Girl at the Rock Shows

I’ve been feeling my age lately at all the shows I’ve been to. There’s something a bit awkward about being the oldest person at a show, but I also kind of like it. It reminds me of when I was young, and I feel like it added a sense of excitement to a show. The feeling of being the youngest one was not the case on Friday night at The Varsity Theater, and I liked that too. Although it’s always fun to see young kids get super excited at a show, I find the same amount of thrill in watching older people relive their youth through music. Okay, maybe youth isn’t quite the right word, but I like to watch them get lost in the sounds that take them back a few years.

The room was dark as Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor kicked the show on promptly at 8 PM on Friday night. Honestly, the room stayed dark throughout their opening set, but with a sound like this band has, you don’t need lights to enjoy it. There really wasn’t much to watch as this trio performed, but there was a lot to hear. Although just a trio, Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor have a larger-than-life sound that swallows up whatever space they are in in such a powerful way. Stylistically, I think the best way to describe their sound would be psych-blues-rock, but I also understand that that’s not a “real” genre. The tones of the band were dark and gritty but there was something about their sound that didn’t go super depressive or sad. It was interesting, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, but it kept me captivated throughout their time on stage.

I could feel my excitement levels rise as Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor left the stage to make room for the headlining act. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the opener, more that I had never seen the headliner and it’s always such a treat to see a band live that I have never seen before. I promise that’s not supposed to be a cocky statement, but when you have been doing this night after night for literal decades, it’s rare to see a band that throws you back to a different time of your life that you haven’t seen before. Enter: The Dandy Warhols.

The Dandy Warhols are a psych-alt rock band from Portland, Oregon. Their sound, like that of the opener, is unique and quite larger-than-life. Although I’m not a superfan who has spent a lot of time going down the rabbit hole of their extensive thirteen-album career, I remember when I found one of their albums when I was working at a record shop growing up, putting it on, and falling in love with their uniqueness. That album was their 2003 ‘Welcome to the Monkey House,’ and I still find myself reverting to it from time to time when I’m feeling restless about what to listen to. It hits the spot time and time again, and after seeing them live and being treated to that unique sound in a live setting, I’m wondering why I never really took the time to go down this rabbit hole.

One of my favorite things about this band is that they were full of life, but it wasn’t super obvious. Truthfully, I felt that the band just stood there and played their music. Outside of keyboardist/percussionist Zia McCabe making it look cool to play the tambourine and maracas, there really wasn’t much movement on stage, but that’s okay because there was more than enough movement in the music flowing through the speakers. Although far from ambient, there’s something almost meditative about the sound of The Dandy Warhols, and I feel like that element was really at the forefront of their set on Friday night.

All in all, Friday night with The Dandy Warhols was not a super exciting show or anything like that, but it was still perfect. Sometimes, it’s not all in the high jumps and the moshing; sometimes, you can find excitement in the music and the music only. Being reminded of that on Friday night was just what I needed and what I’ve been craving (although I didn’t know it).

Line Up:

Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor

The Dandy Warhols

Venue: Varsity Theater

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 58

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 0 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor – 0

The Dandy Warhols – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 7 out of 10

Show on Deck — Dwynell Roland

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