The Dandy Warhols
Photos & review by Fiestaban Photography
Portland’s finest, The Dandy Warhols, brought their meta-hipster psychedelia and zippered bananas to celebrate 25 years of Dandyness at the illustrious The Theater At Ace Hotel this Thursday May 16th. Alongside fellow synthwave psych-shoegazer bands Cosmonauts and The Vacant Lots, The Dandies covered everything from Dandys Rule Ok to their newly released Why You So Crazy, featuring crowd-pleasers like “We Used To Be Friends” and “Bohemian Like You,” as well as deeper cuts like “Well They’re Gone” and “Crack Cocaine Rager.” (Despite its much-needed tongue-in-cheek attitude and meteoric success, it’s safe to say that America’s opioid crisis has unfortunately pulled The Dandy’s 1997 single “Not If You Were The Last Junky On Earth” permanently out of rotation).
In spite of a seated crowd, their signature fuzzbox surf chords and neo-garage rock energy pulled everyone onto their feet and filled the aisles with dancing Gen X rockers, punks and every Angeleno nostalgic for a time when asymmetric haircuts might garner a raised eyebrow, or when band feuds might escalate to writing songs about each other. After the show, keyboardist Zia McCabe DJed a 60s Soul party on the roof of The Ace Hotel and the rest of the band joined the rooftop soirée soon after, chatting with fans and decompressing from weeks on the road. The Dandy Warhols have played it cool for a quarter century, unwavering in their dedication to playing music that they themselves would want to drink to…and Thursday was no exception. No matter what anyone tells you, when the Dandies play your city, every day should be a holiday, dig?