[deathandtaxesmag.com] Of the many times I’ve been to Webster Hall to see a concert, I’ve never seen the venue packed until the main act is scheduled to go on stage. I was surprised when I arrived to a nearly packed house minutes before the opening band Hopewell was scheduled to play.
Hopewell is a seasoned New York band that has somehow managed to slip under the radar of mainstream. Touring with bands like The Black Angels, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, British Sea Power, and My Bloody Valentine, Hopewell has gotten more than a fair amount of exposure to would be audiences. This time around it was hard to decipher exactly how much of the audience was there to see them or the mystical The Dandy Warhols.
Wispy front man Jason Russo was firing on all cylinders during the opening set. On album, Hopewell is a mellow atmospheric mix of psychedelic inspired alt rock—though live, the tempo and energy are cranked up to jangly rock groove—think Jane’s Addiction meets The Velvet Underground.
The five-piece band was tight, but it was Russo’s voice and two guitars that dominated the sound. Although the drums and violin were drowned out, the performance worked because of the energy and emotion Russo brought to the stage.
When The Dandy’s took the stage the anxious crowd got loud and then almost immediately, with ninja precision, the band started playing “Be In”—a seven minute shoegazy head bobber.
Courtney looked a little heavier, a little aged, but at 43 after playing for over fifteen years the guy still sounded like the same, effortlessly cool Courtney. Even while talking to the crowd, he still sounds like a young, slightly self aware, carefree hippie from Portland—a dude you would want to grab a beer with.
Touring in support of a new compilation album titled “The Capitol Years: 1995-2007,” The Dandy’s played songs from all of their albums favoring 1997’s “The Dandy Warhols Come Down” and 2000′s “Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia.”
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