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Vampire Weekend, Fox Theater, Oakland CA – 4/20

Photos by Kelsey Winterkorn

After performing what most reviews referred to as a routine or less than stimulating show at Coachella three days before, Vampire Weekend came to the Fox Theater in Oakland, California for two sold out shows wrapping up months of touring in support of their sophomore release Contra.

For the second of these dates, the beautiful theater was filled to the brim with some of the most enthusiastic fans seen at a show in a long time. The stage was set up with multiple flash bulbs and strobes, and that was about it. Then a few minutes after 9 PM the lights dimmed and out came the quartet and as they took their positions on stage a large banner dropped from behind them revealing a larger than life print of the cover to Contra.

It took the band a few songs to get into a groove. Their sound is uniqley its own. One could easily draw comparisons to Paul Simon during Graceland, and some of Sting’s later work, but their surf-rock approach to laid back punk or reggae songs were almost artistic in the standard of the Talking Heads.

Ezra Koenig on guitar is impossible to miss. He plays more lead than rhythm and his riffs are usually fast, looping and very catchy. His vocals are are unique with a voice that is as penetrating as it is high pitched. Opening with “White Sky” from their self titled first album, it set a tone that each song played from there forward was going to be a hit. Same with “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” both songs with a very strong calypso feel. Live their sound was as crisp and sonically pleasing as on their albums, which in itself is commendable. Moving through some newer songs from their latest release, they then played the aptly named “A-Punk.” With the songs being about three minutes in length Vampire Weekend tore through about eight songs in the first half hour. Then when they slowed things down, they found their groove for the evening. With Chris Tomson on Electronic Drum Machine, and Chris Baio playing an acoustic freestanding bass with a bow, they performed the ear-catching “I Stand Corrected.” This song built and built upon itself yet never left the slow pace and dreamy atmosphere that encapsulated it – a true turning point in the evening.

From this time on Koenig was very interactive with the crowd, talking about how great it is to end their long tour at such a beautiful venue, and how hard tour had been at times. He made references to it being 4/20 and their California cousins “Stanford” (as they all met at Columbia) and then they delved into the song “Cousins.”

Before “One” Koenig taught the audience the chorus “Blake’s got a new face” and the participation was overwhelmingly loud. Also playing “M79,” they did some jamming as keyboardist Rostam Batmangli picked up a guitar for a very thick dual guitar sound. During the intense portions of the show, they had eight chandeliers over their heads that would light up. Also, the pupils of the girl from the massive cover to Contra would glow blue, green and red.

After about an hour and half of playing they segued directly into “Oxford Comma,” a hit from their first album. It was intense to see them move from the prior improv into such an easily recognized and poppy tune. They jammed it out for a few extra minutes and after thanking everyone who was with them throughout the tour they left the stage.

They came back out after what can only be described as the loudest the Fox Theater has ever sounded from the fans cheering alone. Keyboardist Batmangli began by describing the melody to the chorus or “Horchata,” the first single off of Contra. “Horchata” was played as tight as a loose and light song could be. Finishing the show with “Walcott,” a fast paced story telling of a song, it really gave each member a chance to shine. Drummer Tomson was large and in charge throughout the evening, as his beats were decisive and strong. Keyboardist Batmangli clearly is intensely talented musically. The guitar work and back and forth between Koenig and bassist Baio was catching as well. Baio who was the most active on stage put on one the coolest Elvis like dance moves as he played his bass hanging low from his neck as if it were an electric six string.

It is rare that one see’s a crowd so enthusiastic for a band, and they kept this up for the duration of the hour and 45 minute show. The interaction between the band and crowd was classic and the songs were tight and well played. Vampire Weekend sounded in almost every case better live than on the record. Having it be the last show of their long tour, they played with untethered energy and even more importantly, exceeded expectations.