Vampire Weekend are back on roll, having released their fifth full-length, Only God Was Above Us, earlier in the year. They’ve embarked on a massive world tour now that covers (literally, but I’ll get into that in a moment) a little bit of everything… and beyond.
The band recently kicked off the first of two nights at The Anthem, and it was a fun ride.
Starting off things a little differently than previous tours, walking onto the stage by himself with a huge banner behind him reading “VAMPIRE WEEKEND,” Ezra Koenig began the opening lines of “Hold You Now” from Father of The Bride at The Anthem on Sept. 30. He was then joined by Chris Baio (bass) and drummer Chris Tomson. The trio, dressed in white, produced a sound that filled the crowded venue. With just the original three members of Vampire Weekend, Koenig, Baio, and Tomson drove into hits “Holiday” and “One (Blake’s Got a New Face)” before the first of many surprises that evening.
As the intro of “Ice Cream Piano” filled the air, the massive “VAMPIRE WEEKEND” banner was pulled away, revealing a tiered stage with not only Baio and Tompson but the other touring members of Vampire Weekend — and what can only be described as a party ensued. As lights flashed and pulsed, the members of Vampire Weekend danced across the stage, soon being joined by construction vested workers — one of whom took to the center riser to groove and contort to the music.
In what was to become the second of, really, a three-act performance, the band played through just about everything you would want to hear. And with the full-band experience which included saxophones, two sets of drums, organ/piano, guitars, and bass you couldn’t help but get swept up in the revelry.
It was, to a large extend, a participatory event with everyone clapping and singing along. Newer songs like “Capricorn” were just as popular and elicited sing-a-longs as older songs like “Oxford Comma” and “A-Punk.”
Watch the official music video for “Capricorn” by Vampire Weekend on YouTube:
After the regular set, or second act, the band returned to the stage for an entirely new set of fan-picked covers. “The last time we were in Washington, DC, our nation’s capital was 2010,” Koenig started. “Now, hold on! That doesn’t mean we haven’t been to the DMV,” referencing shows at Merriweather Post Pavilion. He went on to mention during the last tour they did take Vampire Weekend requests, but on this tour they were doing things a little differently — taking “anything but Vampire Weekend requests.” “We might know them… we might not know them, but we’ll do our best.”
Reading signs from the audience, Vampire Weekend tried their collective hands at a few bars of “Electric Feel” from MGMT before then taking a shot at The Cranberries’ “Linger.” With more hits than misses at the various covers being shouted, it was a fun and impressive feat.
Of all the covers, the best included the Mountain Brews’ “Mountain Brews,” which they knew very well but from which they only played a short segment, and Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” — a song and a sound to which critics drew Vampire Weekend comparisons in the band’s early days. An amazing show with a little bit of everything, and then some.
Vampire Weekend continue their tour with stops along the East Coast before heading to Europe.
The setlist included:
Hold You Now
Holiday
One (Blake’s Got a New Face)
[With Touring Band]
Ice Cream Piano
Classical
Connect
White Sky
Step
This Life
Sympathy
New Dorp. New York (SBTRKT cover)
The Surfer
How Long?
Campus
Oxford Comma
Capricorn
Gen-X Cops
Diane Young
Cousins
A-Punk
Prep-School Gangsters
Mary Boone
Harmony Hall
Hope
Encore:
Electric Feel (MGMT cover)
Linger (The Cranberries cover)
Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett cover)
Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Mountain Brews (Mountain Brews cover)
She Will Be Loved (Maroon 5 cover)
Fire on the Mountain (Grateful Dead cover)
Valerie (Amy Winehouse/The Zutons cover)
Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen cover)
Reptilia (The Strokes cover)
Life in the Fast Lane (Eagles cover)
Desperado (Eagles cover)
You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon cover)
I’m on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)
Worship You
Ya Hey
Here are more photos of Vampire Weekend performing at The Anthem on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. All photos copyright and courtesy of David LaMason.
And here are photos of Cults opening for Vampire Weekend on September 30, 2024.
