| I Think Ur A... VAMPIRE thursday! [ Even better than a WEEKEND ] |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Saturday, 01 May 2010 23:28 |
 "Ezra Koenig is a mega babe!!!!!" - This is a message which was written on my phone by a certain staff member of this site, shortly before VAMPIRE WEEKEND took the stage for their sold out Auckland show, at the Bruce Mason Centre. She was right. He is a babe - a well dressed, energetic, indie-rocker with an exceptional and unique voice-type of babe. Shallow observations aside, Koenig - alongside his three other equally-as-awesome band members - account for some of the most interesting and intelligent music around, at this point in time. Opening their New Zealand set with ‘White Sky’, the black curtain behind the band dropped a few seconds into the track revealing a giant backdrop of their ‘Contra’ album cover - a vacant looking blonde, whose empty stare over the audience got more and more creepy the longer you looked into her eyes. Thankfully, there was plenty of energy and quite possibly the best dancing by a bassist - thank you Chris Baio (think Elvis mixed with Michael Jackson with a dash of Justin Timberlake) - I’ve ever witnessed happening on any stage, to reclaim any attention held by her haunting gaze. Prior to the show, I was a little curious as to how the four piece would go about recreating the energy and fullness of their studio recordings, in a live setting. Turns out all you need is; clever use of samples and keys courtesy of Rostam Batmanglij, an insanely talented drummer Chris Tomson, eccentric bassist Chris Baio (having a seated ticket upstairs turned out to be a huge blessing, his footwork needed to be seen to be believed), Ezra Koenig’s beautiful voice and spot-on guitar playing, and an excellent lighting technician. For a band who sound so good in their recordings, it was refreshing to see that their live performance was just as good, if not better.  The ska-influenced ‘Holiday’ was up next, an upbeat anthem which had those on the floor pogo-ing about like the ground underneath them was too hot to stand on. ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’ off of their 2008 debut self-titled album, only continued energising the appreciative fans who sung along with every word. ‘I Stand Corrected’ was a nice reminder that while Winter is coming, the feeling of Summer doesn’t have to be lost, with its almost reggae-like beats and Jamaican-coloured lighting creating a tropical atmosphere. Koenig’s voice never faltered throughout the set - and especially in the softer moments, it became increasingly obvious that he has been blessed with a unique and beautiful voice (which we already knew from the albums) - which is just as enchanting in a live setting.  Public transportation never seemed so cool, as the band introduced ‘M79’, before launching into ‘Bryn’ followed by the auto-tune inspired ‘California English'. The fast paced and fiery ‘Cousins’ followed - which Koenig introduced as “a song about people important to us” - and the lighting technician suggested was ‘song most likely to blind’, with the lights shining directly onto the mayhem occurring on the floor.  That mayhem soon came to a halt when Chris Tomson left his drum kit to instead play an electronic drum machine, and Chris Baio traded his bass guitar for an upright bass, for a mellow and subtle rendition of ‘Taxi Cab'.  The energy levels went back to eleven, when normal instruments were resumed for ‘Run’, during which the previous mentioned dead eyes of Miss Creepy 'Contra' girl lit up with red and blue lights, taking her stare from creepy... to even-creepier. “Easiest song to rough sexy dance to” ‘A-Punk’ was next, followed by the “take the steering wheel away from society and drive yourself” call and response anthem ‘One (Blake’s Got A New Face)'. It was during this song in which keyboardist Batmanglij, puzzled those on the upper level by sitting on the ground, taking off his shoes, and then walking back and forth with a zoned-out blank expression on his face. When the song ended he got back on the ground, put his shoes back on, and continued on like nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.  Vampire Weekend rounded out their main set with ‘Diplomat’s Son’, latest single ‘Giving Up The Gun’, ‘Campus’, and of course ‘Oxford Comma’ - departing the stage to a deafening pitch of screams and chants for an encore.  With Miss Creepy 'Contra' Girl lit in an eerie red glow, the band returned to the stage and began playing ‘Horchata’ to a choral like sing-a-long. Koenig then did his best to inspire the audience to “get frisky” and dance to their shortest song ‘Mansford Roof’, before thanking the audience for their energy, promising to “see [New Zealand] soon” and closing with the energetic and dance-friendly ‘Walcott'.  While I’ve heard some complaints about the sound for those on the ground being sub-par, those who were seated up top had impeccable sound levels, which assisted in making the music sound huge. The reasonably intimate venue - while appearing possibly a little oversold for general admission - was the perfect setting for witnessing one of the best and brightest bands in the scene, and we can only hope for their quick return.  |
