• A solo performance at the Sub Pop Silver Jubilee in Seattle on July 13th
• The Steve Kilbey collaboration is ongoing and there are plans for a full-length album (at some point)
• “A couple hours’ worth” of new music has been written by Dulli
• Some of that music may be offered to The Afghan Whigs
• Dulli called the Usher collaboration “one of the coolest things I’ve done in recent times”.

John Curley’s band Fists of Love has created a Kickstarter Campaign to raise funds to press their debut album on vinyl. There are some great rewards, so contribute at the link below:

I Sang My Heart Out To A Snake Once by Fists of Love

Update: The goal has been reached with 9 days remaining!

The Afghan Whigs surprised fans with a last-minute announcement of a show at SXSW‘s Converse-sponsored Fader Fort.  It was interesting enough that the band played “On the Corner” the single from the latest Twilight Singers album Powder Burns - but an even bigger surprise was waiting for fans that were able to catch the show in person or via the internet live stream.  The roof blew off when pop and R&B star Usher came out during a performance of his song “Climax” and continued to front the band through his “OMG” and the Whigs song “Something’ Hot.” Sinkane also joined the fun for a rendition of the song “Runnin’”. The band was augmented by Steve Myers on background vocals and Natural on second guitar.

The entire performance is available for streaming on Youtube. You can find out how this came to be at Billboard. Of note in that article, Sylvia Rhone was in attendance at the show. Rhone was the former head of Elektra and inspired the Afghan Whigs song “Neglekted.”

Setlist:

• Blame, Etc.
• On the Corner (Twilight Singers)
• Lovecrimes (Frank Ocean)
• Climax (Usher)
• Somethin’ Hot
• Runnin’ (Sinkane)
• OMG (Usher)

Press:

• Spin.com: Genre-Mashing “Climax”
• Popcrush: “Worked on the cosmic level”
• Live Music Blog: “one of the more surprising and random pairings in the history of live music”
• Flavorwire: “Dream about a collaborative album”
• Dangerous Minds: “unexpected and mindboggling musical”
• Chicago Reader: “ the entire crowd collectively lost its mind”
• Spinner.com: “huge moment of crossover brilliance”
• Ew.com Music Mix: “everyone in the crowd lost it”
• Onion AVClub: With the place going apeshit, Usher called the Whigs “indie-rock royalty”
• Fuse.tv: “It shouldn’t be too shocking, really”
• Vibe.com: “Usher surprised music fans”
• Billboard: “Whigs indeed breathed new life to Usher’s stage show”
• Hip Hop Wired: “Unsuspecting fans were wowed”

Washington, DC

Washington City Paper 9:30 Club (Setlist)

What made Friday night’s sold-out Afghan Whigs show at the 9:30 Club so memorable? Was it lead singer Greg Dulli wading into the crowd and donning someone’s fedora during “See & Don’t See?” Was it the way they teased “The End” by The Doors before performing a driving version of “Gentleman,” or how the first chorus of “Edge of 17″ by Stevie Nicks led into “Debonair,” complete with audience singalong? Was it the even more feverish singalong during the chorus of “Citi Soleil?”

Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom (Setlist)

Cleveland Scene

At the show’s start, singer Greg Dulli sang a few lines of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love,” before launching into the opening number, “Fountain and Fairfax.” And from that point forward, it was on.

Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory (Setlist)

WXPN

The Afghan Whigs delivered a solid, broad-reaching, impressively-performed set of popular favorites and deep cuts. There was no fuss, no muss, the band just cut straight to the rock.

Toronto, ON The Phoenix (Setlist)

Exclaim.ca

A solid, passionate performance throughout, the show’s main delight was how integrated the 1965 tracks sounded amongst the older material

New York, NY Terminal 5 (Setlist)

Newsday

… the reunion continues to evolve, with the band’s performance getting both rougher and more soulful.

Brooklyn Vegan (Photos)

The House List (Photos)

Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg (Setlist)

Brooklyn Vegan (Photos)

It was a more stirring affair than any of their three previous shows this year with 1965‘s “The Slide Song,” “Neglekted” and “Omerta,” arguably three of the most soulful songs in their entire catalog, making their way into the set.

Detroit, MI St. Andrew’s Hall (Setlist)

The Daily Tribune

…cranking through a brawny hour and 45-minute set as if the intervening years had never happened.

Detroit News

…the reunited rock group made a strong case for being one of the best bands in the world.

Cincinnati, OH Bogart’s (Setlist)

News Record

Perhaps the most interesting thing about The Afghan Whigs’ reunion is the youthful energy that the band continues to exude.

Cincinnati.com

Dulli’s singing voice sounded great. He convincingly spun back the clock 22 years…

Citybeat

…tight, focused and seemingly thrilled to be playing with each other again

Chicago, IL Metro (Night 1 Setlist | Night 2 Setlist)

Chicago Tribune

But the biggest difference between then and now pertained to the ensemble’s maturation into a more multi-faceted, and more soulful, band.

The Afghan Whigs’ Setlist:

1. Crime Scene, Part One
2. I’m Her Slave
3. Uptown Again
4. What Jail is Like
5. Fountain and Fairfax (Who Do You Love intro)
6. My Curse (with Marcy Mays)
7. Gentlemen
8. 66
9. My Enemy
10. Son of the South
11. See and Don’t See (Marie “Queenie” Lyons cover)
12. Lovecrimes / Thinkin’ Bout You (Frank Ocean cover)
13. Going to Town
14. Debonair
15. Bulletproof / Where Did Our Love Go (The Supremes cover)
16. Summer’s Kiss
17. Faded / Purple Rain

Newsday Review

…Afghan Whigs, who have only grown tighter and bolder since their impressive first show at Bowery Ballroom in May. … It’s a sign that the Whigs’ best work may not be behind them, just as I’ll Be Your Mirror showed how far Dulli’s influence really carries.

Mixdwn.com Review

Pros at rock to the Nth power of soul… Greg Dulli and friends had plenty of surprises in store for the crowd, which by now was swollen to headliner capacity.

Marcy Mays joining The Afghan Whigs for My Curse:

Diffuser.fm

The Cincinnati quintet sounded absolutely enormous, and with the opening trifecta of ‘Crime Scene, Part One,’ ‘I’m Her Slave’ and ‘Uptown Again,’ they revisited a singular strain of ’90s alt-rock every bit as grand twice as funky as anything disciples like the Foo Fighters have come up with since.

Fuse.tv

Greg Dulli and Co. KILLED it, playing both old ’90s alt-rock staples and newer tunes with verve.

Day Two Photos from the Lo-Down

Photo gallery from csimko75

Pitchfork Photo Gallery

0.00 The Afghan Whigs – Fountain And Fairfax
3.56 Frank Ocean – Lost
7.44 The Roots – Don’t Say Nuthin’
11.17 The Dirtbombs – I Hear The Sirens
13.45 Joseph Arthur – Slide Away
17.52 Jose Gonzalez – Crosses
20.31 Chavez – Unreal Is Here
22.44 Quintron And Miss Pussycat – Ring The Alarm
26.59 The Antlers – Corsicana
30.23 Afterhours – La Tempesta E’ In Arrivo
34.26 Vetiver – Ride, Ride, Ride
38.41 Scrawl – Gutterball
41.31 Dirty Three – I Remember A Time When Once You Used To Love Me

The Afghan Whigs performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live in an outdoor mini-concert. The total setlist was:

“My Enemy”, “Uptown Again”, “Fountain & Fairfax” and “Summer’s Kiss”

“My Enemy” was shown as a part of the network broadcast.

“Uptown Again” was featured on Hulu:

General on sale is this Friday; but a fan-only pre-sale begins tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10AM EST. The ticket link and pre-sale code are below.

PRE-SALE TICKET LINK | Password: Happynewyear

Stephen is a long-time Afghan Whigs fan, and I instantly knew that we would be friends when I recognized his quote from “Gentlemen” at the top of one of his entertainment columns in The Red and Black, The University of Georgia student newspaper. It read “Stephen Robinson – All messed up but nowhere to go.” Ah, college. In recent years, we’ve attended Twilight Singers shows together and have enjoyed spending long weekends with our families. I guess we had to grow up sometime.

In addition to having the pleasure of reading advance drafts of Mahogany Slade, I also had the privilege of designing the book cover. It’s a project that’s close to my heart, summing up the vibe of those heady days in Athens, GA. The music was great, the people were weird and the insecurities of independence made everything exciting.

Mahogany Slade is available for pre-order at the book’s website. Pre-orders are hand-numbered and signed and come directly from the author. It is scheduled to be released next week.

Includes footage from the band’s private show in Los Angeles for Fader.