Photos by Liza Wilson
Vampire Weekend are a clever lot. Not just musically and lyrically, which they are, but as businessmen. People don’t really buy music anymore, of course, and streaming pays about a nickel for every 1,000 plays or something ridiculous like that. Touring is where the revenue is for most artists, and Vampire Weekend know this.
If you’re even a casual fan of the band, you really need to catch them at least twice on tour, as the shows vary from city to city and not just in song selection. If you’re hoping to hear your favorite track, and it’s a deeper cut, definitely check out more than one performance.
The band’s schedule on September 20 and 21 of 2024 presented the opportunity for a Vampire Weekend weekend with a show in Cincinnati on Friday the 20th and a performance in Indianapolis, just two hours up I-74, the following night.
The basic structure of the show doesn’t change. The three remaining founding members (Rostam Batmanglij left in 2016 but still helps out here and there on songwriting and production) take the stage in front of a big curtain emblazoned with “Vampire Weekend.” The trio plays a few older songs from their catalog, the selection of which varies each night. After three or four songs, bassist Chris Baio and drummer Chris “CT” Tomson go behind the curtain to join the rest of the live band, leaving lead singer/guitarist Ezra Koenig to start “Ice Cream Piano” on his own. The whole band joins in, and after a verse, the curtain drops, and it all kicks into high gear.
A band of renowned
As with the 2019 tour, Vampire Weekend brought along some amazing help. Will Canzoneri handled keyboards, harmonica, and backing vocals. Garrett Ray was on percussion, drums, and backing vocals. Ray Suen helped out with guitar, keyboards, violin, pedal steel, and backing vocals, while Colin Killalea chipped in with guitar, keyboards, saxophone, and backing vocals.
Pulling up Setlist.fm will do you no good, as Vampire Weekend churn out track after track from their five-album catalog, pretty much at random. Will your favorite get played? Apart from the songs that are in almost every show (“A-Punk,” “Diane Young,” and “This Life”), it’s hard to say with any certainty. Do you like “Oxford Comma” or “Unbelievers”? You better plan on seeing more than one show.
We’re jammin’, we’re jammin’, we’re jammin’
In the middle of the show, there’s a bit of a jam session, but again, what you get depends on what show you’re at. Cincinnati was treated to a mash-up of “Sympathy,” from 2019’s Father of the Bride, and “New Dorp. New York” by SBTRKT, the original of which features Koenig. In Indy, the band did a country-fried version of “Married in a Gold Rush,” also from FOB, mixed with “All the Gold in California,” “Sin City,” and “Cumberland Blues.” Within that jam session, a giant beanbag toss board was brought on stage.
Koenig explained how Vampire Weekend Industries, though founded in New York City, is now headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, and with that relocation came some changes. The band was then joined on stage by a member of the audience who proceeded to toss beanbags onto the board in an attempt to win a cash prize ($100 for each bag). The young lady came close on all three attempts, inspiring Koenig, with audience encouragement, to dole out $500 cash money.
Both shows ended with a trio of “Mary Boone,” from their latest effort, Only God was Above Us, followed by “Harmony Hall” (FOB), before winding down with “Hope,” also from the new album. Even one of the road crew got into the act, quite literally, dancing during the extended bridge of “Classical.”
A Vampire Weekend crew member jamming
Any requests?
In 2019, the band had a Request-a-Song portion of the show, which was an opportunity for fans to suggest a VW song they might not have gotten at their particular gig. For this tour, the idea was changed to more of a “Stump the Band” request bit. Only non-Vampire Weekend songs could be suggested.
Between the Cincinnati and Indianapolis sets, there were some interesting attempts. There was a rousing sing-a-long of “Hey, Jude” in Cincinnati, for example. In most cases, the band pieced together a verse and chorus. Oddly, one song that stumped them in Cincinnati was “Cigarette Daydream.” Koenig said they didn’t know that song, but they would look it up soon. Look it up? Cage the Elephant are from the aughties, just like you! They’re the Kentucky-fried Vampire Weekend! Most fans got a chuckle out of that.
In Indianapolis, the request portion went on a little longer and included “Last Christmas” (Wham!), “Late in the Evening” (Paul Simon), “For the Longest Time” (Billy Joel), and “Hey, Good Lookin’,” by Hank Williams. The latter was a struggle, though it has been reported that Hank was an influence of Koenig’s. Perhaps the Internet lied if you can believe that.
Ezra Koenig on lead guitar during Vampire Weekend’s show in Indianapolis
The final song also changes from show to show but is almost always either “Ya Hey” or “Wolcott.” Each has a different vibe, to be sure. “Ya Hey” is a little jammier, while “Wolcott” is a fast-charging banger. Cincinnati ended with the former, Indy with the latter, along with “Flower Moon (Saturday Night Version)” tacked on as the entire band took a well-deserved bow.
PF Wilson has been writing about music, TV, radio, and movies for over 20 years. He has also written about sports, business, and politics with his work appearing in Cincinnati CityBeat, The Houston Press, Cleveland Scene, Cincinnati Magazine, Cincy Magazine, Atomic Ranch, and many more. Check out his podcast PF’s Tape Recorder available from Podbean or in iTunes.