Project Description
The Dandy Warhols
“25th Anniversary Tour”
@ Enmore Theatre
06/11/19
(Live Review)
Reviewer & Photography: Ro Llauro
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Even was the perfect choice to open the night. Ashley Naylor’s clean modern hippie look could not be more fitting. Their performance was full on. Killer expressive guitar riffs with plenty of heart and feel kept everyone glued to their performance. A few slower ballads allowed us to catch our breath. Heavy toms grounded us to four to the floor while the comforting yet slightly jaded demeanour of Naylor’s vocals let us drift into an oddly familiar yet optimistic space.
Handkerchief flying around his neck… freedom… a perfect transition into the Dandy Warhol’s blasé attitude. Full darkness. The Dandy legends come on stage for their 25th anniversary. Lead Courtney Taylor-Taylor outback, next to his cousin drummer Brent DeBoer. Engulfed in shadows. Creatures of the night. Barely visible. They open up with the dark and mysterious “Forever”. Haunting low bass notes. Grounded drums. It feels like a march. The darkness welcomes us with a lukewarm embrace.
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A glimpse of undisputed coolness occasionally comes through. Charismatic nihilism. A light from behind the drummer projects his movements onto the wall, grandiose and majestic. It syncs every human body to every bang on his confident base drum. Upfront Peter Holmström, smooth, cool like a jazz cat. Bathed in a spotlight, walking among smoke, in control. Unequivocal aloofness. The boys are too cool for school, yet their insolent attitude somehow projects a fascinating apathy that is hard not to relate to.
Zia Mccabe doesn’t care. The Goddess of Synths is gonna have fun. She jumps laughs and loves every minute of it. She is not too cool for this crowd – bass, synths and tambourines, and plenty of booty shaking. She keeps up the excitement and energy, while the rest of the band just do their thing. Classics. This was their 25 year anniversary tour. Full hipster getups, a sort of hippie renaissance fashion.
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A quarter of a century as a band is not a feat to be overlooked. An older crowd summons their youthful spark among just the right amount of light and smoke. Every song seems to blend seamlessly into the next. Synth swells, mono melodic delay guitar riffs, and consistent drum beats fill any possible silence with nonchalant psychedelia. Rebellious folk, indie, post-punk, psychedelia, garage rock, shoegaze. The band does it all without ever losing their signature flavour.
This sold-out show is not packed to the brim. There is plenty of space to move. People groove. People dance, sway to their slow and psychedelic long synth jam. There is some safe, protected crowd surfing and everything. Ambience. The lightwork is spectacular. We are floating among stars. Great sound work from the sound desk. It must have been hard to keep up. An applause to the Enmore Theatre. White balloons rain upon us. A perfect opportunity to pop them to the beat of the few tracks left on their set list. This was a well curated list. It hit every major mark in the band’s trajectory. Make sure to check it out following the link below if you missed the show. Although, I certainly hope you didn’t.
Check out Ro Llauro‘s gallery of the show here
You can find their setlist here
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