Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Vampire Weekend - Hoxton Bar & Grill
The word in the bars around East London is that the Vampire Weekend gig at the Bar and Grill is the hottest ticket in town tonight. As it transpires, hot is very much the operative word: Such is the demand to catch the ascendant NYC four-piece, the promoters appear to have oversold the venue’s capacity by at least three times and as a result it’s sweltering inside; Literally rammed to the rafters with tipsters and industry all jostling for place.
There’s no easy way to put this: Vampire Weekend appear to be directly influenced by Afro-Beat. Not just Afro-Beat but Calypso, Soca and Ska and there’s more than a whiff of Stuart Copeland about their gangly, indispensable drummer Christopher Tomson. But don’t reach for your rifle or sick bag just yet, if you’re anticipating a Gracelands style cultural car crash you’re way off the mark. For like contemporaries Yeasayer and Dirty Projectors, Vampire Weekend have found a way to artfully channel these more exotic influences into a recognisable indie template, rough it up to give it a crisp post-punk edge and then deliver it live with the deep percussive punch of a carnival soundsystem.
They open with “Mansard Roof” and from the off easy to see why they got the hipsters in such a lather towards the end of last year. It’s like a blast on an especially potent mint, airy, arresting and utterly fresh in every sense of the word. Clattering, syncopated drums push up against a simple one note bassline, creaky organ parts drift about the mix and the whole thing is topped off with an irresistible nursery rhyme-like melody.
It takes them a couple of numbers to properly loosen up but from there on in, each number is characterised by a delightful rhythmic bounce and swing that sets them apart from every other indie band on the planet. Drummer Tomson, plays like he’s got six arms and eight legs and vocalist/guitarist Ezra Koenig wraps his charming yelp and croon about every note, simultaneously displaying a way with a melody that would have Macca grasping at the notepad and pen.
Sadly the set sags a little towards the end. A run of tunes stick to a now all too familiar arrangement and with brevity the order of the day, after a while, you do find yourself craving something a little meatier to chew on.
But things pick up again with “One” which, bolstered by an impossibly skippy drum break, were it not for the sardine-like conditions would surely have inspired all out freaky dancing. They close with “Walcot”, sadly not inspired by Erikson’s ill fated 2006 squad but nevertheless the closest this band will ever get to ‘anthemic’ and though not quite as distinctive as the remainder of their oeuvre, surely it will be inescapable a year from now.
posted by: Jim Brackpool @ 3:57 PM
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