light as a Feather
18:38 Algiers
23:32 66
26:50 Too Tough to Die (Martina Topley Bird cover)
31:42 Toy Automatic
34:27 Oriole
38:19 Amazing Grace
40:36 It kills
43:35 Please, Baby, Please
47:48 A Line of Shots
51:41 Going to Town
54:51 Somethin' Hot
57:15 Summer's Kiss
1:01:19 Into the floor