Vampire Weekend, an indie rock band from New York City, returned to Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater after five years to perform hits and songs from its newest album, “Only God Was Above Us.” Throughout the night, lead vocalist Ezra Koenig, guitarist Chris Baio, drummer Chris Tomson and members of their touring band delivered a remarkable performance for their fans.
Vampire Weekend formed in the early 2000s when its members were attending Columbia University in New York City. Koenig, Baio and Tomson — along with former producer and band member Rostam Batmanglij — released their self-titled debut album in 2006, which received widespread critical acclaim and brought the band to global fame. “Only God Was Above Us” has garnered similar praise from critics and fans alike.
Before Vampire Weekend took the stage, Cults, another band from the New York City area, performed songs from their new album along with hits such as “Bad Things,” “Gilded Baby” and “Always Forever.” The band, known for its mix of dream pop and indie rock, spent about 40 minutes serenading the crowd with songs played on various instruments, including guitar, drums and a synthesizer.
Soon after Cults left the stage, the three members of Vampire Weekend took the stage, backed by a large black-and-white banner with the band’s name in capital letters. The band opened the show by playing a handful of their hit songs, including “Cousins,” “Holiday” and “One (Blake’s Got a New Face).”
As the band began playing songs from their most recent album, the large banner behind them dropped, revealing a larger stage with the rest of their touring band, including multiple drummers, a saxophonist and a violinist.
Throughout their performance, Vampire Weekend’s lead vocalist Ezra Koenig consistently interacted with fans and showcased his appreciation for them. Koenig’s interactions ranged from shouting out and thanking the crowd for attending to sarcastically congratulating the Los Angeles Dodgers’ recent win against the New York Mets.
“It’s the official policy of Vampire Weekend to root for the Mets,” Koenig said.
At one point, Koenig chatted with a fan in the audience who was attending their first-ever concert and dedicated the performance of “Harmony Hall” to the young fan.
After closing their 23-song set with “Hope,” the final track on “Only God Was Above Us,” each band member left the stage by entering a large hole in the banner hanging in the background. However, only one minute after leaving the stage, all of the band members came back.
“Well, Nashville, that was the show,” Koenig said. “We’re just hanging out.”
Following the band’s main set, Koenig revealed that they would be taking audience requests, but there was one rule: none of the songs requested could be from Vampire Weekend’s discography. Some of the more notable songs they covered included Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” the theme from “Seinfeld,” Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” and Billy Joel’s “Vienna.” A fan even requested Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime”.
“I like the audacity of requesting a Christmas song during Halloween season,” Koenig said. “How about one more Vampire Weekend song?”
Koenig wrapped up the night by leading the band into “Walcott,” a song from their debut album, bringing the concert to a close. Vampire Weekend’s performance at Ascend Amphitheater was both impressive and captivating, a reminder of their global success throughout the past 18 years. From their constant fan interaction to the variety of instrumentation in their songs, it was not hard to appreciate every moment of this concert.
