A Vampire Weekend - Midweek

A few weeks ago, my son, Kieran, and I happened to hear a fresh new sound on KCRW that really grabbed our attention. It was a quirky, up-tempo tune that had us tapping our toes instantly. Turns out, it was a song titled "A-Punk" from a NY band by the name of Vampire Weekend. As often happens when we listen to Anne Litt's "The A Track" show, we'd found another gem that demanded further exploration!

A quick search of the web turned up a number of YouTube.com videos, iTunes downloads, etc. VW is a quartet of NY lads with a truly unique collection of quirky melodies and esoteric lyrics. Some are reminiscent of Paul Simon's "Rhythm of The Saints", but with more energy. My enterprising son discovered that - lo and behold - VW was coming to LA in a couple of weeks and he managed to find a couple of tickets to their sold-out show at the El Rey Theatre in West Hollywood!

So, last week, he and I dashed up to the El Rey for some unexpected fun. We arrived early and found the place rather empty. With plenty of time to kill (VW wasn't scheduled for 2 hours), we had plenty of time to peruse the band merchandise. The hat was a must, so we snapped a picture and sent it to his jealous schoolmates. A male/female duo from Portland, OR calling themselves "Yacht" was the opening act. They sang/rapped to a collection of pre-recorded techno-ish tunes that got the crowd revved up a bit. By the time VW took the stage, the place was packed and ready to go.

The band did not disappoint. They were every bit as good live and their energy reminded me of Sauce, the band I played with for several years in the 1990s. (I wish we'd sounded this good!) The whole affair made me long to be on stage again. Oh well, perhaps sometime...

If you aren't familiar with Vampire Weekend, I highly recommend you check them out.