Last night I witnessed one of the most amazing shows(this was not a gig!) that I ever have, thanks to Mr Greg Dulli and his collective, The Twilight Singers. That the gig was not sold out months in advance, is scandelous, but those that braved London's first snow fall this year watched a show that started off with a glow and ended as a forest fire.
The show started with a few new songs, Martin Eden, and Teenage Wristband taken from their latest album, Blackberry Belle, then with a few songs from their previous release. Not having seen them perform live before, I was surprised at the heaviness of their live sound. Anyone who has listened to the albums, may have been put off by their mellowness compared to Dulli's previous band, The Afghan Whigs. So that was the glow........what followed next was the start of the fire.
A medley of John Coltrane's "Love Supreme" and "All you need is Love" by The Beatles displayed Dulli's ability to be "the crooner" before going into Steve Miller's "I'm a joker, I'm a smoker.." The night progressed with fags and whiskey being consumed by the front man at an alarming rate. In no particular order, the rest of the show included snippets of artists as diverse as The Darkness, to Cream to Fleetwood Mac. While sitting at the keyboards, about to start "Uptown Again" by the Whigs, Dulli warns us not to be alarmed if it ends in a medley of Stevie Nicks songs, to which the crowd laugh. Then he says, "Because it's going to!!", to which the crowd howled laughter. All of these snippets were included in Twilight Singers tunes, muddled up with mainly "1965" era Afghan Whigs.
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They were having so much fun on the stage, almost as much as I was having and half the audience. There were many glum faces, stunned by diversification of music that was being sent their way, at full volume. My ears still ringing 24 hours later...
The highlight of the double encore 2 full hours show?? It has to be a full length cover of "Hey Ya" by Outkast. I never thought that I would see The Twilight Singers and not think that the Whigs tracks would be the highlight!!
Greg Dulli is a genious, that more than 500 people in London don't know that is sad to say the least. Those that know, should spread the word, it's the second coming! The Whigs are dead, but not Greg Dulli!
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