Dandy Warhols Live on the Streets of Portland

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By BRANDON WIDDER

Well, true to their word, the Dandy Warhols kicked off their brief 13-song set in the streets of Portland on Wednesday, dashing around to five different venues and performing bare-bones song renditions in commemoration of the band's breakthrough 2000 album, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia. It was a short-lived affair, complete with donuts, tequila and a stripper.

As promised, the band opened their multi-venue set outside the now-defunct X-Ray Cafe, the very spot where the band played one of its first gigs in the winter of ‘94. Despite bleak skies and endless hordes of passerby, the opening song “Mohammed” found ground among the 60 or so audience members, spurring a nearly inaudible sing-a-long and perplexing locals who were merely trying to make sense of the smartphone paparazzi. 

After tearing into “Cool Scene” outside Voodoo Donuts, the quartet—and its admirable foot-soldier following—made their way across street to Dante’s for the slow-burning “Godless,” a round of tequila and a bit of a breather. Afterward, the band members played roadie, lugging their tiny amps, two guitars, a synth and one lone snare to China Town's Magic Garden. The people followed in suit. 

The highlight of the two-hour tour came in the form of the blistering, power-punk execution of “Horse Pills,” featuring a backdrop of falling bills and premiere booty-shaking skills courtesy of an in-house stripper. And when a man shouted for some CCR, the Warhols gladly abided with an impromptu take of “Crack Cocaine Rager.” 

The band closed out the set at See See Motor Coffee Co. across the river on Sandy Blvd., giving the dwindling, diehard audience members a taste of the distortion-drenched "Nietzsche" before thanking everyone who came out.

The Dandy Warhols will tackle another five-song, five-stop Portland tour on Thursday, March 28, at around 3:30 pm on Northwest 15th Avenue and Quimby Street at the Band's Odditorium practice space in honor of the 13th anniversary of Tales. Portland music media website Into the Woods is filming the shows, but keep an eye on the band's Twitter account for all the details to catch them in the act.

WWeek 2015

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