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.
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:
If you'd like to see the band live, it is strongly recommended to get tickets once they go on sale, since tickets have regularly gone for double and triple the price on eBay and other third-party ticket auction sites.
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:
Thursday Indie Rock LinkStorm - Vampire Weekend, The Black Keys, Adaline, Ryan Tedder, BSS, Ryan Lott, Brendan Canning
The video above features Wolf Parade performing "This Heart's on Fire"
There's always too many indie rock articles and items of news and never enough time to write about them. So, as an antidote, IRC has come up with the 'linkstorm' concept to deliver to you the best in what's happening in the indie music world. Enjoy.
Akron, Ohio's The Black Keys cover 70's icon Captain Beefheart in the song "I'm Glad" (via Stereogum). Get the MP3 while you can because it could expire at any time.
Vampire Weekend Offer Peek at New Album at San Francisco Easter Sunday Show
It was another sold out, packed-to-capacity venue show at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco Easter Sunday as the sensation over the New York City indie pop band Vampire Weekend continues to grow unabated.
The following is a short video clip of the band jamming to the yet-unreleased song "Little Giant, with Rostam on guitar (by the way, Rostam is not Latino or 'Mexican'; he's Persian. Plus, I met him on Sunday and he doesn't look like that David kid on American Idol, ok?! I'm sure Rostam is sick of hearing that comparison.)
Vampire Weekend's signature brand of indie pop mixes reggae and hip hop sounds with songs about Cape Cod, garbage in New Jersey, mysterious people ("Blake"and "Walcott") and that damn "Oxford Comma". They are one of the few 'buzz bands' that demonstrates a genuine interest in their fans, as they made clear throughout their performance at the Rickshaw Stop.
Watch this fun video from the Vampire Weekend video (which the photo above was taken from) to see evidence of musical genius, but also more evidence that they are not letting their unprecedented success get to them too much.
P.S. Did anyone else at the Vampire Weekend show at the Rickshaw Stop take photographs that have orbs in them? I don't know if it's a lighting or camera issue, but I have orbs on all my photos, but they did not appear at any other recent indoor, darken venue except here. Looking at some of these pictures you can see what clearly look to be one or more orbs moving around, so to me I just call it "Dancing with Orbs" (a new band name?).
Vampire Weekend Concert Tour Schedule through August 2008
Mar 19 2008 - 8:00P The Casbah (SOLD OUT) San Diego, California Mar 20 2008 - 8:00P El Rey (SOLD OUT) Los Angeles, California Mar 22 2008 - 8:00P The Independent (SOLD OUT) San Francisco, California Mar 23 2008 - 8:00P Rickshaw Shop (SOLD OUT) San Francisco, California Mar 25 2008 - 8:00P Doug Fir Lounge (SOLD OUT) Portland, Oregon Mar 26 2008 - 8:00P Neumos (SOLD OUT) Seattle, Washington Mar 27 2008 - 8:00P Richards on Richards (SOLD OUT) Vancouver, British Columbia Mar 29 2008 - 8:00P The Badlander Missoula, Montana Mar 30 2008 - 8:00P Neurolux Boise, Idaho Mar 31 2008 - 8:00P In the Venue Salt Lake City, Utah Apr 1 2008 - 8:00P Bluebird Theater Denver, Colorado Apr 3 2008 - 8:00P The Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, Minnesota Apr 4 2008 - 8:00P The High Noon Madison, Wisconsin Apr 5 2008 - 8:00P Turner Hall Milwaukee, Wisconsin Apr 6 2008 - 8:00P Metro (SOLD OUT) Chicago, Illinois Apr 11 2008 - 8:00P Brown University Campus Green Providence, Rhode Island Apr 25 2008 - 1:00P Coachella Indio, California May 1 2008 - 8:00P Bistol Bierkeller Bristol, UK May 2 2008 - 8:00P Birmingham Academy 2 (SOLD OUT) Birmingham, UK May 3 2008 - 8:00P The Liquid Rooms Edinburgh, UK May 4 2008 - 8:00P Oran Mor Glasgow, UK May 6 2008 - 8:00P Northumbria University Newcastle, UK May 7 2008 - 8:00P The Cockpit (SOLD OUT) Leeds, UK May 8 2008 - 8:00P Manchester Academy 2 (SOLD OUT) Manchester, UK May 9 2008 - 8:00P Camber Sands Minehead, UK May 12 2008 - 8:00P Wedgewood Rooms Portsmouth, UK May 13 2008 - 8:00P Electric Ballroom (SOLD OUT) London, UK May 15 2008 - 1:00P http://www.blogger.com/ Brighton, UK May 20 2008 MelkwegAmsterdam, Holland Jun 7 2008 - 8:00P The SocialOrlando, Florida Jun 8 2008 - 8:00P Cafe ElevenSt. Augustine, Florida Jun 12 2008 - 1:00P BonnarooManchester, Tennessee Aug 10 2008 Summer Sonic - OsakaOsaka, Japan
Vampire Weekend's Free 40 Minute Studio Session on KCRW
(photo, courtesy of CrackersUnited)
Even before their 'big time' appearance on Saturday Night Live earlier this month, Vampire Weekend was one of the biggest new bands of 2008, if not the biggest new band of the year, at least as far as the 'buzz factor' goes.
Weeks leading up to the February release of their debut self-titled album on Beggar's Banquet, VW had captured the attention of bloggers, music critics and 'indie' fans, mostly due to their performances last year in concert, at music festivals and their Feb. 1st U.S. network debut on the David Letterman Show. Vampire Weekend - Boston
(Watch and listen to Vampire Weekend play a 40-minute session clicking the video further down the page)
Many fans were disappointed by VW's performance on SNL (the string section wasn't synced with the band). Even the full-length clips of Vampire Weekend performing on SNL have been removed from YouTube; however, they have reappeared on Stereogum.
But, really, you can forget about the SNL show. Without question, it is the band's 40-minute studio session on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic this past Valentine's Day that shows Vampire Weekend at their best. Not only that, but everyone watch it. This is one of the best things about the Internet.
Die-hard fans all around the world who have been unable to see Vampire Weekend in concert should really enjoy this session. It may be the closest many come to see the band in concert, and in some cases, even better.
During the 40-minute studio performance, Vampire Weekend's band members play almost every song from their debut album. The video and audio quality, and camera work, are superb (unlike most videos on YouTube) - no screaming, background noise or shakiness. See the set list below and some lyrics.
The first set of VW's KCRW February 14, 2008 studio session features, in order played, Mansun Roof, Oxford Comma, A-Punk, Cape Cod Kawassa Kawassa and Boston
Following the first set, there is a brief and wonderfully conducted interview with the band.
During the second set the guys play Bryn, Campus, I Stand Corrected, The Kids Don't Stand and M79.
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Grand Ole Party Touring With Rogue Wave Throughout US in April
Riding on the sails of their 'critically acclaimed' debut album Humanimals, San Diego's indie trio Grand Ole Party has announced a slew of concert dates with indie rockers Rogue Wave and punk old-timers New York Dolls (do they get MediCare?) for the month of April with a final show in San Francisco on May 3rd.
Question: Is this band really good enough to tour with the likes of Vampire Weekend, Rilo Kiley and Rogue Wave? (I don't think so, but you be the judge.) Plus, the name; that's the best they could come up with? GOP? Maybe they'll get a spot at a McCain rally.
April 2 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive 3 Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr 4 Lawrence, KS - Replay Lounge 5 Nashville, TN - The Rutledge 6 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree 7 Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern 11 Boston, MA - Paradise # 12 New York, NY - Fillmore at Irving Plaza # 15 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church # 16 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club # 18 Chicago, IL - Schubas # 19 Chicago, IL - Schubas # 20 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle Club # 22 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre # 24 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room # 27 Indio, CA - Coachella
May 3 San Francisco, CO - The Fillmore #
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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.
