I hate sharing. I am a selfish bitch. I don't want to share Vampire Weekend with the world. The first time I caught this band was last July opening up for Shout Out Louds. I went there not knowing who they were. I was surprised to see 4 young boys, 2 of which were barefoot, 1 of which reminded me of Michael Cera so much I was trying to convince myself it wasn't his brother, trot on stage and begin to play eccentric Caribbean fused, up tempo, vivid rock. I feel like all those parallels to Paul Simon ( I heard some comparisons to Simon and Garfunkel but I just think they remind me more of a You Can Call Me All band rather than Bridge Over Troubled Water band, shoot me for being stereotypical!) are a bit played out and repetitive but its really true. You can't compare this to actual African music because, well, they are white. I found a liking for them the same as another band of young-ins fresh to the scene and bringing something to the table that was both retrospective and refreshing all at once: Arctic Monkeys. I feel just as likely to dance M79 in the same fashion as I would to Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor.
The first lyric then that stuck out was one I am sure is being spoken at some dorm room: "Is your sweater off? Do want to FUCK?" I thought, okay, America, this is your Alex Turner. The crowd of 18+ was pretty receptive. The guitarist for Shout Out Louds watched the entire time from the side of the stage with a Swedish look of awe. You know, the really pale, good looking, Ikea inspired kind of awe that only Swedes are capable of? Oh, you don't, yeah I kinda just made that up. Just go along with it.
Many things happened that night that should have be foreshadowing to their eminent success.
1) A guitar string broke mid gig. They switched guitars.
2) One of those guitar strings broke. Or the guitar was just not working overall. Can't remember.
3) They were out of guitars and had to borrow one.
4) The words "VAMPIRE WEEKEND SUCKS" were written on the bathroom wall.
On the surface these all seem like something that would disenchant any band. However, they finished thier set to applause and
a desire within me to continue playing. They won me over. Though, in the larger scope of the world I was a little apprehensive to think how successful this band would be able to get.
Over the next few months I do believe they came back to SF a few times, none of which I was able to go to. I made an effort to go to Popscene but as no car hinders my radius of traveland Friday morning classes take precedent I was unable to attend.
So hearing they would be playing an in-store at Amoeba in the city the following day I made sure to seize the opportunity to see how the half a year time lapse had affected this band. Evolution. I arrived, with Alonzo and Steph, to Amoeba at about 6:15 to find the store pretty full and willing to wait another 45 minutes to see this much hyped, blogged about band. I managed to squeeze my way through some people and get to the second aisle from the stage. In the 50's girl groups section and compilations section. The four youthful men took the stage a little after seven and played 5 songs. Though short it did give me a bit of a fix. Ezra (lead vox) managed to gain applause from the crowd by mentioning the Peninsula city of Redwood City and their amazing burritos. Man, this band is going places I thought. Though I forgot my camera in my bag (now conveniently placed at the bag check at the front of the store) Alonzo was able to get some pictures and wicked cool video. (Find those at the end)
That same night they were on Letterman. Awesome, I thought, great exposure.
The following Tuesday I hear their record sold an insane amount of copies and was number one on a varied charts. They are also gaining ground in the UK as we speak, possibly even more than in the US. Shit, how weird is that.
In sum, I have now realized how much they not some little band I was exposed to by chance any more. That I had to share them with an entire populous of hipsters, bloggers, and teenagers ready to swoon was evident. Again, the parallels to Arctic Monkeys in terms of success, not in any way to sound, is visible. I guess, in this case, I will have to remember my kindergarden manners and learn to enjoy this band, share Vampire Weekend.
Photos dont work. Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/miraclesun
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