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.
Writer and director Paul Greengrass made his name with a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking that brought immediacy and depth to three Jason Bourne films, United 93, Captain Phillips, and more. In The Uprising, he uses those skills to tell the story of the so-called Peasants’ Revolt in 14th century England.
Greengrass wastes no time starting the main plot as Ploughman (Andrew Garfield) and his fellow villagers object to onerous taxes put on them by the country’s nobility, led by the young King Richard II (Woody Norman), to fund an ongoing war. Ploughman initiates a violent response over the tone-deaf — and unseemly — way the king’s guard go about their business, and the rebellion soon starts to spread across the countryside, with the citizens looking for a degree of autonomy.
The ever-expanding group makes their way toward London to try to make their case to the king himself. Meanwhile, the king’s top advisors, including Archbishop Sudbury (Stephen Dillane) and Treasurer Hales (Tom Hollander), try to usurp power from the inexperienced monarch even as the king’s mother (Katherine Waterston) tries to get him to be more assertive.
The history of the English monarchy is long and lurid, as Shakespeare detailed in multiple plays, including Richard II. Though the events in the film took place almost 650 years ago, it’s easy to see parallels between what the peasants were fighting for and modern-day politics. Greengrass’ storytelling intent is solid, and the righteous anger the citizens feel is initially relatable and palpable.
But the populism theme of the story soon gets bogged down in drudgery and minutiae that is difficult to understand, especially when the details are lost in the thick regional English accents. The leaders of the rebels — including John Ball (Jamie Bell), Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis), and Alyce (Thomasin McKenzie) — are shown doing a lot of planning, but the strong feelings they have about their quest don’t come across well, leaving the audience as passive observers.
When there is action, Greengrass and his team employ a frenetic style that is not great for comprehension. While the gist of what is happening and what side is winning is legible, individual moments go by so quickly so as to be nearly meaningless. Save for Ploughman, any connection that has been made with various characters proves futile, as Greengrass doesn’t seem to have any time for emotion. Scenes that should feel thrilling or heartbreaking instead come off as empty.
Garfield is a two-time Oscar nominee who has done great work across multiple genres. He’s fine in this role, but whether it’s the story, the filmmaking, or something else, he’s not as captivating as usual. The same goes for other strong actors like Bell, McKenzie, Dillane, Hollander, and Waterston, who each seem to be giving their all to their performances but are somehow muted in the process.
Done right, The Uprising could have been a rip-roaring account of people standing up against their oppressors. What Greengrass has made, though, is a film that can’t translate its medieval story for a modern audience and concentrates too much on unexciting elements and too little on thrilling ones.
The Afghan WhigsPhoto by Jessica Pages
Photo by Jessica Pages
Photo by Jessica Pages
Photo by Jessica Pages
