The Dandy Warhols Disappoint Live
The band has been steadily putting out albums since the early 1990's and for more than half that time, I've been dying to see them live. Now that I have, I can honestly say that I wasn't missing much.
While I didn't think they were terrible, I do feel slightly misled by their music. The Dandy Warhols have always had a unique sound that's clean and hip, but live, they are little more than a noisy garage band. I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a 1960's Dandy Warhols cover band. And there were plenty of middle aged fans trying to relive Woodstock in the crowd to back up my impression.
They played all of their well known hits like "Bohemian Like You" and "We Used to Be Friends," but I suspect that if I wasn't such a fan, I wouldn't have recognized any of them the way they play them live. Two hours later, they had performed anything even remotely familiar and I couldn't wait for it to be over.
All their songs sounded over-distorted and after a while everything sounded the same, with lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor alternating between breathy whispering and yelling into the microphone, and then devolving into a jam session that went on too long. They don't lack talent, but it definitely was not what I signed up for.
Aside from overusing the distortion, they underuse a lot of the elements that make their music so great. Many of their songs incorporate horns, for instance. But if no one in the band actually plays the trumpet, then it shouldn't be on your album. At the very least, they should digitally add it to their live shows. They shouldn't, however, be singing along to said horns like amateurs at karaoke night.
But amateurish is the overall impression they give off. There were awkward pauses between songs while they switched out equipment and when they actually talked to the audience, it was even more awkward. I find it hard to believe that you have nothing more interesting to say than sharing that your keyboardist went to use the restroom.
Lesson learned: if a band has been around for nearly ten years and they're still headlining small nightclubs, there's a reason for it.
The Contributor has no connection to nor was paid by the brand or product described in this content.
Published by Ana Montano
I graduated with a BS in Psychology and a BA in Criminology from the University of Florida, where I also minored in Mass Communications. I have experience as an arts and entertainment columnist for The Indep... View profile
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1 Comments
Post a CommentLamesauce review. Phony fan. Yes, the Dandys are getting older and maybe slightly less cool, but are no less brilliant. See the first three tracks on 13 Tales, and pretty much every other note they've written.