The Dandy Warhols are on a North American tour this fall to celebrate their new release, The Best of the Capitol Years 1995 – 2007, a treasure trove of hits from the Portland, Oregon band. Their show at Webster Hall in New York City on November 6 followed a show in Brooklyn the night before, with many in the audience attending both shows. Round white paper lanterns adorned the stage in various sizes, changing color throughout the show.  Though appearing like a scrappy group, at first chord it’s apparent that this four-piece band still likes to rock it loud and hard within the alt rock parameters.  They happily exist outside the new music scene, professing not to pay attention to any of it yet have had enough success to own a recording studio a quarter of a city block long called the Odditorium, with a human size chessboard and room for live gigs.

The freeform sonic landscape of “Be-In” started the show.  Frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor asked the crowd how many of them were in Brooklyn the night before, saying how “it was pretty awesome.” He led the group through its paces from song to song, even allowing a smoke/bathroom break for other band members during the set.  Audience participation was used to decide whether “Every Day Should be a Holiday” or “Your Ghost” should be played. (By voting with applause, the first song was chosen.) Inspired versions of favorites such as “The Legend of the Last of the Outlaw Truckers,” “Bohemian Like You” and “Godless” cranked everything up and got the crowd dancing.  Coming back for the encore, Taylor-Taylor announced “We are and ever shall be The Dandy Warhols” before launching into the seminal Stones song, “This Will Be the Last Time.”