Boston, Massachusetts - August 16, 2003
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Online Review
at The Paradise
By Jon
The Dandy Warhols played last night in Boston at The Paradise for one of their handful of acoustic shows to promote the release of their new album. And dare I say they were....lame.
What was billed as a "Special Acoustic Set" was anything but "special". I mean, the whole thing was nothing that a Dandy fan has not seen or heard already, at least a dozen times. Check the setlist, won't you:
Every Day Should Be a Holiday
We Used to Be Friends
Bohemian Like You
Eight Days a Week
Stars
break
Genius
Last Time
All My Loving
Good Morning ("Black Album Version")
Cover of an Evan Dando song from his new album
Your Ghost
And really, for everyone's own edification, the "special" acoustic set was really just Courtney and Brent. Zia was there, yes, milling about the venue, but never took the stage. Same with Pete, who was announced at the end of the set by Courtney that he would be spinning records for awhile.
The only shining moment of the set was the cover of the Dando song, where Courtney for a brief moment actually looked interested. Beyond that, everything else has been visited and revisited many times before.
And, I know I am a huge fan of "Mohammed", but it semed like alot of the stuff they did here had that same riff. In fact, it was not clear to me until tonight that "Mohammed" is actually the long lost son of the Rolling Stone's "The Last Time". Really, almost note for note, once it is slowed down, according to how Courtney and Brent played it. Perhaps it was just laziness on their part?
I don't know, but even the crowd seemed unenthusiastic. They were loud, and rude, paying only half-attention to the show. But for the real fans, like myself, it would have been nice to see a full-on acoustic show, perhaps even with those much-rumored bongo drums, Pete onstage, some unique arrangements of their songs, a longer set list. What we got instead was a half-assed, half-hearted all-we-have-to-do-is-show-up-and-people-love-us routine that will no doubt wear thin very fast on this little promotional tour.
That said, I am very much looking forward to their full electric shows in Boston and New York, with the marathon sets they have been pulling out at most stops.
Fans, I say, save yourself your time and energy and don't worry about getting to one of these acoustic shows. I know they are billed as special, rare events for true fans, but this event was anything but. Get to the electric shows where they actually give a shit about playing!
Oh, P.S., did I mention that the hassle I went through to get the coveted wristbands was completely useless, as they were never even checked. And in fact, there was at no point any concern by anyone working the door to check for valid wristbands, nor was there a cover charge -- unless you were an idiot like me and actually went out and prebooked four copies of the album to get access to the show! Fans take note, if you want to go and see this special show after what I have said here, don't bother with wristbands and all that, just show up!
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