A Dandy Night at Belly Up

I have to admit, I am not the biggest Dandy Warhols fan. In fact, until this week, I was not real familiar with their music. After watching some YouTube videos of their shows, however, I thought it might be fun to check them out.

The psychedelic-pop band from Portland has put some good music out there over the years. This was billed as their “greatest hits” tour, and judging from the crowd's reaction, it was. The crowd sang and danced to every song and on one occasion bought a drink for keyboardist Zia McAbe.

There were a few flaws with the show. The lighting was horrible and made it very difficult to see the band. I spent the evening under guitarist Peter Holstrom, and I don't think I could pick him out of a police lineup. The band didn't interact much with the crowd, just plowing from one song into the next. Lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor did mention the band's Casbah days in the early ’90s before launching into signature song "Not If You Were the Last Junkie On Earth."

All in all, it was an entertaining night, and based on the performance I am going to download some Dandy’s songs, especially "Bohemian Like You" and "We Used to Be Friends."

• Concert: Dandy Warhols
• Date: December 7
• Venue: Belly Up Tavern
• Seats: Floor