Vampire Weekend

Brown
University,
Providence

USA

11/04/2008

A strange one, this. Originally planned as an outdoor spectacular, the cornerstone of

Brown
University’s Spring Break celebrations, because of inclement weather it’s been moved to the nearby sports arena. Thus The Fly finds himself feeling distinctly old, surrounded by a bunch of already drunk (no alcohol on campus, so most of the audience seem to have gone out and got trolleyed in advance!) American teenagers, in an enormodome more suited to ice hockey than music.

But despite the odd surroundings, Vampire Weekend rise to the occasion brilliantly. They may look like nondescript, slightly preppy school boys off stage, but on it they morph into mini rock gods. Singer Ezra Koenig, so calm and considered in real life, throws himself around with gay abandon, his voice a mix of croons, yelps and yodels. Playing a set taken mostly from their debut album, the likes of ‘Oxford Comma’ and ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’ provide ample evidence of why that record is such a delight. ‘One (Blake’s Got A New Face)’ even induces an audience singalong. It’s intelligent without being pretentious, eclectic without being wacky, and thoroughly entertaining despite the circumstances.

Will Kinsman