By Teylor Moss

Date / Venue: Wednesday September 20th, 2017 - The Powerstation, Auckland

Arriving on time for the doors to open, there was a quick forming queue behind us. At first I thought it was a surprisingly small turn out from looking behind me but my first impression was soon forgotten as I'd settled by the stage, turned around and saw that from floor to balcony was packed and still filling up.

The opening act for the night was a four piece band called Ha The Unclear. Rock filled the room as Ha The Unclear were performing in a tightly packed corner on the stage. That didn't stop the bass player from dancing in every empty space on the stage. They had a very fast grunge sound with heavy bass, quirky lyrics, quick drums and a guitar whose best friend is the whammy bar. Each member looked confident and happy as they were hyping the crowd up for the Dandys. I was very impressed and loved every minute of their set (I also learnt through their last song that one of them has a genuine fear of mannequins!).

After a quick intermission and sound check we were patiently waiting for the members of The Dandy Warhols to appear. After a few minutes of chatting while waiting, booming applause and high pitch cheers filled the venue as the members of The Dandy Warhols emerged onto the stage.

All instruments were arranged in a neat line so fans could see all the members easily and clearly, I thought it was a fantastic idea as drummers are usually hidden away in the back row. After being given a long warm welcome, The Dandy Warhols - consisting of Courtney Taylor Taylor (vocals/ guitar), Zia Mccabe (keyboard/ percussion), Peter Holström (guitar) and Brent DeBoer (drums), jumped straight into their performance.

Effortlessly playing yet with so much energy and enthusiasm, it was incredible to watch and feel the rumbling bass in your chest and throat. That was coming from Zia on her amazing keyboard, which seems like she could create any sound from. Not only is she a talented keyboard player, she was slaying percussion. In the first song Zia was keeping the beat with the maracas by pushing them towards the crowd, while playing the keyboard. I've never seen anyone make percussion look sexy but Zia did.

Brent was effortlessly keeping good rhythm on the drums while belting the background vocals at the same time. Enjoying his time in the spotlight he was grinning the whole time.

Peter was in a world of his own, he was swaying like the wind and just became one with his guitar creating and eerie sound with a lot of grunt behind it. He was a sight to watch as he seemed completely involved in the show, then would move to the shadows and let his guitar do the talking.

Courtney had two mics set next to each other as one was just not enough. It was accentuating the eerie other world vibe I was getting perfectly. His powerful vocals and unbelievable control of his voice were winning the crowd over. His attitude was another level, the way he holds himself and looks at the crowd, it was easy to see how confident he is on stage which makes us love him more.

An incredible combination of musicians creating a tiny world inside the powerstation is hard to describe, but the crowds reactions are not everyone was jumping, dancing or singing. No where I looked was someone not moving.

During the concert there was a few times where Courtney would have to tune his guitar while we patiently wait, the sound was perfect I have no complaints. And there was no crowd trouble in the slightest, just a good time.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL DANDY WARHOLS GALLERY BY MEGAN MOSS

Reviews & Interviews

Concert Review - The Dandy Warhols - Auckland - 20th September 2017