The Dandy Warhols at First Avenue, Minneapolis (12 Sep 2014)

Bonfire Beach

Los Angeles' Bonfire Beach opened up the show, playing tracks like "Spit U Out" and "Highway 77," from their forthcoming self-titled debut album (set for release in October 14, 2014, via Cleopatra Records). The full band consists of singer/guitarist Dexy Valentine, guitarist Steve Fleet, bassist Brandon Robert, and drummer Charlie Woodburn. For the first date on the national tour, Bonfire Beach sounded well-rehearsed and eager to play in front of a crowd.

Dexy Valentine

As I have previously mentioned, Dexy Valentine is also in a duo called Magic Wands, but Bonfire Beach sounds more like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club but with a female vocal.
It's that catchy melodic shoegazing quality of their music, with Valentine's voice, that got the attention of the LA Weekly, who already announced that Bonfire Beach is one of "10 L.A. Bands Who Will Blow Up in 2014."

I've seen The Dandy Warhols live about four or five times, they play in Minneapolis all the time (especially when one of the band member was dating a Minnesota girl). The Dandys love playing in Minneapolis, and even at one point, as a gentle reminder of where they came from, they gave a shout out to REV105, the local alternative radio station that ended in 1997.

As always, the band is tight, you can tell, especially when they improvised on some songs, that they can play all these songs in their sleep.
That's also part of their beauty, even though you may know these old songs, The Dandy Warhols re-invent them live, so it's still fresh and new. Sure, some people will complain that they want it to sound like how it was recorded in the studios, but that would defeat the point of seeing live music.

Setlist

According to my notes, I believe they dropped "They're Gone" (as seen on their setlist) in favor of "Minnesoter," which I thought was a good call. I hope they keep playing that song every time they play Minnesota; it's such a great anthem.

This whole show was memorable. Early in the set, some guy yelled out "Lou Weed," which Courtney immediately responded, "Were you the one shouting 'Lou Weed' throughout our 13 songs tour?" Yeah they weren't going to play "(Tony, This Song Is Called) Lou Weed," but that probably didn't stop the guy from requesting that song.

Then someone threw on a banana man plush doll, which Courtney read the note attached to it, "Your music gives me a raging hard-on."

During "Solid," the band had to stop mid-song, because two people in the audience were HAVING SEX. "Two cats f****! Wow lots of sexual energy," said Courtney.

So many highlights of their show, you can always go for the easy one like "Bohemian Like You," but I have to say that the extra-long rendition of "Godless" was pretty awesome.

Dandy Warhols

They ended their set with "Everyday Should Be a Holiday," which I am assuming was meant as an encore (since that song doesn't appear on the official setlist). While the rest of the band left, Courtney remained on stage by himself and started singing the song. He also didn't sing the chorus, instead relied on his fans to sing the song.

The Dandy Warhols' latest release is a live album Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia Live At The Wonder, which came out earlier this year via The End Records.
The album was recorded in their hometown, Portland, Oregon, at The Wonder Ballroom during the Band's 13th anniversary tour of Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia.