I’ve been a devoted Dandy Warhols fan since I was fifteen. When I first saw their video, “Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth,” with dancing syringes and all, I knew I would be hooked to their indie-pop sound for life.
This was my second time seeing the Warhols live. While I enjoyed the previous set more, the Warhols still put on a lovely show this time around. 
The biggest problem of the evening was the Warhols’ sound. Live, the Warhols sound more like a jam garage band than a psychedelic rock group. Many of the effects used on their albums are absent in their live performances. Also, Courtney Taylor-Taylor (vocals, guitar) had a few issues when switching from mic to mic. His vocal effects sounded a bit muffled, and he was hard to understand at times.
OK. I’m done with the bad. Now, onto the good.
Openers and Beat The World label-mates, Spindrift, began the show with their rolling, dark, psychedelic country rock. People in the audience reported that a member of the Brian Johnstown Massacre came on stage and danced around during part of Spindrift’s set. That would have been pretty sweet to see. After all, The Warhols and Massacre had, like, the best rock feud ever.
The Warhols got on stage around 10 p.m. They played a great two our show full of fan favorites and audience requests.
Last time I saw the Warhols, I was too far away to really see anything, but this time, I got to watch the show from the front. The stage set up was simple, and dark blue, red, and green lighting was used. The only frill on stage was Zia McCabe’s (keyboards) tiny, blue hued lava lamp.
The tall and lean Taylor approached the mic, slowly tipped his black hat to the side, cooly leaned back, and began to sing to the trip inducing tone of “Be-In,” the first track off Come Down.
As the Warhols transitioned into the syncopated, grinding bass of “Shaken,’” folks on the floor began to gradually move towards the front of the room to dance (aka do the semi-drunk shimmy). McCabe’s rhythm producing ability is great. The beautiful, sprite-like McCabe not only looked amazing in her love themed shirt and darling lip ring, but she rocked the electronic bass beats.
Before launching into “You Love Me,” Taylor thanked everyone in the audience for coming, and McCabe shouted that KC was the best stop on the tour yet. Taylor went on to say he and the band enjoyed some Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ the day before the show. Before the Warhols arrived in KC, they asked people “what’s so great about KC BBQ” on their Twitter page. The band also chronicled their trip to KC on their blog.
The songs that got the biggest response from the audience that evening were the Warhols’ older hits; “The Last High,” “Bohemian Like You,” and “We Used To Be Friends.”
After the crowd was wound-up, the Warhols finished up the show with a great mix of tunes.
The fast-paced, drugged out “Horse Pills,” featured Brent DeBoer’s crazy awesome drumming abilities. I swear; the man is a metronome. He slightly teetered and tottered back and forth as his frizzed out hair bobbed above his frantic moving arms, which were clothed in a Brian Jonestown Massacre shirt.
The rompy, and dirty “Get Off” was followed by the trance track, “The Wasp In The Lotus,” which featured Peter Holmstrom’s guitar rock outs, and the band’s far out lyrics:
Hoping and smoking
That’s what I keep hoping
That broken and smoking
That’s what I keep coping
After finishing “Boys Better,” and a slow version of “The New Country,” the Warhols thanked the audience, and told everyone that McCabe would be spinning at the Beaumont after their set ended.
Before the Warhols left the stage (they had to adhere to the strict 12 a.m. curfew – lame), they asked the audience what they wanted to hear. Thanks to the people on stage right, the Warhols decided to end with “Minnesoter.” Taylor then made one more mention of Massacre, and said he had recently spoken to Anton Newcombe (Massacre’s singer). I believe Taylor said Newcombe was in Germany, working hard. Taylor said Newcombe was a machine, and then struck the opening cord to “Minnesoter.”
Set List:
01. Be In
02. Shanken’
03. Ride
04. Talk Radio
05. Now You Love Me
06. The Legend of the Last Outlaw Trucker
07. Holden’ Me Up
08. Good Morning
09. The New Country
10. You Come In Burned
11. The Last High
12. Sleep
13. Bohemian Like You
14. Godless
15. We Used To Be Friends
16. Horse Pills
17. Get Off
18. Wasp In The Lotus
19. Boys Better
20. Country Leaver
21. Minnesoter
The Dandy Warhols: website | myspace
Photo by: Bethany Smith
