Dandy Warhols

14th October, 2003. Tilburg. In my line of work, I unfortunately have to work one evening a week. Just the one isn't too bad, you may think - but it's amazing how many events, birthdays, concerts etc. suddenly appear on my 'occupied' evening. But nevertheless, I wasn't going to let this show pass me by, even if it did mean missing the beginning. I spent this particular day in town in the afternoon and who else did I spot shopping in a not-so-trendy shoe shop, but Courtney Taylor-Taylor. He was examining some silver Dr Martens boots. Doing a bit of pre-gig retail therapy, I guess. Somehow, I don't think the shops in Tilburg would have occupied him for very long. I seriously considered asked him for an autograph and welcoming him to Holland and if I was 18 years old, I'm sure I would have done. Instead, I stalked him victoriously for 15 minutes, like the shy, old person that I am..
The Dandy Warhols were touring as the support act for David Bowie's reality tour. The night before playing Ahoy in Rotterdam with DB, they had agreed to this ' An Evening with the Dandy Warhols' show in Tilburg. I hoped I hadn't missed much when I arrived at 9pm, but they had been in full swing since 8 pm! I had missed a whole hour! The good thing was that they played for another 2 hours. How many bands walk on stage at the time stated on the ticket and play for that long? Brownie points for the Dandy Warhols for pulling that off. The band were in the middle of an extended version of Mohammed as I arrived. I could hear it as I came through the doors and this was a wonderful live version. The band were clearly making the most of their evening, playing extended and different arrangements of songs in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Some songs lasted for about 15 minutes, but were still captivating. Of course there were 'fans' who only knew the band from the Vodafone advert tune. But they of course were woken up and could jump around when Bohemian Like you was played. Godless was mesmeric and You were the last high brilliant. Courtney was funny and chatty and this gave the show an intimate feel. The band clearly enjoyed their night off from the Reality Tour and the freedom it gave them to play whatever songs they wanted in whatever way they wanted to.