The Dandy Warhols At The Academy – Review

Portland alt rockers The Dandy Warhols paid us another much welcomed visit this evening, once again returning to the intimate confines of Dublin’s Academy. A monumental performance last year and a more than impressive new album ensured a hyped crowd, which arrived in numbers hungry for some top class guitar pop.

Clearly disinterested in dramatics, the band, now over twenty years in saunter carefree onstage, carrying bags and coats as if they’d just stepped off a plane. The instantly recognisable ‘Mohammed’ kicks proceedings off, with the infectiously dreamy guitar refrain tangling with Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s raspy vocal perfectly. Wasting no time, the outfit dig right into their huge back catalogue, treating us to singalong classics such as ‘Get Off’ and more recent numbers like this year’s ‘STYGGO’.  The vibe is nice, but it feels the band are waiting to really give us their best.

The set carries on, and a notch is taken up with the highlight thus far, a stripped back solo rendition of ‘Everyday Should Be A Holiday’ courtesy of the frontman. The crowd really get into things and bellow the irresistible chorus melody back to the stage. It’s a really lovely and happy moment for all involved, and takes the energy in the room to a whole new place. More powerhouse anthems in the shape of ‘Good Morning’ and the explosive ‘We Used To Be Friends’ gets the audience moving, and sees the frontman show off his unique vocal. Switching between an almost inaudible low end and a piercing falsetto seems to be no bother for the man, and garners the utmost respect from all watching.

The final act of the set arrives, and is where we’re reminded why this many people still show up at a Dandys show. Saving the best for last, a flurry of some of the best indie songs ever written come from all angles. The raunchy ‘Horse Pills’ gets the crowd sweatier than ever, and the penultimate ‘Bohemian Like You’ expectedly turns the place into the world’s best karaoke bar for three minutes. Pure frenzy is the only way to describe the latter, with everyone in the room convinced that this is the most happening place in the world right now.

A grand finale of 1996 banger, ‘Boys Better’ closes things up, which is really just the cherry on top. The outrageous windmill guitar cliche is justified as Peter Holmstrom bangs out the chords to finish the gig.

No encores, very little speaking and some of the finest guitar pop music in existence is what we got tonight. They didn’t really need to prove anything, but just in case you were wondering if their first album still describes them suitably, Dandys Rule Ok.