As far as I know, this is Vampire Weekend’s first gig in London since 2013, and this evening’s ‘welcome back’ committee consists of the about 800 lucky people who managed to get a ticket before it sold out. 

Singer Ezra Koenig himself describes tonight’s gathering as a bit of an ‘attended rehearsal’. But Koenig’s socks-and-sandals aside, it certainly feels like a proper gig. EartH is an old cinema, and the last time I was here, it was so cold that I promised myself never to return to this venue between October and April. So, I am breaking that promise, having returned to the venue in March, but luckily today is milder than last time.

There’s no support band, and at 20:30, the weekend-only vampires casually – very casually – stroll on stage to excited applause. The first song is Harmony Hall, one of the new songs from their upcoming album, Father of the Bride. Apart from the evocative title, Harmony Hall is also a very uplifting piece of music in which Koenig assures us all, ‘I don’t want to die’. Well, seeing how he and his bandmates seem to enjoy themselves playing their music, I don’t think anyone would think otherwise.

Another new song, 2021, is played twice – this is an ‘attended rehearsal’ after all. The first version is short and straightforward, and the second longer and more experimental. Koenig uses a talk box, and though it’s an effect that can enhance a song, I must admit I don’t much see the point of it in this particular case. But it’s probably a lot of fun to play.

Most of the set, though, consists of crowd-favourites; Holiday and Unbelievers are the second and third songs, respectively, and that’s as good a beginning to a concert as can be expected and sets the tone for the rest of the evening. 

Vampire Weekend sometimes jumps straight into that massive big net of cultural appropriation that some people are more bothered with than others. I don’t mind too much, but I do know it’s the reason why some of my friends don’t like them. Being inspired by music from cultures’ different than yours’ is not a crime, and if you can pull it off, then why not? Songs like White Sky and Cape Cod Kwassa are deeply rooted on African soil, far away from these American white-bred East-coast-preppy boys. But maybe that’s part of the charm of the songs; positioning yourself musically far away from your assigned parking zone and somehow making it part of your comfort zone. 

Before the band leaves the stage for the first time, the last four songs are a relentless attack on the ecstatic crowd who dance and sing along to Diane Young, Cousins, A-Punk and Oxford Comma.

Bass player Chris Baio is refreshingly unconcerned with being cool and dances and gyrates around, quite honestly sometimes giving the impression he is so in love with his bass he wants to hump it. And who are we to judge, as long as he keeps the engine of the songs going and enjoys himself.

Like all musicians who can play well, the musicians in Vampire Weekend are prone to slightly more extended solos than what might suit the songs, and some songs do turn into more of a jam session at times, which I’m sure is fun to play but less fun to listen to. Vampire Weekend is at their best when they keep the songs short and to the point.

The encore consists of six songs, three of which are requests from the audience, M79 from their debut album (2008) and Finger Back, Everlasting Arms, from their most recent album, Modern Vampires of the City (2013). The last two songs of the concert are also from Modern Vampires of the City, the fast, pumping, triumphant Worship You, followed by the slow, melancholy Ya Hey, a song about having, sometimes questioning, and perhaps even losing faith. But agnostics and atheists can also take away from this song a perfect summary of most of our lives in this post-modern world: ‘In the dark of this place, There’s the glow of your face, There’s the dust on the screen, Of this broken machine, And I can’t help but feel, That I’ve made some mistake, But I let it go, Ya Hey’.

And that’s what this concert was a good reminder of, the importance of letting go.

Vampire Weekend setlist
1. Harmony Hall (new song)
2. Holiday
3. Unbelievers
4. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
5. White Sky
6. Sunflower (new song)
7. Step
8. 2021 (new song, album version)
9. 2021 (new song, piano version)
10. Horchata
11. New Drop. New York (SBTRKT w. Ezra Koenig cover)
12. Hannah Hunt
13. Diane Young
14. Cousins
15. A-Punk
16. Oxford Comma
Encore
17. Big Blue (new song)
18. Finger Back (request from audience)
19. Everlasting Arms (request from audience
20. M79 (request from audience)
21. Worship You
22. Ya Hey