Ah, the Internet Hype Machine. Here today, can’t-stop-hearing-about-them tomorrow, gone a day later. Since the Internet has leveled the playing field between the established and the struggling, an act will crop up — likely from a choice handful of MySpace tracks — every few months. Then, rather inexplicably, the New York Times, NPR, MTV and every other major media outlet suddenly “discovers” this intriguing new band. It’s a fate that has befallen Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Arctic Monkeys, Tapes N’ Tapes and a host of others.
Then comes along a group of Columbia University grads called Vampire Weekend, who have roughly a dozen fresh, upbeat songs and a fascination with African rhythms, not unlike Paul Simon or Talking Heads. They cheekily refer to this urbane indie-afro clash as “Upper West Side Soweto” or “Oxford Comma Riddim.”
The last time Vampire Weekend played in Boston, the hype wave was just forming. An opening act for Tokyo Police Club, the Vampire boys already had an impressive turnout; adoring fans, rousing singalongs — accolades typically reserved for a headliner.
Very little has changed since that show. Sure, the MFA’s Remis Auditorium is much classier than the Middle East Downstairs. Yes, they have a few more swooning, dancing girls with American Apparel hoodies and severe haircuts. Yes, there was a much stronger attendance from the NPR crowd.
But this didn’t seem to faze the band. Aside from noting that Remis’ stadium-style seating was reminiscent “of that Fugees video” [Killing Me Softly] and that “we normally don’t play these types of places,” the band’s set had all the same amateurish charm as it did at the Middle East — New Wave-y chamber pop
infused with Afrobeat.
The set was short as it was sweet — they played their entire self-titled, debut album (XL Records), plus two non-album tracks.
Three songs in particular elicited an impressive reaction — referred to by the band as its Massachusetts trifecta” — “Walcott,” “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” and “Ladies of
Cambridge.”
“People always think we’re from Massachusetts, but the truth is we’re from New York,” said frontman Ezra Koenig. “However, we do have a deep and abiding love for the
Bay State.”
It seems, though, that Vampire Weekend’s studious, Ivy League sensibilities might be holding back their live show; rather than imitating their youthful, frantic sound,
they seemed stiff.
Will Vampire Weekend survive the futile timeline of the hype machine? It’s impossible to say. However, one thing about Saturday night’s show proved very promising: “Walcott,” the encore and third installment in the aforementioned trifecta. The song features a loud, fast flourish that goes relatively unnoticed on the album. However, when performed live, it borders on an Arcade Fire-worthy, thrilling flare-up.