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SFist Reviews... Vampire Weekend
San Francisco's musical offerings were bountiful Wednesday night ranging from Film School to Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings to The Thermals. It seems, though, that most of you made the correct choice: Vampire Weekend. Now we don't doubt that the other shows weren't amazing -- we were pretty miffed that there were so many choices on one night -- but clearly if you are anybody then you were wearing a blue pin-striped shirt, dark cuffed jeans and a wool sweater from Peru. (We can't forget the yellow socks!) Decked out in this perfect waspy ensemble, Ezra Koenig, the lead singer of Vampire Weekend took the stage. At first glance he seemed a bit awkward, nerdy and a little shy but ended up to be charismatic, charming and kinda cute (in a kid-brother kind of way).
The incredibly crowded space was crawling with an audience that was brimming with excitement. Their excitement had been curtailed while Grand Ole' Party and San Francisco's own, Still Flyin' opened for this seemingly "members-only" band. Based out of New York City, this four-piece afro-pop band met while attending New York's best, Columbia University. The incredible buzz has been everywhere - ranging from blogs to the New York Times.
In June, the Times said, "Even without an album, Vampire Weekend have made one of the most impressive debuts of the year." Impressive is headlining a show without even having a CD released. The two songs, "Mansford Roof" and "Ladies of Cambridge," which have been available on iTunes were some of the crowd favorites. The live versions of "A-Punk" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" were off the hook. The pianist, Rostam Batmanglij and bassist, Chris Baio were both equally as talented though a few dance lessons might improve the whole aesthetic. You also can't forget the audience participation in "One," when everyone was screaming "Blake's got a new face!" over and over. Apparently, Blake is from Palo Alto, a Stanford biochemistry major who disappointingly didn't show up for the concert. How do you not show up to a concert when a song is written about you? Koenig and the rest of the band were severly disappointed. Shame on you!
Koenig's vocals were absolutely superb and even better than recorded. (Apparently in L.A., a couple of nights before, he had completely lost his voice!) His voice was back and it was strong. The afro-pop beats were so entrancing that we were twisting, jerking and moving without a whim or care. It seemed that most of the audience were doing the same thing. (God, we hope so!) Vampire Weekend even debuted a song that will be on the second record! The first album, which will be available in January, will feature their sophisticated afro-pop and will be hands down, one of the best records of 2008. They said they'll be back in San Francisco in January supporting the release of their new record - something that we won't miss!
Throwing the blue pin-striped shirt, dark cuffed jeans and loafers aside, Vampire Weekend has created something new, creative, smart and ultimately fun to listen to. It gets you pretending that it's actually you that's yachting off the coast of Cape Cod, sipping cocktails in your Hampton's vacation home or jet-setting off to some foreign country for brunch. Dreaming is not necessarily bad, especially when it's wrapped up in elitist perfection.
Photo taken by author