The Dandy Warhols at Elsewhere 3/3/2023
The Dandy Warhols are another band that snuck up on me in the past couple of years. How I managed to miss them for the past ten years is another of life’s great mysteries.
I got hooked on the song “Good Morning” when it mysteriously showed up thanks to Spotify last year. That led me, naturally, to “Bohemian Like You”, “Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth”, “Get Off”, and “Godless”, which are some of their best songs. Their style is a mix of psych-rock, power pop, and synth pop. Easy-going, catchy, melodic tunes that poke fun at hipster culture, relationships, and life in general.
The Dandy Warhols were formed in Portland in 1994. The lineup includes front man and singer/guitarist (and pretty boy) Courtney Taylor-Taylor, keyboardist Zia McCabe, guitarist Peter Holmström, and drummer Bret DeBoer.
Live last night at Elsewhere, in front of a packed house, they were true to form and played a great set that sampled some of their best material, against a hazy blue fog that added to the group’s playful heaviosity. You can check out a few live clips here.
The Dandy Warhols were supported by UNI and The Urchins, who warmed up the crowd at Elsewhere. They are clearly heavy on the glam, with a heavy dose of glitter. Front man and singer James Jack Busa is a 7-foot tall mix of David Bowie, Davey Johansson, and Rocky Horror Picture Show. Bassist Kemp Muhl was dressed for bondage. Guitarist David Strange wore a long jackets straight out of Black Sabbath. VERY dramatic. Not exactly my cup of tea but they got a warm reception from the Brooklyn crowd, and they did a nice cover of Hole’s “Doll Parts”, which you can check out here with a couple other short clips.
Ok, Elsewhere — I’ve got a few gripes regarding the venue. When it comes to the actual room with the music, the sound quality is excellent, and there is plenty of room for a small venue. Nice layout. HOWEVER. Actually getting into the place is a pain — the “system” of checking IDs, security screening, getting wristbands, checking tickets, and getting stamped takes way too long and seems more complicated than it needs to be. The entrance is dark, and the kiosks that supposedly allow you to activate your wristband to access your credit card (because they won’t accept cards inside) is ridiculously complicated, not at all intuitive, and doesn’t work very well. And the dumbfounded customers (and Elsewhere “helpers”) clog up the entrance at the kiosks further slowing down the entrance process. And once inside, there is no cell service whatsoever, which strikes me as a major safety issue, and cutting off hundreds of people from their loved ones and the outside world for a few hours seems unconscionable. Even outside the venue, cell coverage is unacceptably spotty, and dozens of us headed for the subways since we were unable to access Uber and other ride-share apps. PLEASE work these out! You get terrific bands, but you make it way too hard to see them.