Vampire Weekend certainly qualifies as one of the bands of the year 2008. Smart lyrics, tight beats, and instrumental diversity, combined with local connections, have combined to push Vampire Weekend from a small venue band in January to a band that sells out three consecutive nights at Terminal 5 in December of the same year. Alas, good music comes at a price for the listener and concert-goer. The latest price is an anti-VW backlash among concert reviewers (see below for a few examples).
Yes, the concert was only 1 hour. Yes, they could have shown more improvisational flair. But still...those are small-picture issues - this was absolutely a fun, fulfilling concert. From "Mansard Roof," "Campus," "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and "I Stand Corrected" at the beginning through "Walcott" at the end, the band delivered a well-performed and entertaining show with plenty of character to differentiate the music from the album versions. The string quartet pieces in the main set and encore were, in particular, spectacular. "A-Punk" and "M79" were absolute blasts of energy. From my vantage point (as seen above), the crowd was definitely into the show - despite the distance, most people in my area were dancing intensively throughout the show (save the few non-released songs which slowed the motion). Combining performance, music, and crowd, how could it not be a really fun evening?
Oh, you think the crowd was too preppy? The fans too annoying? Fed VW and swallowing it mind-numbingly because they were told to like it by the radio? Ummm, sure, whatever. Fuck, I don't listen to the radio ever, and I was hardly atypical for the audience. I will grant that the crowd was likely better-educated than the typical indie rock show. The Columbia connection certainly contributes here. But why is that a problem? Engaging a crowd different from the typical NYC music crowd is a bad thing for music? Really?
This was a crowd that could be entertained (in a self-deprecating manner) by the humor of Stuff White People Like. They have debated Oxford comma usage (my current usage differs from my usage 10 years ago, and I am very deliberate about it). Songs about campus romance? Surprisingly underrepresented in music. Smart lyrics, diverse instruments, and original arrangements are good - why should the fact that the music is appealing to the over-educated affect the inherent beauty of the composition?
In the end, the changes in my listening habits over the days and weeks following a concert serve to best inform me about how much I enjoyed the concert. In the case of VW, my play counts went up far more than typical, particularly for "M79," whose elegant intensity in concert gave it particular subsequent musical gravitas for me.
Quibbles about the show? Yes, certainly. The kids don't stand a chance? Silly hyperbole. Was it a top-5 concert for me in 2008? Definitely not. Top 10? It's in the running. Which, given the minor issues I (and others) had with the show, including the band's to-date limited catalogue, makes for a very, very good evening. And unique - how many songs from their debut album will disappear from live shows in the years to come?
Other reviews (mostly positive, despite the tone of this review):
Troubled Souls Unite
Quiet Color
Throwing Waffles
HearYa
So This is What the Volume Knob is For
Astronautte
That green plant (flickr)
Beyond Race
We All Want Someone
Paste Magazine
Prefix
WNEW
