Photo Credit: Bill Kelly
Vampire Weekend returned to their old New York City stomping grounds this weekend. The Columbia University grads started their stay with a Canal Street pop-up concert on Thursday, October 3, in front of Time Again, the Lower Eastside bar in the vicinity of many early shows put on by the band. The free show preluded their arrival at Madison Square Garden, where they turned out a pair of live shows on Saturday night, Oct. 5, followed by a matinee performance on Sunday, Oct. 6. Both concerts at the arena included guest slots from record producer and audio engineer, Ariel Rechstandt, who worked on the group’s past projects and contributed to their Grammy-winning status.
During the pop-up, Vampire Weekend returned to its core trio, featuring Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson. During their street-fledged concert, the group dipped back into their songbook, pulling early fan favorites, which preluded a run of covers; The Zutons’ “Valerie,” Bob Dylan’s “Joker Man,” Buddy Holly’s “Everyday,” and Bo Diddley’s “Love is Strange,” before another suite of original songs, which closed after “Walcott.” Watch a Peter Shapiro captured video below.
Saturday served as a big stage return of Vampire Weekend, who used their time at the famous venue to offer odes to New York City, culminating in covers of SBTRKT’s “New Drop. New York.,” and a candle-lit theatrical take on Venue king, Billy Joel’s “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” played to a 360-degree crowd. During night one, Rechstandt assisted on “Capricorn.” Notably, the guest had previously assisted the band in gaining Grammy nods on 2013’s Modern Vampires of the City (Best Alternative Music Album) and 2019’s Father of the Bride, which received the same accolade.
Sunday’s afternoon follow-up featured more odes to the venerable location, including the onstage arrival of a Penn Station sign that once adorned the downtown shoppe, Tiecoon, percolating Koenig’s storytelling of commutes from The Garden State to New York’s famed transportation facility while coming of age. Later, Rechstandt reemerged, adding to a cover of Guns N Roses’ “Sweet Child O Mine” and a second round of “Capricorn” following Saturday’s play.
During their “Cocaine Cowboy” medley, VW added in elements of “Married in a Gold Rush”/ “All the Gold in California”/ “Sin City”/ “Cumberland Blues”/ “Possum” and, as is tradition, a fan came onstage to play corn hole, walking away with $700 for their sporty skills. Sunday’s show also featured the first live version of the Modern Vampires‘ song “Everlasting Arms” since 2020 and a crowd appearance by Koenig during “Mary Boone.” Furthering the band’s New York appreciation, they added notes of the Seinfeld opener into their famed encore, ultimately walking off stage to Frank Sinatra’s version of the theme from New York, New York.
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