Vampire Weekend rocks Philadelphia as world tour continues
Philadelphia has always been a second home for Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio and Chris Tomson of Vampire Weekend.
After meeting at Columbia University, the band formed in 2006, during the peak of the 2000s indie rock resurgence. Just a train ride away, the band often performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during their early days. On September 28, they returned to The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, to play to a packed crowd of indie admirers.
In April, the band released their fifth album, "Only God Was Above Us," an intricate, instrumental clashing and lyrically bitter masterpiece. Distinct from their previous four releases, "Only God Was Above Us," or "OGWAU," as the band refers to it, has a certain mature and invincible feeling.
Songs like "Classical" and "Mary Boone" somehow outdo their enlightening lyrics with dazzling instrumentation. From the moment they released "OGWAU," it was clear that Vampire Weekend would excel in turning the album into a remarkable live show.
They opened with "Cousins," a fast-paced foot-stomper off their second album, "Contra." The band then played the TikTok hit, "Campus," as their energy flowed from the stage to the dampened lawn. Every night, the band's setlist changes, and fans hope to hear a track that hasn't been played on tour yet. Luckily for the Philly crowd, fans got their fair share of favorites.
Around 30 minutes in, the band began one of their most potent and beautiful songs, "Step." Other fan favorites included a grunge version of "Bambina" and a ska arrangement of the deep-cut "Ottoman." What followed was a compilation of songs that divided the crowd, the approximately 15-minute country jam the band refers to as "Cocaine Cowboys."
The band performs a little bit of everything for this compilation, including a mix of their own work, The Grateful Dead, Merle Haggard and Gram Parsons. The 50-plus crowd certainly liked this part of the show.
Eight of the 10 songs on "OGWAU" were played, including the eight-minute album closer, "Hope," which ended the main set. This album was made to play live, shown through the range of instrumentation on stage.
The standout of the bunch was "Ice Cream Piano," featuring a slow build leading to an angsty guitar riff and a vigorous bass drum. The whole song led to a curtain drop, revealing a cavernous stage design–reminiscent of many themes on the album.
After two hours of energetic performance from Vampire Weekend, their encore would somehow top the main set.
Recently, frontman Koenig has taken crowd requests for rare Vampire Weekend songs to sing during the encore. During this tour, the band has elevated the stakes by playing covers. They'll play it all, from Billy Joel, to a hilariously messy rendition of Chappell Roan's "Hot To Go."
In Philly, they attempted 15 covers in less than 30 minutes. Most songs lasted a minute or so, but the entertaining part wasn't the song they played, rather it was watching them work through it on the spot.
The success of the covers mostly relied on Koenig's memory of the lyrics, which usually led him astray, particularly with "Monster Mash," which he giggled through. The few highlights included The Strokes' "Someday," Radiohead's "Karma Police" and the theme song from "The Office," fitting for a Pennsylvania concert.
After the band wrapped up the covers, they ended the set with "Walcott," their farewell song since they began playing shows 18 years ago. The entire encore was a joyous experience for fans of all ages, singing their hearts out to songs from every generation.
As long as Vampire Weekend is touring, their fans will continue going to their shows to see them consistently reinvent each gig with a unique setlist and a level of energy that most live bands don't come close to. The band has avoided redundancy with every tour, establishing themselves as indie rock royalty.
