THE TWILIGHT SINGERS + Afterhours @ Cabaret (Musée Juste Pour Rire )

By Omar Husain - Hooked On Sonics - 05/27/2006

The last time Greg Dulli ever performed (or set foot) in Montreal was in 1998, touring in support of what ended up being his previous band, the Afghan Whigs’ last CD. One of the first shows I ever saw, that performance still stands up as one of the best, if not the best, I've ever experienced. Playful, relaxed, and tight, (not to mention entertaining), Dulli and co. played several songs from the band’s catalogue, with an additional touring keyboardist and group of backing vocalists. It seemed more like a celebration of the band's history, and rightfully so, as the band ended up parting ways following that tour. Since the break-up of the Whigs, Dulli took a brief hiatus from music, opening some bars and restaurants in what was to become his new home base of New Orleans (Dulli fell in love with the city when the Whigs recorded their final CD 1965 there). A while later Dulli picked up his guitar and the songs began pouring out again. Now with a steady band of backing musicians and a three CD’s worth of material since (not including one covers disc and a solo record), Dulli and his new group the Twilight Singers were back in town for their first Montreal show to promote their latest, and Dulli’s best material since the break-up of the Afghan Whigs, entitled Powder Burns. What so far is, and will probably end up being my favourite album of 2006, Powder Burns not only stands up to Dulli's fantastic catalogue with the Afghan Whigs, but it's also one of the best collection of songs he's ever released. The real question is - how might the live show stack up? Kicking off the evening with Powder Burns’ lead track, "I'm Ready", the band let the crowd know they meant business and things really kicked in by the third chorus when Dulli let his trademark caterwaul howl out of his throat. From then on, the band hit their stride and kept it coming as the night progressed. "Bonnie Brae" started off shaky, but segued into “66”, the only Whigs cut of the night (much to this writer’s chagrin). After, Dulli sat down behind the piano amidst shouts of "Duuuuulliiiiiii!" that were met with a smirk and a "Yeeeees?" Dulli also joked with the crowd how he was suppressing any urge to play ‘Frère Jacques' to which some drunk gal started yelling "PLAY IT DUUUULLIII! YOU BETTER PLAAAAY IT!" much to the audience's amusement. Cracking up behind the piano, he looked out towards her and replied "Lady, when did we get married so you can yell at me like that?". During "Candy Cane Crawl", Dulli then left the piano (while bandmate Manuel Agnelli filled in) and pulled a brunette from the front row up on stage and serenaded her while they slow danced. Dulli is indeed quite a charmer. "There's Been an Accident", my favourite song on Powder Burns, was nicely rendered with opener Afterhours' Dario Ciffo providing some electric violin and was the highlight of the evening, with lead guitarist Dave Rosser stealing the show. Ending off the set with another Powder Burns standout, "Forty Dollars", the band seemed to have been playing the song in an alternative key. I don't know if this was intentional or not, or something they're working on, but it definitely sounded ‘off’. After a short intermission they began the encore the same way their set had started: with some moody music. Then the band returned and kicked it off with Dulli once again behind the piano for a rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" before segueing into "Killer" and covering Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" (personally, I would have preferred the Whigs' "Crazy", but this was still great) and finally closing with their cover of "Black is the Colour of my True Love's Hair." Leaving the stage, it was obvious the crowd wanted a second encore and they were making it known. The house lights were lit and the PA started cranking out music, yet the crowd didn’t stop chanting, stomping, and clapping for more. I’ve never seen a group of people demand a second encore as exuberantly as they did (they would continue for fifteen more minutes). While the hall was full of past Whigs fans, I wondered how many of them might have attended that 1998 Whigs show, where Dulli and company performed an impressive three to four encores. Maybe they thought he’d relive that experience. Not so. After clamouring about, everyone gave up and walked out. Oh well. In the end, it wasn't as good as the Afghan Whigs performance I had seen before, and to be honest I wasn't expecting it to be. That performance had a lot of sentimental value attached to it for me. Along with being one of the first shows I ever saw, it was the first time I interviewed a band (I had the pleasure of having coffee with Afghan Whigs bassist John Curley), and the Whigs were, and still are, one of my all-time favourite bands. (Note: the first time I ever set foot in an an independent record store as a young teen, the two tapes I bought were Bad Religion's Recipe for Hate and the Afghan Whigs' Gentlemen. Both are albums that figure in my top 10 albums of all time. The Twilight Singers’ performance was both tight and relaxed with a feel you’d expect from Dulli, but I guess the only thing absent was a kind of magic or spark. Dulli clearly still has that but I did feel that something in general was lacking in their performance. Still, Dulli is one of the best songwriters around, and if Powder Burns is any indication, he still has a lot of fire left in him.