I caught Vampire Weekend at the Bowery Ballroom last week, the final and by far the most intimate of their three-shows-in-three-nights new album promo in New York. It’s always fun to see a hot band in a venue they’ve outgrown and this gig upheld the rule – longtime fans singing along, hipsters who just had to be there (but wouldn’t want to show too much excitement over their good fortune), celebrities mixing with us commoners and the band excited to get back to their roots (even if those roots were pulled up only a year or so ago). These elements generally mix well, creating a nice buzz.
I knew all the songs from their first album, and had heard only one of the new ones before the show. Though Vampire Weekend has taken its fair share of swipes from both the music scene’s intelligentsia and its populist front (wow, they must REALLY be popular), I am not terribly bothered by any of it. The songs, including the new ones on Contra, are generally excellent, catchy and bouncy. And, anyway, I probably care more about how the lyrics sound than what they say.
That said, I categorize the concert experience as merely “Fun…Glad I went…A good night out.” Maybe they need to grow into the songs some more, or just let them loose a bit. With a ripe audience like this, it felt like a squandered rock opportunity.
I don’t know, maybe they just need a dash of horns in their live set.
Here’s one of the new numbers, “Taxi Cab”, which was among the slower tunes performed and thus got a little lost in the barroom chatter and sms buzzing. Something about it still drew me in, though, and it might actually be one of the best on Contra.
And for good measure, here’s a dash of horns. Memphis Soul Stew
