It has been some considerable time since tonight’s headliners last played the Steel City, and there’s a definite air of anticipation and excitement as the venue starts to fill to bursting. One of Portland’s finest exports and one of the most influential bands of our time. The Dandy Warhol’s take the stage in a casual, almost nonchalant manner. Holmstom simply ambles into position. Zia McCabe steps up behind her stack, her classic Brian Jonestown Massacre t-shirt, a reminder of the bands heritage, immediately endears her to the crowd. DeBoar sets himself up at the drums, in a prominent stage front position. There’s a brief nod and a swift wave from Courtney and then it’s straight down to business. ‘Mohammed’ opens the evening, and for the next hour or so we are given a trip up and down the bands extensive back catalogue. And what a trip. There’s a host of neo-psych/west coast influenced bands doing the rounds, many of who are fuelled by The Dandy’s and it’s easy to see why. Half way through ‘Cocaine Rager’ I take a quick glance round the room. The vast majority of the crowd are almost entranced. It’s going to be one of those nights; a night when music casts its magic spell, works its way under the skin and transports people away from their surroundings to a different plane.
‘I Love You’ maybe one of the oldest numbers in the set, but as with everything tonight, it is as fresh and relevant as the first time you heard it. As the band plunge into ‘Solid’ McCabe really gets the crowd pumping along. It’s obvious she’s enjoying the reaction she provokes. Sashaying her hips, she smiles, and laughs her way through the number.
Of course any celebration of the Dandy’s wouldn’t be complete without the song that brought them the attention of the masses. ‘Bohemian Like You’ is met with the predictable reaction from the crowd. Arms aloft, dancing and singing along is much in evidence on the floor, as the band present a wonderfully amped up version of their best known hit. To be honest though, it’s the other numbers from the back catalogue that are the stand out tracks of the evening. As Boho ends Courtney faces his guitar to the amps, takes control of the dials and leads the intro to ‘Godless’ with a master class in reverb and feedback. The stage lighting changes to a very fitting, blue, giving the hall an ethereal feel as we’re taken right back to the early days of the band for what will be the closing numbers. And then as casually as it started it ends. It might have been a long while since they last graced the Northern UK stages, but seeing The Dandy Warhol’s tonight, served as a reminder to how great, and how important this band are.
Setlist:
Mohammed
Crack Cocaine Rager
Get Off
Down Like Disco
I Love You
Somethings You Got To Get Over
You Were The Last High
Plan A
Everyone Is Totally Insane
Well They’re Gone
We Used To Be Friends
Solid
Bohemian Like You
Godless
Pete Internatioanl Airport / Boys Better
GALLERY: Just click on any pic to see full size[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”34″ gal_title=”DANDY WARHOLS Leadmill”]
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2 comments
I Love You is not the oldest song on the set. Crack Cocaine Rager was written and recorded before I Love You. Also, they’re not Californian, they’re from Oregon.
Hey Luke,
thanks for the comments – I’ve corrected the article – of course they’re form Portland, I was obviousily having a some kind of brain fart – but I genuinely did not know that CCR was older than I Love You.
Thanks for reading the article, and apart from errors hope you liked it.
-stAn; Backseat Mafia Live Editor