«The Dandy Warhols, best band in the world!» Comfortably installed in the balcony of the Olympia (Paris), Friday 25 January, a blonde woman of about sixty years, wearing a t-shirt paying homage to his musical training preferred, shouts his love for the four terrible children of Portland. It’s been 25 years, the american capital of the alternative rock saw the birth of the Dandy Warhols. In early 2019, it decided to celebrate this quarter of a century, in front of a public of spectators, of all ages, conquered in advance.
This concert, the first date of the european tour of the group, marks his return to France after two years of absence. Challenge extra for the rockers: they exhibit this evening their tenth studio album, Why U So Crazy , on sale for just a few hours. Suffice to say that they are expected on a firm footing by fans excited to wait, quench their thirst of decibels at the bar.
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As of the end of the first part, 2824 people – the maximum capacity of the Olympia, the concert is sold out – are crying out for their idols. When the quartet is finally moving forward on the stage, loud cheers and enthusiastic applause. The new album is full of sounds of americana and the musicians seem to be inspired from this style, even in the choice of their stage clothing. Peter Holmström, the guitarist, wears a fabulous headdress worthy of the conquest of the West. The leader and lead singer, Courtney Taylor-Taylor, has, him, dared to the association of its now familiar hair cut to the square with a costume, canadian – shirt, blue denim pants and darker.
Saturation and heaviness of sound
No time to lose, their instruments barely caught the Dandy launches into their first two songs from the new album. We happily reunited with their sound is heavy, very heavy, flirting cheerfully with the saturation. The room appreciate but do not loose not straight away, without doubt in expectation of titles most famous. After the traditional «hello Paris» in French, started by a Courtney necessarily «very happy to be here tonight», the very dancing Get Off launches really the concert. If the balcony is still wise, the pit begins to jiggle timidly. In a minimalist decor – a wall hanging in the satin fabric in the background of the scene, a neon light flashing below and light – the band began to segue the tracks with a speed of machine-gun.
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In the room, most of them enjoy this efficiency gross, which happens easily talk shop. But some, less familiar with the style of the rockers of Portland, are disconcerted. «It lacks a bit of show anyway,» says a young man who came with friends more fans than him. On stage, Courtney Taylor-Taylor and his cronies remain fairly static. Guitar in hand, the leader turns alternately to the public, and then to the speakers. The red-haired and vibrant keyboardist, Zia McCabe, save the purely choreographic, with its hipped hypnotic.
Bohemian Like You, ignites the room
Fortunately, the Dandy Warhols are not Beyoncé and Jay-Z. It comes to their concert at least as much to listen as to see them. Gradually, over the tubes, the euphoria wins the public. The alternation between songs rather planants and titles very fast-paced fact fly. The spectators think it is great to Motor City Steel , a title of Why U So Crazy accents country, and then came to a stop, fascinated, while the throbbing and nietzschean Godless , which is served by a light blue dream.
When the célébrissimes agreements Bohemian Like You is heard, the pit of the Olympia is transformed, to the rhythm of the jumps of the spectators, in a carpet waving on which slide the slameurs. You Were The Last High brings back the calm, before the final apotheosis: on Everyday Should Be A Holiday , dozens of white balloons are released from the ceiling as spotlights hit of epilepsy.
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The legendary venue turns into a large playground. The spectators are dancing while balloons fly from one end to the other of the pit. Even the balcony is won by the collective euphoria: standing, retirees, elegant dancing and mothers of family époumonent. The members of the group to take advantage of this apotheosis of the evening to slip away quietly. There will be no recall, much to the chagrin of many. It is 23 hours, the Dandy Warhols have assured the show for almost two hours. It was almost too short, could we get annoyed with bad faith. Perhaps that night, the magicians of psych rock have they cast a spell at the Olympia in speeding up the time…