Live Review: The Dandy Warhols, Even

Melbourne band Even were a great choice for support and the three-piece indie veterans did a nice job of warming the crowd up, with heaps of people already through the gates. Their clean sound, driving riffs and simple hooks were well received, the band closing a short set with Life Gets In The Way.

The Dandy Warhols' 25th anniversary was an excuse for teens and adults of the '90s to ditch their kids and rock out to the post-grunge revival of the band that, along with other acts in the Washington state area, repopularised shoegaze and '60s hooks. Taking the stage right on time, Zia McCabe, Brent DeBoer, Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Peter Holmstrom looked good despite the squinty eyes, slower moves and general stoned outlook. 

Lesser-known opening tracks Holding Me Up and Ride meant a delayed response from the audience, but things properly kicked off with We Used To Be Friends. Sound-wise, the distortion and overdrive was dialled way, way up and drowned out some of the keyboard and guitar hooks. This was a feature of pretty much the entire set, and the cheap balloons that were unleashed midway through Godless gave the feeling that despite the significance of the silver anniversary, the Dandys unrehearsed approach was still the norm, and not one they could be bothered to splash some additional coin on either. The same could be said for the lack of a live horn for Godless.

The Dandy Warhols @ The Enmore Theatre. Photo by Belinda Dipalo.

That said, the gig was sold-out and clearly the crowd enjoyed themselves. Drummer Brent De Boer's underrated backing vocals helped carry singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor's crunchy voice on other popular songs like Bohemian Like You (which probably got the biggest response), Get Off and I Love You, and also cut through the overuse of the feedback pedal. 

There was no encore, the band choosing the end the night with Every Day Should Be A Holiday and a cracking performance of Boys Better. Fans also were invited to continue partying with a Zia McCabe DJ set, which continued on at the Duke Of Enmore a few doors down, where she happily played, took photos and had a good time with the fans.

The Dandy Warhols @ The Enmore Theatre. Photo by Belinda Dipalo.