5 October 2026

Cincinnati‘s rock bigshots THE AFGHAN WHIGS celebrate their 40th anniversary as
a band this year. To cement the monumental moment, they treated our ears to their splendid 10th album, named Soft Control (you can stream it below), which landed
last August and spread the festive message on their current tour.

Last night they stopped in Antwerp at the historic ballroom venue called Roma.

Two songs in and frontman Greg Dulli wanted more light in the room: “You can see me, and I wanna see you too.” From there on, it was all feet on the pedals. The Whigs went for
a best-of and 4 tracks (My Lover / Jungle Roux / The Deepest Part Of The Darkest Show / Duvateen) from the new full-length Soft Control.

After 4 decades, the Whigs still have the electrifying energy and blazing brio of
young punks. On stage (as I experienced several times before) they become a
mean riff machine. It’s amps and sirens up, exceeding the permitted volume in
decibels. Yes, the Cincinnati crew are burningly LOUD. Hells bells.

Guess what, despite the roaring racket, Dulli‘s immense voice manages to come on
top of it all. Oh my, oh my. His lung capacity is off the charts, and he obviously enjoys
it to the full extent. Even in the quieter intervals ( Algiers / My Lover / Duvateen / It Kills),
you could still hear Dulli & Co outside of the venue.

Only the greats can still make great records and draw full houses after such an
expansive career. And Dulli, at 61, and his squad are far from done. Hats off to
these always-delivering gentlemen.

SETLIST

Jungle Roux
I’m Her Slave
Light as a Feather
What Jail Is Like
House of I
Toy Automatic
Going to Town
Debonair
My Lover
Algiers
Somethin’ Hot
The Slide Song
Catch a Colt
The Deepest Part of the Darkest Show
It Kills
Please, Baby, Please
Fountain and Fairfax
My Enemy
Son of the South
Duvateen
Summer’s Kiss
Into The Floor
Miles Iz Ded

SOFT CONTROL

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Live photos by Turn Up The Volume