Afghan Whigs to play Crowbar

A ticket to a rock concert used to imply a fan could see two or three hours of emotionally driven and intense music.

Lately, though, audiences have grown content with shorter shows lacking enthusiasm and originality. But Monday night at Crowbar, the Afghan Whigs will give its audience the passion and spontaneity that is to be expected from a concert.

Opening for the Whigs is Firewater, the band created by Tod Ashley, formerly of Cop Shoot Cop. Firewater's music is a blend of traditional Irish folk music and indie rock.

The Afghan Whigs are a Cincinnati-based band born in 1986 when singer Greg Dulli and guitarist Rick McCollum met in an Ohio prison. Since then, the band has released six full-length albums influenced by soul music, early Motown and classic rock.

All of these influences come through in the band's newest album, 1965, which exhibits the Whigs' unique style of rock and soul. It's a sort of Motown-on-steroids sound the band has taken on the road to establish its reputation.

The driving force behind a Whigs concert is frontman Dulli, whose stage presence evokes thoughts of Mick Jagger, James Brown and Jim Morrison wrapped into one. Dulli is fueled by the audience's energy - a poor audience might not even see an encore, while a passionate group of fans could get three hours of music or more.

The Whigs are filled out by bassist John Curley and drummer Michael Horrigan and are backed by an entourage of backup singers, keyboard players and percussionists that help breathe life into a typical Whigs music marathon.

On stage, the Whigs are not afraid to draw upon their influences. One can expect to hear the band resuscitate classics ranging from the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" to the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden."

Tickets for the Afghan Whigs and Firewater are $10 and are on sale now at Crowbar.

-- by Tony Roberts