With a catchy name and unique sound that combines indie rock-pop and Afro influences, New York's collegiate 'indie' sensation Vampire Weekend have managed to become one of the the hottest bands during the past two years, selling out shows, performing on Saturday Night Live and garnering a massive amount of buzz in the mainstream press and on countless music blogs.
But there are disadvantages of being so popular; there are music fans who absolutely love the band, and there are others who declare VW are vastly over-rated.
Live MP3: Vampire Weekend performing "M79" at SxSW 2008
Yet the soaring popularity of the band appears to be unabated. That can be a good and a bad thing, as we’ve seen so many times before. Nonetheless, I’d bet my Cadillac that many record labels are in a bidding war for these guys right now.
The band has toured relentlessly since early 2007, and there is no sign that they intend to take a break. In fact, VW are booked solid through the end of September when they will play at the famous Austin City Limits festival.
Here's Vampire Weekend's tour dates for the next four months. It seems as if they are playing nearly every music festival this summer, not just in the U.S., but worldwide:
- May 13 2008 - 8:00P
Electric Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
London, UK - May 15 2008 - 1:00P
Great Escape Festival @ Concorde 2
Brighton, UK - May 17 2008 - 8:00P
Orangerie
Brussels, Belgium - May 18 2008 - 8:00P
Luxor
Koln, Germany - May 19 2008 - 8:00P
Le Trabendo
Paris, France - May 20 2008 - 8:00P
Melkweg
Amsterdam, Holland - May 21 2008 - 8:00P
Knust
Hamburg, Germany - May 22 2008 - 8:00P
Maria
Berlin, Germany - May 23 2008 - 8:00P
Kleine Elserhalle
Munich, Germany - May 26 2008 - 8:00P
Circolo degli Artisti
Rome, Italy - May 27 2008 - 8:00P
Bologna Rocker Festival
Bologna, Italy - May 28 2008 - 8:00P
Mascotte
Zurich, Switzerland - May 29 2008
Primavera Sound Festival
Barcelona, Spain - May 30 2008 - 8:00P
Porto Casa da Musica
Porto, Portugal - Jun 7 2008 - 4:30P
Park Ave CDs
Orlando, Florida - Jun 7 2008 - 8:00P
Club Firestone
Orlando, Florida - Jun 8 2008 - 8:00P
Cafe Eleven
St. Augustine, Florida - Jun 9 2008 - 8:00P
The Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason
Miami, Florida - Jun 11 2008 - 8:00P
The Variety Playhouse
Atlanta, Georgia - Jun 12 2008 - 1:00P
Bonnaroo
Manchester, Tennessee - Jun 13 2008 - 1:00P
Monolith Festival - Red Rocks
Denver, Colorado - Jun 14 2008 - 1:00P
Central Park Summer Stage
New York, New York - Jun 21 2008
Popped! Music Festival - Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA - Jun 24 2008 - 1:00P
Hove Festival
Arendal, Norway - Jun 25 2008
Accelerator
Stockholm, Sweden - Jun 27-28 2008
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury, UK - Jul 1 2008
Tivoli
Utrecht, Holland - Jul 3 2008
Werchter Festival
Werchter, Belgium - Jul 4 2008
Solidays Festival
Paris, France - Jul 5 2008
Les Eurockeennes Festival
Belfort, France - Jul 6 2008
Main Square Festival
Roubaix, France - Jul 8 2008
Turin Spaziale Festival w/The Raconteurs
Turin, Italy - Jul 10 2008
Alive Festival
Lisbon, Portugal - Jul 12 2008
Oxegen Festival
Naas, Ireland - Jul 13 2008
T in the Park
Kinross, Scotland - Jul 19 2008
Pitchfork Festival @ Union Park
Chicago, IL - Jul 25 2008
Capital Hill Block Party
Seattle, WA - Jul 27 2008
Pemberton Festival
Pemberton, BC - Aug 9 2008 - 8:00P
Summer Sonic - Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan - Aug 10 2008 - 8:00P
Summer Sonic - Osaka
Osaka, Japan - Aug 22 2008
Reading Festival
Reading, UK - Aug 23 2008
Leeds Festival
Leeds, UK - Sep 24 2008 - 8:00P
Marquee Theatre
Tempe, AZ - Sep 27 2008
Austin City Limits - Zilker Park
Austin, TX
One of the most interesting things about a band from New York City is that they have a number of songs about Massachusetts in their limited music repertoire ("Boston", "Ladies of Cambridge" and "Cape Cod Kawasa Kawasa")
The band describes their sound as “Upper West Side Soweto” - a reference to their early gigs playing at frat and literary parties for NYC social elites where people began to take notice of their unique blend of joyous indie rock infused with melodic Afro-beat rhythms.
Vampire Weekend's band members are Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, Rostam Batmanglij, and Chris Tomson. The group derived their name from a college film project shortly after forming in 2006.
Their first release, the EP Mansford Roof, caught the attention of music critics, including The New York Times. Word spread quickly about Vampire Weekend's unique sound and lyrics (the track "Oxford Comma" refers to a comma use in a list of three items), buoyed by the band's self-released EPs, which they recorded in locations spanning their Columbia dorm rooms to a family barn.
The buzz around Vampire Weekend reached a feverish peak in 2007; that summer, the band embarked on a seemingly endless tour in 2007, made several appearances at that year's CMJ Music Marathon, and eventually signed with XL Records that fall.
Since then, Vampire Weekend has continued to grow in popularity, evidenced by the fact that most of their shows for this spring and summer have already been sold out.
Some worthwhile VW links, including audio and video performances:
Vampire Weekend: Fresh blood on campus - UK Telegraph
See more Vampire Weekend on IRC including a special and exclusive video performance shot at San Francisco's Rickshaw Stop show on Easter Sunday.
Streaming Video Session: Vampire Weekend live on KCRW
Webs: Vampire Weekend's official website and MySpace page.
Labels: Indie Artist/Group Profiles, Indie Buzz Bands, New York, Vampire Weekend
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