It was so great to be able to drive less than ten minutes to see Vampire Weekend and Avi Buffalo at the Art Theater in Long Beach. Thanks to Vampire Weekend for wanting to do a run of California shows in smaller venues and thanks to Jon Halperin and Art Theater for bringing them to Long Beach.
Less than an hour before the show started I got a text that Avi Buffalo was opening up and I hustled to load up the truck with ice cream and to get cleaned up in order to get there in time. Even in their hometown of Long Beach there are still people who don’t know Avi Buffalo. With their recent signing to Sub Pop and a record in the pipeline, this is soon to change. Their set only lasted about a half hour but that was all they needed to squeeze in some California pop nuggets that had the crowd continually asking what their name was and how they could hear more music.
Vampire Weekend continues to improve in all aspects. Their live performance is more sharp and full now and the new songs branch out a bit from their first album. Don’t worry, it’s not too much, you’ll still be moving your hips like everyone was doing at the show. “Cousins” was my favorite new track and I missed the single “Horchata” that’s available now on their website. The reason I missed it was because they played it during their encore when I ran out to grab the truck so we could give away ice cream in front of the theater.
Everything seemed to flow perfectly that night. The sound was better than I expected for a box, the crowd was all smiles, and everyone getting ice cream was friendly and they didn’t drop any wrappers on the ground. Thanks to Jon, Catherine, the Art Theater, Dave, and beer (a new, albeit temporary addition to the art).
