Show Review: The Dandy Warhols at Pop's, Friday, September 4

• Other commenters are being too harsh, I think. The volume was definitely turned down, but the band sounded really tight. I thought it added to an interesting mix of a laid back but taught sound, like a rubber band waiting to snap. Yeah, I know; taught but laid back. Pop's was a GREAT change of pace from Verizon and Scottrade. Being right in front of the stage was great. I wish the DWs would have played more from their last album but not at all dissappointed in the show. Pop's is definitely recommended and I hope the Dandy's come back soon.

• Wow - from the comments, it sounds like a bummer of a show - always hate shows like that. Interested to know how other shows on the current tour compare

• I was really looking forward to seeing the Dandy's after being a long time fan. My expectations were minimal but this show was one of the most underwhelming live acts I have ever seen. The performance was lacking energy, consistency and spirit. I found myself yawning throughout the set and now understand why they were playing in Sauget. They phoned it in...

• I agree with a lot of what Shawn above says, this review was beyond generous (you'd almost think that the "Dandys" were local and Playback or StL Sound did the review! haha) The sound was awful, where guitars should have been slashing through the mix there was often nothing but Zia's keyboards or tambourines. One of the poorest sound mixes I've ever heard from a touring soundperson ever! For the first half of the set it sounded like mains of the system weren't even on! Courtney Taylor's vocals were definitely off, when there wasn't a necessary to the song reach for his vocals he chose to mumble through most of the set. His vocal performance on KDHX didn't sound any better, more with the mumbling. Having been a fan of the band for over 12 years and anxiously awaiting to see them again for almost a decade this show left me bummed out, the band's last record sounded really lazy and this show couldn't have been lazier. First time in a long time where I've seen a crowd really thin out before the show was over, I think the people got tired of waiting for the band or soundguy to wake up and make something happen. The crowd did seem excited about the show and did show massive appreciation anytime the band perked up even the slightest bit. My initial reaction at seeing the less than huge crowd (had to be under 500 people) was that 'hopefully this won't keep them from coming back again' but after the performance it was almost a non-factor since I doubt I'd be rushing out to see them again and risk another show where this disappointing since I still want to try to enjoy the records and another dismal show like that might jeopardize that.

• This review is entirely too kind. My expectations for this show were very low to start with, I expected a night of mostly their uninteresting post-2000 output played at least proficiently. In actuality, I got a dream setlist of old material that was ruined by poor performance and lousy sound. I can forgive Courtney Taylor for an off night on the vocals, maybe he had a larynx issue. But for the mix to be so atrocious is not so tolerable, especially since it was just fine for openers Spindrift. The sound never did "blast off" for sure. I also respect artists that don't feel like they have to play live just as they do on the album. However, all of the changes the Dandy's offered last night were unwelcome. Vital keyboards were missing from some of their biggest songs, it seemed Zia was too busy dancing around to play them. More successful was the hornless version of "Godless". For the 9 years we had to wait to get them back to STL, I was wondering if it was even worth it. How do they manage to win over arena-size crowds in Europe if this is the best they can do?

TotalComments: 5