Tue 9/9 @ 8PM
Cincinnati’s Afghan Whigs were a second-tier indie band in the ’90s indie-rock revolution, probably in large part because they didn’t really fit into any of the prevailing indie sounds and despite launching their career on the label that made Seattle famous, Sub Pop. Unlike most of their contemporaries, the group drew heavily on soul and R&B to fuel their music.
And vocalist Greg Dulli could break your heart or get on your nerves — he always seemed to spend a significant amount of every set dissing someone or something in the music scene. But his singing seemed to reach into deep reservoirs of pain and disaffection that he made palpable when he performed.
The Whigs graduated to a major label for their 1993 album Gentlemen, which featured their best-known and most radio-played track “Debonair.” The band’s music got darker, more dangerous and less successful as the ’90s went on, and they eventually broke up in 2001.
Sort of. It turned out they were only taking an 11-year hiatus. They reformed in early 2012 and returned to Sub Pop for their latest release, Do to the Beast, which came out in April. Dulli hasn’t lost his shambling magnetism, which he’s kept honed in projects like the Twilight Singers, and the band’s music still defiantly thumbs its nose at trends.
They’re back on the road now and hitting Cleveland’s House of Blues this week. As an added treat, their opening act is Akron native Joseph Arthur, an idiosyncratic singer/songwriter who was championed early in his career by Peter Gabriel for his adventurous musical explorations that involve solo performances where he accompanies himself on guitar heavily on looping and effects pedals.
Tickets are $25.50 in advance, $28 at the door.