The weather turned out well for my first-ever concert at Malkin Bowl… In fact, it was perfect. Clear sunny skies without the sweltering heat.
Vampire Weekend lead singer Ezra Koenig would later affirm this, pausing between songs to chat with the crowd with his trademark charm.
“I’d say the weather today is PERFECT for a concert, wouldn’t you?” he asked. And the crowd responded enthusiastically.
The show began much earlier then we were used to, and we missed the Dum Dum Girls set at 6:00pm, which is too bad since I’ve been hearing good things about them. Here’s hoping they return to Vancouver and hit The Biltmore soon.
Beach House was the second opener, on at 7:00pm and there was no way we were going to miss that. I’m a huge Beach House fan, but not surprisingly, the crowd was quite small and fairly unenthusiastic. Beach House is a bit of an acquired taste, and I had been trying to decide, unsuccessfully, whether they were a good choice to tour alongside Vampire Weekend. On one hand Beach House is definitely an up-and-coming band worthy of the honor, on the other hand I’m not sure if their melancholic and usually down-tempo sound pairs well with Vampire Weekend’s up-beat and danceable tracks. Looking at the crowds reaction during their set, most of my fellow concert-goers looked a little bored. Then again, much of the crowd consisted of frat-types and college preps and Beach House might’ve been just a tad too eclectic for their taste.
Regardless, they put on a great show and sounded spot on. Victoria Legrand’s airy vocals complimented the lush and dreamy organ-led beats just as I hoped it would.
After Beach House, it didn’t take long for the crowd to build in anticipation of what was next. Vampire Weekend hit the stage in style and humour, walking out to their instruments with some serious rap beats banging through the PA.
The next hour was an all out dance party, as is commonplace at Vampire Weekend shows. With two phenomenally strong and critically-acclaimed albums out, there aren’t any disappointing songs to be heard. There is no waiting for the “good stuff,” the “old stuff”, whatever. At a Vampire Weekend show it is all great stuff. Each song stronger and more recognizable then the next… It only took the first 2 or 3 chords for the crowd to instantly recognize what song they were going to hear and respond with vigour.
The band paused for a moment to allow Ezra to make more chit-chat with the crowd and inform everyone that it was now “Time to dance…Or just foot-tap. No judgement here.” When they threw down A-Punk next, the crowd erupted even louder then they had yet; dancing and foot-tapping with fury.
Despite all the excitement and dancing. My cohort and I couldn’t help but notice that they were slightly “off” compared to the last time we saw the clan at Sasquatch. They played a couple songs a little slower and were fumbling a little now and then. It was, after all, there first night on the tour.
Once again Ezra confirmed what we knew, telling the crowd near the end of the set that it felt great to be back after 3 weeks off, but commented on the difficulty of getting back into the groove; essentially admitting that they were a little rusty.
Not a big deal. The crowd didn’t seem to notice, and if they did, were extremely forgiving; screaming with delight at every chance they could.
We left that night full and satisfied with what was likely the last outdoor summer concert we would see for 2010. A tall order that only Vampire Weekend could fill.
Until next summer, vamps.
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