Review | Vampire Weekend’s ‘Only God Was Above Us’ Tour

The East Coast Indie Rockers Played a Sold-Out Show at the Hollywood Bowl with a Genre-Blending, Instinctive Set Blurring Cohesion and Experimentation

Vampire Weekend | Photo: Randall Michelson / Live Nation-Hewitt Silva

Of course, I thought to myself, after a disgruntled-yet-friendly shuttle-taking hopeful announced that said shuttle, the very one that my friend and I had been waiting half an hour for, wasn’t coming. I had a very specific pit in my stomach, the one that only comes when you’re about to completely miss the first part of the set of one of your favorite bands.

I turned to the guys in front of us in line. “Do you want to split an Uber?”

“Sure. We already got one; you can just hop in ours.”

On the way over, one of them was discussing how the band we were about to see used “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” as their walk-out song, baseball-style. He asked if we had heard of DMX. We stared blankly ahead.

“No, seriously? No way?!”

“Ask them how old they are.” The driver laughed.

“He’s about to change his mind about letting you guys ride with us,” his friend chimed in, as DMX guy shook his head playfully.

“Yeah, man, I thought you guys were cool. I mean, you guys like Vampire Weekend; you must be!”

And, well — yes, I would agree. We are cool because we like Vampire Weekend. Vampire Weekend is a band unlike anything that has reached mainstream before or since. An eclectic and passionate mix of indie, rock, ska, hip-hop, and Afro-pop, to name a few, the alternative music landscape would look entirely different had Vampire Weekend not formed at Columbia University in 2006. Going against the grain both musically and visually, the group stood firm in their preppy, rich-kid image and musings in their lyrics, standing out against the slew of bands of a similar ilk repping/performing more scrappy aesthetics (compared to a band of a similar economic background, The Strokes). With the general public not knowing how to categorize them at first, this distinction grew to be their greatest strength, as they shot through the noise of what was trendy at the time and created their own lane that no other act could occupy. A few number-one albums and a Grammy later, the band had a sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl this past week, playing more-than-two-hour set of some of their biggest hits, as well as songs off of their latest record, Only God Was Above Us.

Vampire Weekend | Photo: Randall Michelson / Live Nation-Hewitt Silva

Ezra Koenig, lead singer and songwriter, stood in front of a black tarp with “Vampire Weekend” displayed across the front in white lettering. He played “Holiday,” “Cousins,” and “Ladies of Cambridge.” Then, as the set moved into newer songs — “Ice Cream Piano” and “Classical” — the tarp fell down to reveal the rest of the band. Swelling in unison, they announced their reveal, as the instrumental break of the latter tune created an infectious energy that kept building. They then all slowed down in time, closing the song in elated relief. “Connect,” another new song, saw Koenig standing solo, center stage, as a single spotlight followed him. The song was littered with quieter moments, highlighted as he stood completely still, center stage.

During the groovy “Sunflower,” the violinist led the way in musical and bodily unison, with Koenig on guitar as they performed the striking hook (based around the Mixolydian scale) with increasingly passionate vigor as the melody repeated itself. The saxophone player infused spurts of charm, as he swayed in place, looking quite pleased with himself. It was delightful to watch.

The band played fan favorites, including “Hannah Hunt,” “Oxford Comma,” “This Life,” and the song that gave them their big break, “A-Punk.” Audience members screamed the lyrics, interacting with those sitting in separate boxes, craving a touch of the unison the players were experiencing onstage. But “A-Punk” felt entirely different. A merge of what felt like three separate songs while remaining entirely cohesive, the track spun through guitar, drums, and a wind section with breathless ease. The highlight of the show saw the audience scream, “Hey, hey, hey!” and pumping their fists in the air along with Koenig.

Near the end of the show, Koenig played a slew of covers, including Steely Dan, Grateful Dead, and The B-52s. “Thanks so much for coming. … I’m going to end on a song we usually end shows on,” Koenig said, before performing “Walcott.”

On the way out, I stared at the hundred-dollar, green-striped rugby shirt the band was selling at the merch booth, just reveling in the crazy show I had just witnessed, and slightly grinning at how on-brand the shirt was. Oh, and DMX guy and his friend? We happened to bump into them on the way out.

“No way! You guys are awesome!” he cheered, as they smiled and waved us goodbye.

I mean, yeah, of course we are. He said so himself — we love Vampire Weekend.