Vampire Weekend (Concert Review)

Last night was 80s night in Auckland.
Spandau Ballet and Tears for Fears at Vector Arena.
Harlem Gospel Choir Michael Jackson Tribute at Auckland Town Hall.
And Vampire Weekend bringing back the spirit of Punk Pop (channelling Talking Heads circa 1977-8) at Bruce Mason Theatre, Takapuna.

A packed theatre was treated first of all to the very promising sounds (including imaginative drumming!) from Dunedin Band Knives at Noon.
But we were all there for the melodic, crisp, energetic and original music of Vampire Weekend.
The detailed, refined orchestrations of their first two albums morphed into a more stripped-down and powerful expression from the fulsome foursome, Ezra Koenig a young man's David Byrne with quirky, droll and engaging intros ("this song lasts less than 2 minutes"), varied vocal delivery and sharp, impressive guitar playing, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij effortlessly sequencing and filling all the melodic lines, gangly giant Christopher Thompson squeezing a multitude of rhythmic styles from his drumkit and bassist Chris Baio hopping/dancing/bouncing around the stage like a one-man Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

They held the audience in the palm of their hands, encouraging singalongs to some of the most bizarre lyrics you could possibly string together ("Blake's Got a New Face", "Gotta Get Out of Cape Cod Tonight").

Out of the 3 massive gigs on offer last night, I'm sure I made the right choice!

Vampire Weekend leapt to number one in the American Charts with their second album, Contra.

Whether or not their music provides them with a source of constant, continuing commercial success remains to be seen.

I have no doubt that they will continue to refresh and inspire the ears of today for some time.

10/10.

But the sound mixing for Knives at Noon was rubbish.