Greg Dulli’s last visit to Italy dates back to 1996, when the Afghan Whigs toured Black Love. So there was a little apprehension about the appearance of one of alternative rock’s guru in the country that Dulli seems to love so much, given the many references to Italian language in the Whigs’ records and the friends he has here, mainly the Sicilian guy and personal “consigliere” Cesare Zappala.

The moment Dulli entered the stage walking like a pimp, a cigarette in his mouth and a beer in his hand, pianist John Nooney playing Nino Rota’s theme from The Godfather, everything looked clear to the hundreds of people gathered in the Velvet Club for the fourth date of the Italian Twilight Singers tour with Afterhours, one of the most well known and appreciated local bands. The stage is all for him: dressed in black, a constant grim on his face, he takes the band through a hot one-hour set of new Twilight Singers songs and old favourite classics from the Whigs repertoire and rock history.

The band seems particulary at ease with the recent Blackberry Belle tracks, rendered in a particulary violent and hard way: Esta Noche, Teenage Wristband and Martin Eden (but also Nina Simone’s Black Is The Colour Of My True Love's Hair, from late summer Twilight’s EP) sounds bigger, faster and loud, sometimes edging to pure 70’s deviant hard rock. In a word: they rock their asses out.

Apart from Dulli, the main men tonight are lead guitarist Jon Skibic and drummer Bobby Macintyre, but all the five guys on stage seem to have a very good time (after the gig, Bobby tells me that here in Italy he’s having “the best time of his life” ever).

Dulli, of course, is a born entertainer, sending kisses to the girls in front of him while crying out a very dark rendition of The Beatles’ All You Need Is Love during Love (one of the three tracks taken from Twilight first record). Tonight’s others favorite rock moments are the Coltrane/Gaye medley A Love Supreme/Please Don’t Stay (for me, the set’s highlight), Outkast’s Hey Ya (a very well informed friend of mine tells me that Dulli claims that the Atlanta duo took inspiration for their track from the Whigs’ 66, which Twilight played soon after that), Gershwin’s Summertime, sung during Faded’s intro, and, best of all, the opening lines from Gentlemen’s If I Were Going, in the middle of Papillon (which hosts Afterhours singer and Dulli friend Manuel Agnelli on vocals).

At moments, when Dulli screams his heart out, it just seems to hear a very Afghan Whigs presence in the hall. That said, tough the Twilights are great and consumed players, McCollum and Curley are missing tonight. But let’s not be nostalgic: Dulli is back and the shared feeling among the fans is that he’s in great shape, and we want to see him soon back again on a stage with a guitar in his hand. It’s been a great night with the sexy motherfucker.
Nicola Caleffi

Setlist:

1. Esta noche

2. Teenage Wristband

3. The Twilite Kid

4. Love

5. Annie Mae

6. Decatur Street

7. A Love Supreme / Please Stay

8. Papillon

9. Martin Eden

10. Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair

11. Uptown Again

12. Hey Ya

13. 66

14. Faded