The beauty about this night was getting to see a show at a venue that Minneapolis’s son Prince built. This venue is known as First Avenue and people come from all around the country to step foot in this legendary venue. On this Mother’s Day Weekend, The Dandy Warhols celebrated their 25th Anniversary as a band with a killer night of music with noise rockers Cosmonauts opening up the set. I must talk to you about this venue first.
You step into First Avenue and you immediately know that you’re in a special place. There was a purple hue that adorned the venue with a checkered floor that immediately reminded us that the spirit of Prince was at this venue. I knew something special was going to happen with the massive amount of balloons that were suspended via a net in the rafters of the venue. A very simple stage design with balloons shaped like the numbers “2” and “5” to remind us that it’s a major milestone in The Dandy Warhols’ career.
Cosmonauts played a rather interesting set. I didn’t know what to expect from Cosmonauts but I enjoyed what I heard. The crowd seemed unsure about them, but they were watching intently as they incorporated noise rock with shoegaze elements into their music. In my view, the rhythm section stood out in the band as the bass was as thick as molasses and the drums carried Cosmonauts to allow them to offer up those atmospheric elements into their music.
The Dandy Warhols were next to take the stage. Believe it or not, I am definitely “late to the party” when it comes to this band. I had no idea what to expect, I know that they have several videos that have millions of hits on YouTube and that they have a huge underground following in their music. I know that they have released an album entitled “Why You So Crazy” recently and that they are Oregon Music Hall of Fame inductees from 2014. After much buzz and anticipation, The Dandy Warhols were ready to take the stage.
Their music was smoky and moody and I immediately loved it as they opened up the night with the song “Forever”. The stage setup was unique as lead vocalist Courtney Taylor was positioned in the background with the drummer while Zia McCabe hypnotized the crowd with her playing on the keyboards/synths. “Forever” had such a backalley smoke-filled room beat to it as I thought it was an unconventional yet attention-getting way to kick off this Sunday night.
It was quite challenging taking quality photos as purple hues and dark lighting set the stage which provided the mood for the opening part of the show. The crowd began to get into it, especially when they played the local crowd favorite “Minnesoter”. The crowd went ballistic and sang along to every word that The Dandy Warhols sang in that song. Throughout this evening, The Dandy Warhols showed that they were the pioneers mixing alternative rock with lots of shoegaze elements into their music. “Mohammed” brought some psychedelic elements into the set while “Godless” immediately brought head nodding and immediate recognition into the night. Balloons dropped into the crowd when they played the obvious crowd favorite “Every Day Should Be A Holiday” before closing off the night with the rocker “Boys Better”.
The Dandy Warhols put on an excellent show as I was immediately impressed with their mystique and their musicianship. I am looking forward to seeing them again.
On Friday, May 24th, The Dandy Warhols will be performing at BottleRock Napa Valley at Napa Valley Exposition in Napa, California. For tickets and further information, click here.
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