Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend
Metro, Chicago
Sunday, April 6, 2008

Vampire Weekend rolled into a sold-out Metro on Sunday night – quite a jump from the quartet’s last local appearance at Schubas – but such is the result of the hype machine’s ever-churning gears.

Thanks to the Internet, these Columbia University-educated boys already sparked the ire of more than a few holier-than-thou hipsters before their self-titled debut (XL) even hit the shelves. A pre-album release cover shoot for Spin magazine and a fast track appearance on “Saturday Night Live” (remember, it took Wilco years to garner an invitation) only adds to this derision. The barrage of praise heaped upon these Ivy Leaguers, though, is deafening, as some liken the group to the second coming of Arcade Fire.

So, the question remains: Is the three-ring circus surrounding Vampire Weekend warranted? If Sunday’s hour-long, tour-closing show is any indication, not really. Much like Chi-town’s weather last weekend, the band exudes a much-desired warmth while playing the way Martha Stewart makes a bed – clean and crisp with perfectly shaped corners. Only “A-Punk,” with its dog-barking chant of “eh eh eh eh,” and the call-and-response chorus of “One (Blake’s Got A New Face)” came close to inciting a riot.

Otherwise, the band’s remaining 12 songs sailed like a smooth breeze drifting over the coast of South Africa, punctuated by frontman Ezra Koenig’s falsetto yelping. The polyrhythmic “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” turned the sweltering confines of Metro into an excursion into coconut bra-less, Jimmy Buffett territory. Keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij, with an expression of boredom only watching “Dancing With The Stars” can induce, managed to retain some of the album’s string-laden elegance on the baroque “M79,” while a nameless new number complete with pre-programmed hand-clapping allowed him to launch into a Paul Simon-esque guitar romp.

Channeling his inner Zack Morris in loafers and a cardigan embroidered with sparrows, Koenig’s boyish good looks and affable charm are hard to ignore along with the band’s country club-ready shtick. With the look in place, a solid give-and-take between members despite forming less than three-years ago, and 14 outdoor garden party tracks written, Vampire Weekend can shrug off any flash-in-the-pan fears. Now that they’ve made a persuasive case for longevity, hopefully the fickle jury of the blogosphere won’t relinquish the band’s crown in the amount of time it takes to say sophomore slump.

— Janine Schaults

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly