The Afghan Whigs at Waiting Room Wrap-Up

 

So, I saw The Afghan Whigs last night, and the photo above should explain why I have no pictures of the band performing. I am really conflicted about bands requesting that people not take their photos during a concert. Technically, Afghan Whigs did not ban photography at the show. It was more of a polite suggestion. Lead singer Greg Dulli did yell at someone who was using a flash (which any idiot should know that you don't do), but that was completely understandable. After the first few songs, he then asked everyone to put away their phones and just enjoy the concert. 

I get it. Artists don't like poor quality (or really any quality) videos of their shows being posted on youtube. Also, I could imagine how annoying it would be to look out into the crowd and see a bunch of folks watching the show through their cell phones. But that is sort of the way of the world these days. I don't film shows precisely because I don't want to spend the whole concert looking through the lens of my phone. However, I do like taking a few pictures as personal mementos of the show. And, of course, I like posting them on Instagram and on this very site. An outright photo ban is lame, but a strong suggestion from an artist that they'd prefer if you didn't spend the whole night on your phone is acceptable. Either way, I didn't want to get up close and take pictures because I worried Dulli might yell at me! 

Instead, I stayed toward the back of The Waiting Room and just listened. A few quick thoughts on the show: the band sounded great. Greg Dulli's voice was in good form, and he was able to belt out the classics and the new stuff with equal intensity. Outside of Dulli, and maybe the bass player, I don't think anyone else on stage had ever been a member of Afghan Whigs prior to this current tour. That was a little weird, but they sounded great, so I guess I don't care. My last observation would be that by the end of the set, I was kind of getting bored. I'm not a musician, so maybe I am off base, but it seems to me that most every Afghan Whigs song is in the same key or something. They all started sounding the same after an hour or so. I've never noticed this before, but last night, I was definitely feeling that.

If Afghan Whigs comes to your town, I would recommend you go. Maybe you were a bigger fan of the band back in the day than I was. I always liked them, had a few records, but they were never one of "my bands." You know?

UPDATE: Hear Nebraska has a lengthier review and some actual photographs here.