Vampire Weekend

Having previously managed to miss Vampire Weekend every time they played the UK, I was determined to see them this time. So, on a cold and wet Tuesday evening, I made my way to the O2 Academy in Brixton for the first of a two-night residency, which formed part of the tour to promote their second album Contra.

The O2 is a venue that has a few quirks that betray it’s origins as a traditional theatre rather than a modern music venue; although the downstairs seating has been removed, the floor still has a gentle slope down to the stage interspaced with small barrier rails presumably placed to thwart the inevitable crush that a large pogoing crowd would inflict on those at the front. The stage itself is surrounded by a mock Italian plaza complete with roman statues, arches, balconies and towers that suggest the original designer envisaged the place being a permanent home for a production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

After getting an overpriced pint of Tuborg (£4.20 a pint – the most I think I’ve ever paid at a venue), we settled down behind one of the aforementioned barriers to enjoy the show. First up were the support act Fan Death, a Canadian duo of vocalist and keyboards who, having seen Florence and the Machine and Bat for Lashes gain success, thought ‘I can do that’. The two girls were backed up by an energetic drummer, second keyboard player and violinist. Unfortunately the lead singer, despite having plenty of attitude and stage presence, has a weak voice that was often lost in the overall mix, and she lacked the power of her co-artist when they performed harmonies. In their defence they have some good songs, with strong keyboard riffs, so if they can sort out the lead vocals then they may be a band to watch.

Just before half nine Vampire Weekend arrive on stage with little fanfare, only a drop in lights indicated their arrival, they walked out and immediately launched into their set. Their sound is a mix of Indie pop and African rhythms, mixed with elements of baroque classical music. Whilst not a combination that would immediately grab you from the description, Vampire Weekend have it all in hand and apply it to simply written songs that happily worm their way into your consciousness.

Opening with White Sky and Holiday from the new album, the band show themselves to be very comfortable on stage, and have an easy, relaxed manner -both between themselves and the audience. Lead singer Ezra Koenig has a strong, clear voice that takes on a slight African twang when he sings, whether this is deliberate or not, I'm not sure, but it's certainly effective. Rostam Batmanglij splits his time between keyboards and guitar, Chris Baio plays Bass and Chris Tomson is on drums. Together they are probably one of the tightest bands I've seen play live, and their good humour is infectious as the crowd were quickly dancing along to the lively upbeat sound.

As previously mentioned some of the music has classical elements and for this the band bring on stage a string quartet, which was for me a pleasant surprise as I'd expected them to use keyboards or prerecorded sequences to fill in these gaps.

Because a typical VW song is quite short, they were able to fit in a lot of songs, playing the first album in its entirety and only missing I think 'UR a Contra' off their second. It's very hard to pick out the highlights as the whole show was one big high, although if you gauge it by the crowd's reactions, 'Cousins', 'Oxford Comma', 'Mansard Roof', and 'A-Punk' were the biggest, with Koenig extolling the crowd to "make a fist and pop it – if you feel like it" during the latter. His easy rapport with the crowd helped add to the happy atmosphere during the show, and continued through the call and response set up of 'One (Blake's got a new face)'.

After an hour and a quarter the show was over all too soon. But as we left the venue and went into the rain, it was easy to spot those who had been to the concert, even on the tube journey home – you just had to look for the big happy smiles on the faces to spot them. The current Vampire Weekend tour is unsurprisingly sold out, but the band is doing several UK festivals over the summer and if you're lucky enough to be going to one I urge you not to miss their performance – you will not be disappointed.

Setlist:
White Sky
Holiday
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
I Stand Corrected
M79
Bryn
California English
Cousins
Taxi Cab
Run
A-Punk
One (Blake's Got A New Face)
The Kids Don't Stand A Chance
Diplomat's Son
Boston (Ladies Of Cambridge)
Giving Up The Gun
Campus
Oxford Comma

Encore:
Horchata
Mansard Roof
Walcott

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