Win Tickets ($100): The Church, The Afghan Whigs @ Crystal Ballroom | Psychedelic-splashed Indie Rock, w/ Ed Harcourt
We are giving away a pair of tickets to The Church, The Afghan Whigs @ Crystal Ballroom on July 6. To win, comment below on this post why you’d like to attend. Winner will be drawn and emailed July 1.
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From our sponsors:
The Church
The Afghan Whigs
Special Guest: Ed Harcourt
July 6, 2024
6:30PM Doors, 8PM Show | All Ages
$45 ADV, $50 Doors, 21+ Reserved Balcony – $55 ADV, $60 Doors
More info: crystalballroompdx.com
Crystal Ballroom
1332 W Burnside St, Portland, OR 97209
Few bands enter their fifth decade of making music with all the fierce creative energy of their early years. Even fewer bands are like The Church.
Experiencing a renaissance of sorts with their worldwide critically-hailed 26th album The Hypnogogue and a world tour that took them through North America, the UK, Europe and Australia, The Church was met with fervent audiences who embraced not only their early catalog but their new material as well. UNCUT encapsulated this idea when they wrote in their 8 out of 10 review that “The Hypnogogue is like every other Church album, and nothing quite like any of them; both statements are intended as compliments.”
A monumental concept album, The Hypnogogue found The Church honing in on their bespoke sound without retreading creative steps, unveiling a cinematic record that couples their trademark psychedelic-splashed indie rock with a dystopian narrative – a first for the band. Featuring pre-album release singles “The Hypnogogue”, “C’est La Vie” and “No Other You,” the album offers a pool of melancholy tones and psychedelic swells, transporting listeners to another realm, guided by its striking science fiction narrative. Reading like a short story from visionary science fiction author Philip K. Dick (“A Scanner Darkly,” “Electric Dreams”), The Hypnogogue is a retro-futuristic, dystopian tale that revolves around a fictional machine (the “Hypnogogue”) that extracts music directly from subconscious dreams.
As fans’ love of the band grew with the advent of the new record and its new direction, critics embraced them too. Rolling Stone quipped, “In full flight, Kilbey plays the bass with a power and intent once reserved for ascending Lancaster bomber pilots in WWII.” Vive Le Rock rated it a 9 out of 10 and calls the album “a great leap forward, thanks to the incredible melting pot of talent that Kilbey is now stirring.” American Songwriter praised, “On The Hypnogogue, the quintet creates fluid moods, moving in idiosyncratic directions while maintaining the shadowy gaze that has defined The Church’s style.” Classic Rock hailed, “The Hypnogogue finds [Steve Kilbey] close to the top of his game… The best bands have the capacity to surprise even after decades at the coal face. That The Church remain so vigorous and vibrant is a delightful surprise indeed.”
To continue the excitement that the music world at large was experiencing, Steve Kilbey and band decided to further the storyline of the Hypnogogue by returning to the studio to add additional tracks for a deluxe edition of The Hypnogogue to be released this Fall 2023. While the digital companion to the album will be available worldwide on DSPs, a special physical deluxe edition will be available to purchase as a standalone physical format at merch on the upcoming U.S. dates.
The Afghan Whigs
How Do You Burn?
From their inception in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1986, The Afghan Whigs have never played by the rules of convention. Against the plaid-and-grunge-shaded backdrop of the early-to-mid-‘90s, the Whigs stood apart from their contemporaries by virtue of attiring in suits and being way more likely to slide up on a Marvin Gaye groove than rehash a Black Sabbath riff.
They stand apart still. Twenty-six years down the line, bands simply aren’t supposed to be making the most vaulting and thrilling music of their lives. Yet that’s precisely what the Whigs have done with ‘How Do You Burn?’, their ninth album overall and following on from the brace of widely-acclaimed records they’ve made previously since re-grouping in 2012, ‘Do to the Beast’ (2014) and ‘In Spades’ (2017). ‘How Do You Burn?’ picks up the baton laid down by each of those records and runs it to the horizon.
Work on it was begun in September 2020 – the COVID pandemic having forced Whigs frontman/songwriter Greg Dulli to abandon plans to tour his highly-praised solo album, ‘Random Desire’ – and continued over the next 14 months.
The global pandemic dictated also that the band record largely apart from, and in different locations to, each other: Dulli, his co-producer Christopher Thorn and drummer Patrick Keeler together in California; bassist John Curley, guitarist Jon Skibic and strings man Rick Nelson laying down and engineering their own parts in Cincinnati, New Jersey and New Orleans, respectively.
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Wow… two great bands. We would _love_ to go!!
Send me to Church
My boyfriend would love to go see the Church!!!
Omg, this would be so fun
Two bands I love but have never seen! Would love to go.
Great line-up, fantastic show!!
Have enjoyed both bands for decadea….would especially love to see the church with my wife who is also a huge fan!
Every time “Under the Milky Way” comes on the radio, I know something good is about to happen and this show comes 4 days after my 42nd – would be absolutely amazing to see The Church live.
Oh hell yeah….( please forgive me)
Yes, please!
Yip! Yes, please! 💃
Last time I saw Afghan Whigs was on the Congregation tour in a little bar in Eugene. They were amazing.
My kinda jams!
This is going to be a great show, and I want to be there!
Priest=aura blew me away at 15 years old! Take me there!
The Church is great but Afghan Whigs are the best!!! Me please!
Wow. What an interesting pairing. The Church don’t come around too often (from Australia) and I love everything Greg Dulli has done!
This is a stellar lineup! I’ve been a diehard The Church fan since the 80s and The Afghan Wigs have always been on my concert bucket lists!
This is a great line up. I’d love to win tickets please.
Thank-you!
Great lineup- Ed’s the sleeper here!
It would be an honor to see such greats play!
Send me aboard for this cascade of songsmiths.
Yes please!
I would LOVE to be able to attend this show. Such great music from both. That would be an epic night for me.
Under the milky way
Send Cory to church.
Oh Yes!! Great Line Up!!! I wanna Gooooooooo
Life in Metropolis
Would love to see these bands!
Ok fine, I’ll go back to Church.
Please let’s goooo to church
🙏🏻✨ take me to church 💀🖤
Yes, yes, absolutely yes.
I’d love to go to this!
Oh my gosh! I would love to go to this. Church and Afghan Whigs are the best!
Haven’t seen the Whigs since the Big Top Halloween days! What a double bill!
The Church is my husband’s favorite band of all time!
This looks so fun
This is my partner’s dream concert… Can we say date night?
Been listening to Gentleman since I was 16.
Stellar line up! This would be a very exciting show! Never got too see Afghan live ever!
What an awesome lineup. Count me in.
Never seen the Church, would love to.
Lead me here dispite my destination. Under the milkyway tonight.
Please pick me!
Two great bands that I would absolutely love to see!
I’ve been listening to both bands and wanting to see both of these bands for many decades and now they are playing together! What an amazing opportunity!!!!
Would love to Whig out before The Church!
What an awesome line up, would love to be there!
This gentleman would be ever so grateful for a chance to attend.
Just introduced my 20 year old son to The Church. What fun it would be to see a show with him! Fingers crossed.
I really would love to go to this show….I’ve been listening to both bands since the late 80s and still haven’t gotten around to being able to see them…me and my family would really enjoy seeing them!!!
I missed them last time they swung through town and was gutted. Fingers crossed I can get in on this hot action!
Oh wow I have loved The Church since their first album and have never had the chance to see them! I wasn’t even aware that they were still touring until I saw the advertisement a few weeks ago. My parents and grandparents used to attend dances in this ballroom years and years ago. It would amazing to win tickets to this concert in such a historical venue.
Oh I would so love to see both bands. The Church is a longtime fave and I’ve never gotten to see them live. Thanks!
The Whigs are from my hometown! Would love to see them again, and the Church for the first time ever!
I really would love to go to this show….I’ve been listening to both bands since the late 80s and still haven’t gotten around to being able to see them…me and my 20 year old son whos pickung up guitar would really enjoy seeing them!!!thanks!!!!
OMG I would love to win these tickets.
What a great pairing! Asking me to choose which band I’m most excited to see would be like asking me which of my two kids I like better. There both great!
i would enjoy this so much!
Take me on down to the Church in an unguarded moment please!
This would be amazing!
Please! Dream come tru
Afghan wigs would be dope
I’ve sinned. Please send me to The Church!
This is going to be an amazing show!
Yes, PLEASE! 🎶
Great line up at the crystal! I would love to go.
Send me Under the Milkyway Tonight to see the Church at the ballroom
Church is the soundtrack to my life!
I’ve always wanted to see the afghan whigs…..this would be amazing!!
Indie psych is the best! Never seen it live! 🤞
Lead me here dispite my destination… under the milky way tonight. <3
Have wanted to see the Whigs for years, never could quite make it happen
Would love to see this show!
I like them.
Pick me!!
Because it’s the Whigs!
Oh wow. Seriously. I haven’t seen a show at the crystal ballroom for at least a decade and this would be a fantastic show to get back to it.
super lineup!
I’m ready!
I would love to see afghan whigs play! Please and thank-you
Enchanted by both bands!
Swoon!
This is the only church I’m interested in!
Understand/I’m a gentleman
Um, yes please.