Greg Dulli at the Union Chapel
Union Chapel, 9 February 2016
So, tonight Greg Dulli told me he liked my hat. He could have been
making fun of me but I like to think he was genuinely being nice. It's
not often these days I do the signing thing or even want to meet the
musicians I like, but I made an exception for Dulli because he's been
such a huge part of my life and thankfully, he didn't disappoint: he was
as charming and funny as I always suspected, and of course nice enough
to at least pretend to like my hat.
It's a far cry from the Dulli of old of course, the one who got so drunk and sweaty he almost passed out during the actual show but at the Union Chapel tonight he was on good form throughout, so that even after he was able to meet his fans and continue to smile and charm us all. Good old Dulli.
Getting to shake the man's hand obviously wasn't the main purpose of going to see this show though, it was to see him perform stripped down songs from throughout his career. Dulli's been in many bands now over the years but whether it's the Afghan Whigs, the Twilight Singers or the Gutter Twins, in the end it's all Dulli (and sometimes Mark Lanegan) and it doesn't really matter what name is on the poster or album cover. That's why tonight was such an exciting prospect: to be able to hear Dulli's songs whether solo or with his various bands all mixed together.
I expected the show to be acoustic, maybe Dulli alone, but really it was pretty electric and loud and, although minus a drummer, thanks to longtime guitarist Dave Rosser along for the ride as well as two members of Italian rock band Afterhours (Manuel Agnelli and Rodrigo D'Erasmo - who also opened with their own set tonight). This meant that tracks like the Gutter Twins' The Body, sounded suitably loud and menacing and Dulli's soulful growl was as strong as ever over the top of it all.
For anyone missing the Twilight Singers after the recent Afghan Whigs reunion, Dulli provided plenty to remind us just how great they were (and maybe still are? I have no clue what is going on with any of Dulli's projects), such as Bonnie Brae, Underneath The Waves and Forty Dollars. The Whigs were represented by recent tracks It Kills, Can Rova, the always rousing Summer's Kiss and best of all, a truly acoustic Step Into The Light, which gave me chills and sent me back to the 90s when the Whigs were my everything.
There were of course, as ever, some nice covers too, such as Dulli's first rate version of Bjork's Hyperballad, the amazing Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair and Shuggie Otis's Strawberry Letter 23, which Dulli told us when he heard it as a kid it was before he had ever taken drugs but after he heard it he felt like he had! There were not too many storytelling moments as his in drunken past but there was no doubt that Dulli was on top form, not just vocally, but obviously just having a great time on stage playing with people he loved to an audience who just adored him. The music was definitely dark and dirty at times but the feeling throughout the night was full of love.
We also got treated to rare outings for two tracks from Dulli's one solo album, Amber Headlights, which was exciting (and truthfully I would have loved to have heard more from), namely Early Today (And Later Tonight) and So Tight (apparently the shortest song Dulli has ever written - or recorded, I can't remember which - or so he told us) which both sounded incredible. It was also bizarre and wonderful that when Dulli announced he was going to play a new song the crowd actually got more excited (rather than mass exodus to the bar) and the new track, which I think was called Demon In Profile, sounded big and sexy with a cool groovy riff.
After Dave Rosser pulled off a pretty fantastic impression of Mark Lanegan on the track Number Nine, Dulli returned alone for the encore, his recent acoustic cover of Modern Love, given away free on his website in tribute to the late great David Bowie and it was a wonderful way to end a great night (although sadly apparently Dulli had to cut a few killer tracks from the setlist due to the curfew).
What can I say? Dulli never disappoints and tonight he was better form that ever. I'm not sure what these shows were in aid of but I do hope he is working on a new album and we'll get to hear more from Dulli very soon.
It's a far cry from the Dulli of old of course, the one who got so drunk and sweaty he almost passed out during the actual show but at the Union Chapel tonight he was on good form throughout, so that even after he was able to meet his fans and continue to smile and charm us all. Good old Dulli.
Getting to shake the man's hand obviously wasn't the main purpose of going to see this show though, it was to see him perform stripped down songs from throughout his career. Dulli's been in many bands now over the years but whether it's the Afghan Whigs, the Twilight Singers or the Gutter Twins, in the end it's all Dulli (and sometimes Mark Lanegan) and it doesn't really matter what name is on the poster or album cover. That's why tonight was such an exciting prospect: to be able to hear Dulli's songs whether solo or with his various bands all mixed together.
I expected the show to be acoustic, maybe Dulli alone, but really it was pretty electric and loud and, although minus a drummer, thanks to longtime guitarist Dave Rosser along for the ride as well as two members of Italian rock band Afterhours (Manuel Agnelli and Rodrigo D'Erasmo - who also opened with their own set tonight). This meant that tracks like the Gutter Twins' The Body, sounded suitably loud and menacing and Dulli's soulful growl was as strong as ever over the top of it all.
For anyone missing the Twilight Singers after the recent Afghan Whigs reunion, Dulli provided plenty to remind us just how great they were (and maybe still are? I have no clue what is going on with any of Dulli's projects), such as Bonnie Brae, Underneath The Waves and Forty Dollars. The Whigs were represented by recent tracks It Kills, Can Rova, the always rousing Summer's Kiss and best of all, a truly acoustic Step Into The Light, which gave me chills and sent me back to the 90s when the Whigs were my everything.
There were of course, as ever, some nice covers too, such as Dulli's first rate version of Bjork's Hyperballad, the amazing Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair and Shuggie Otis's Strawberry Letter 23, which Dulli told us when he heard it as a kid it was before he had ever taken drugs but after he heard it he felt like he had! There were not too many storytelling moments as his in drunken past but there was no doubt that Dulli was on top form, not just vocally, but obviously just having a great time on stage playing with people he loved to an audience who just adored him. The music was definitely dark and dirty at times but the feeling throughout the night was full of love.
We also got treated to rare outings for two tracks from Dulli's one solo album, Amber Headlights, which was exciting (and truthfully I would have loved to have heard more from), namely Early Today (And Later Tonight) and So Tight (apparently the shortest song Dulli has ever written - or recorded, I can't remember which - or so he told us) which both sounded incredible. It was also bizarre and wonderful that when Dulli announced he was going to play a new song the crowd actually got more excited (rather than mass exodus to the bar) and the new track, which I think was called Demon In Profile, sounded big and sexy with a cool groovy riff.
After Dave Rosser pulled off a pretty fantastic impression of Mark Lanegan on the track Number Nine, Dulli returned alone for the encore, his recent acoustic cover of Modern Love, given away free on his website in tribute to the late great David Bowie and it was a wonderful way to end a great night (although sadly apparently Dulli had to cut a few killer tracks from the setlist due to the curfew).
What can I say? Dulli never disappoints and tonight he was better form that ever. I'm not sure what these shows were in aid of but I do hope he is working on a new album and we'll get to hear more from Dulli very soon.
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