The crowd at the front of the AMD Stage was mostly still collecting Pokemon cards when the Afghan Whigs released their final album in 1999.
And while the band inspires a fierce loyalty in those who adore their music, they haven't gone become a cult legend whose records have been passed along on burned CDs and external hard drives from teenaged fan to teenaged fan over the past thirteen years, the way that, say, the similarly-timelined At The Drive In has.
For its part, the band has settled into its reunion nicely. After over a decade off, any rust that may have gathered has shaken off well.
So the number of teenagers up front were probably mostly just there to hold a good spot for the closing set from AVICCI, but who really cares about that? The Afghan Whigs are an accessible rock band whose music translates well to listeners who are otherwise stuffed full of pills and waiting for a DJ to emerge.
That's mostly how things seemed to go for the Whigs' set on Friday (er, that is, the Afghan Whigs' set — a band called The Whigs, with no modifier, is on the bill for Saturday, leading to what's sure to be much confusion among fans of relatively straightforward, guitar-based rock bands). The crowd near the front was a mix of place-holding teenagers and die-hard fans in their 30s and 40s, who've been utterly devoted to the band's mix of guitar rock and classic soul since the heyday of Alternative Nation.
For its part, the band has settled into its reunion nicely. After over a decade off, any rust that may have gathered has shaken off well; while the Afghan Whigs have always been a night-time band, they were compelling even during a mid-day performance, loading up the set list with big rock-and-roll stompers like "Uptown Again," "What Jail Is Like," and "Crazy."
The band has also shaken off the reunion-show tendency to focus mostly on the hits (or at least the most beloved songs) in favor of a set that more accurately reflects the experience of seeing the Afghan Whigs in the pre-breakup days.
Back then, the Whigs were known for dropping in covers, both expected and not, throughout their set, interpolating other artists' songs into their own, and generally treating the performance as something of a revue. The ACL performance included pieces of "Who Do You Love" by Bo Diddley, "Little Red Corvette" by Prince, "See and Don't See" by Marie Queenie Lyons, and "Lovecrimes" by Frank Ocean.
In short, the Afghan Whigs' ACL set was a snapshot of what the band has been, and of where they are now (while "Who Do You Love" and "Little Red Corvette" were staples of the band's first run, "See And Don't See" and "Lovecrimes" are exclusive to this incarnation).
All that's really left for the band are some new songs of their own, and until that happens, the ACL set was at least proof that this reunion has their full attention.
Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers in Reminders of HIm.
Texas author Colleen Hoover has gone from being a popular writer to a full-on celebrity in the 2020s, with the new film Reminders of Him marking the third adaptation of her books in just 19 months (a fourth, Verity, is scheduled for release in October 2026). All of her books that have been adapted so far — most notably It Ends With Us — are female-led stories that feature elements of romance and trauma, catnip for studios looking to appeal to the underserved demographic of women.
Leading the way in this film is Kenna Rowan (Maika Monroe), who returns to her hometown of Laramie, Wyoming after spending years in prison for killing her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow), in a car accident. That relationship resulted in a daughter, Diem (Zoe Kosovic), whom Kenna gave birth to while imprisoned and is now being raised by her grandparents, Patrick (Bradley Whitford) and Grace (Lauren Graham).
Yearning to be a part of Diem’s life, Kenna tries to reconnect with Patrick and Grace, only to be rebuffed by Scotty’s best friend, Ledger (Tyriq Withers), a former NFL player who now owns a local bar. In running interference, Ledger starts to become closer to Kenna, discovering that her tragic mistake shouldn’t be the only thing that defines her.
Directed by Vanessa Caswill and written by Lauren Levine, the film features mostly surface level examinations of its themes and average performances, yet it winds up being effective thanks to a willingness not to rush through its storytelling beats. The filmmakers take the slow and steady approach toward the coupling of Kenna and Ledger, setting up their bond through a series of heart-to-heart conversations that makes any romance feel earned.
The majority of the focus is on Kenna reclaiming her place in the world, and on Ledger coming to terms with the fact that the person who killed his best friend is not inherently a bad person. The film definitely could have gone deeper in its explorations of grief and anger, but the sheer amount of time it takes in addressing the characters’ doubts and fears turns out to be sufficient for a film that’s not aiming to be considered a dramatic masterpiece.
It also helps that Caswill and Levine do a solid job of establishing the variety of characters that inhabit the film. Kenna and Ledger don’t always feel like fully-formed people, but they become so through their interactions with each other and the other townspeople. Lady Diana (Monika Myers), a girl with Down syndrome who lives in Kenna’s apartment complex, and Roman (Nicholas Duvernay), Ledger’s co-worker at his bar, help to broaden the appeal of the two leads.
Monroe has, to this point, been best known for starring roles in horror films like It Follows and Longlegs. While she does somewhat well in this role, her delivery is often more flat than you’d expect for a character going through what she does. Withers thankfully doesn’t remind viewers of his recent bomb Him, demonstrating a crossover appeal that should serve him well in the future. Whitford and Graham don’t get to do much, but their combined experience gives their roles exactly what is needed.
It may sound like damning with faint praise, but Reminders of Him is a competently made film that knows how to serve its core audience without insulting anyone who may not automatically be all-in for such a story. The filmmakers don’t try to force any of the key moments down the audience’s throat, and that stands out in a genre that’s not always known for its subtlety.
The Afghan WhigsPhoto by Jessica Pages
Photo by Jessica Pages
Photo by Jessica Pages
Photo by Jessica Pages
