[Our fearless team, Nicci Boots and Ian McNeil spent three days listening to an obscene amount of fantastic music above the stunning Columbia River Gorge in George, Washington. Check out all our coverage here, over 30 sets from a who's who list of indie music.]
For a while, it seemed no one could escape Vampire Weekend. Every radio station, music magazine and video channel seemed to latch on to them like it was the return of The Beatles. They’re cute, they’ve got a mostly lollipop sound and they appear to pose no corruptive danger to America’s youth. And that’s why I hated them. Sure, their music held a power that occasionally got me humming along whenever it was exposed to me, unwillingly, but for the most part, I was never game for what they had to sell.
But then they took the stage Friday night and gave one of the most loved performances of the weekend. Not just by me, but by nearly every single ticket holder at the festival. Throughout the set, EVERYONE present boogied their tails off, whether they were sitting or standing. Vampire Weekend definitely showed they’ve grown up immensely in the last couple of years, and it shows in their music, which has much more variety now than before. I had once thought they had a sound that could never evolve, and was more than happy to see that’s not the case.
Their old hits were delivered with new attitude, spiked with fierce guitar solos and plenty of ambition. "Oxford Comma" was stripped down and presented in such a solid way that it made me actually appreciate the song. And the humble manner the band displayed throughout the set was impressive; some part of me expected them to be a brash and cocky bunch, but none of that was exhibited whatsoever. Really, the only thing wrong with their set was the unleashing of a new song in which Ezra Koenig employed an Auto-Tune. Poor choice, boys. But thanks for turning me on, otherwise.