Okay, first off: I have a secret. There is a whopping dose of prep in my background, a legacy which ended the second I decided on a BFA in Brooklyn. I rarely, if ever, discuss the hours wiled away on crew, chamber orchestras and cocktail parties in the 1990s, and I often forget that Phish played my boarding school’s dining hall. But at the end of the day you’re dealing with someone that had a blazer collection at age 14. So for all the haters writing Vampire Weekend off as an ‘Ivy League’ band, why spend your time posting negative anony-comments on the blogs? I will see your Patagonia fleece and raise you a pair of Maine Hunting Boots while kicking your ass with a squash racquet. Because Vampire Weekend is really quite good, and if anyone gets to roll their eyes at anything remotely preppie it would be me.
That being said, I entered the hallowed halls of Bowery Ballroom on the eve of their debut release of Vampire Weekend (out now on XL) with a clear head. I was determined not to mention Columbia, the Upper West Side, or the term ‘Trustifarian.’ 2 hours of waiting smack in the middle of the all-ages audience though and I couldn’t help but notice I was in a sea of kids enrolled in the aforementioned alma mater who lived on the UWS. Oh well. Let’s get this show started, because the bros that were straight up bellowing the name of the band weren’t letting up.
Finally Ezra, Rostam, Chris and Chris (I totally just dropped an Oxford comma there) hopped onstage and launched into a vibrant set with “A-Punk”. I was taken aback at how their live show rang true to their album quality. The writer next to me notated that as “safe,” yet I was happy to take it as a sign they had actually mastered their instruments. Vampire Weekend is not obscured by a mixing board. The percussion in the live capacity lends even greater dimisionality to the mix. It’s a clever marriage of world beat- insert Peter Gabriel and Ladysmith Black Mambazo references here- with the Indie Pop vernacular and the end result is astoundingly refreshing. It’s not like they are taking the 3 chords and a bridge formula and trying to pass it off as their own. These boys have achieved a sacred equilibrium- songs that multiple generations can enjoy.
ANYWAY their sound is delightfully tight and the attacked each song with enthusiasm. They bounced through their new material while sprinkling in some classics, much to the thrill of the crowd. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa and Mansard Roof elicited straight up wolf whistles and shouts from the audience. I am sure Paul Simon would have been there had he not been preoccupied with Grizzly Bear.
The whole khaki and cardigan clad spectacle got me thinking. Will Vampire Weekend be a victim of their own terminal velocity? 1 week after their full length debut there are 298 album reviews on iTunes. As far as I’m concerned, the band has landed on their feet, unabashedly cornered a market, and managed to keep their egos and tassled loafers in check. Think about it. Us Indie Brooklyn kids have wild LCD Soundsystem and !!! gig stories to pass on to our offspring. It’s only fair that the collegiate crowd have the soundtrack to their halcyon days as well.
