Review: The Dandy Warhols at the Powerstation

Dandy Warhols NZ tour poster
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The Dandy Warhols

w/ Ha The Unclear

The Powerstation, Auckland

Wednesday September 20 2017

 

You know those bands you’ve known “of” for years but only found a true connection with years later? Well The Dandy Warhols are one of those acts for me. While I well remember hearing “Bohemian Like You” in the early 2000s (and also on a Vodafone ad), I only really took a serious interest in the group after hearing “We Used to Be Friends” on Radio Hauraki a few years back. Now this was a track I became a little obsessed with which naturally resulted in me digging a little deeper into their discography. And while I discovered some more bangers I tended to find some of their work a little hit or miss. Yet when they hit, they really do hit.

So when I heard they were to be playing the Powerstation I was a little unsure if they were going to be worthwhile – they’re slightly past their prime and I got the impression they weren’t’ a hugely phenomenal live act. In fact frontman Courtney Taylor Taylor partly confirmed this in an interview with Radio Hauraki on September 14 – talking with Angelina Grey he said he’d recently been bluntly informed that the groups’ party antics at the 2004 Big Day Out resulted in a somewhat mediocre set. Yet there was no way I was going to miss those infectious Warhols hooks while they played them a few hundred metres up the road from my flat. And my expectations were certainly exceeded.

 

With Taylor Taylor having recently celebrated a 50th birthday, The Dandy’s are no spring chickens. Yet the mood in the Powerstation on this Wednesday in 2017 was fresh and vibrant as the four piece made their way through a set of roughly an hour and a half of, for the most part, banger after banger.

 

The Portlanders have always been phenomenal at insanely memorable and hooky choruses and these were pulled off well. Making their way through a majority of their esteemed tacks I found myself singing along very loudly to the likes of “Everyday Should Be A Holiday” and “Boys Better”.

 

Dandy Warhols Powersttion Auckland

Despite what I say about the band being hit or miss, they certainly had enough anthems to fill a set, including a few I hadn’t heard before. Influenced by psychedelic music, this was an outstanding aesthetic of their live context – a number of sections hit home with a wall of bright ambience. For instance “Holding Me Up”, a track I didn’t know prior, completely blew me away with its upbeat and driving grooves.

 

Another stellar aspect of the show was the stage presence of keyboardist and percussionist Zia McCabe. An original member, McCabe moved and grooved throughout and looked like she was having as much fun as parts of the audience. While Taylor Taylor can’t hit some of the higher notes, he sounded strong enough to carry a superb wall of powerpop noise behind him.

 

Formed in 1994 The Dandy Warhols are no longer an ‘in’ band – an idea the largely 30 plus demographic suggested. Yet their distinctive brand of euphoric alternative rock is sadly a bit of an anomaly these days – an approach more younger bands could draw from. This was a feel good show and one that left me feeling elated. It’s even gone so far as to inspire my own songwriting. Long live The Dandy Warhols.

Words and photos by Hugh Collins