Kevin Bronson on March 16th, 2013

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There were those, not too many years ago, who thought it unlikely we’d never hear from the Afghan Whigs again, let alone have the indie-rock stalwarts mount tours in big theaters, let alone see them in a corporate-sponsored festival tent, let alone see them joined onstage by one of R&B’s biggest stars.

So it was several degrees of surreal Friday at the South by Southwest Music Festival when Greg Dulli and his black-dressed band of badasses took the stage in the impressively packed, oppressively dusty Fader Fort to try and follow up an unhinged performance by Atlanta rapper Future and his all-star guests. Third song in, the Afghan Whigs launched into a cover of Usher’s “Climax” – and suddenly, at the start of the second verse, Usher himself emerged onstage to finish the hit.

The set arrived just as the tent started to buzz with Twitter-fueled reports that rapper Lil Wayne was on his deathbed. (He ended up getting a shout-out from Usher later in the set.) Still, Usher’s appearance seemed to dumbfound most of the people outside the VIP area.

With the band in robust form, Usher and the band ripped through the Whigs’ “Somethin’ Hot,” as well as Usher’s “OMG” and a cover of Sinkane’s “Runnin'” that featured a cameo by Sinkane himself. Usher saluted his stagemates as “indie-rock royalty,” and though that coronation has been a long time coming, it’s impossible to dispute that the revived Afghan Whigs have lived up to their six-album legacy, and then some.

To huge cheers, Usher returned to the stage alone after the set for an a cappella encore.

Word is that the idea for the collaboration blossomed after Usher heard the gritty Cincinnati rockers’ cover of Frank Ocean’s “LoveCrimes,” which the Whigs have been including in their live performances.