Baroque Pop / Indie Rock / Musiques du Monde / psychédélique

Vampire Weekend at Place Bell | Hardened and generous

by Sami Rixhon

Ezra Koenig and his band of vampires set foot on Quebec soil for the first time in five years this Wednesday, as the band presented their fantastic new album, Only God Was Above Us, to the Place Bell audience. For over two hours, Vampire Weekend drew perfectly on their different eras to demonstrate the immense musical palette they are capable of conceiving.

Four days after welcoming the legendary PJ Harvey, the Place Bell audience was once again spoiled by talented American alternative artists, namely the New York trio Vampire Weekend.

The set kicks off at around 8:20 p.m. in classic fashion, with “Campus, Boston (Ladies of Cambridge)” and “One (Blake’s Got a New Face)”, all from their 2007/2008 career. The trio stand in front of a curtain with the band’s name spelled out soberly in white on black, until… well, until the curtain falls on the climax of “Ice Cream Piano”, revealing four more musicians, a retro-futuristic backdrop and another set of spotlights. In the back of our minds, we had a sneaking suspicion that the performance wasn’t going to be quite so conventional throughout. An effect like this in concert is always a big yes.

Vampire Weekend presents hits from its first four albums(Vampire Weekend, Contra, the excellent Modern Vampires of the City and Father of the Bride), but naturally focuses on its latest offering, Only God Was Above Us, released just over five months ago. In all, nine of the opus’ 10 songs will be performed. Let’s talk about the album, by the way: after a slightly more “classic” pop turn with Father of the Bride in 2019, this year the Vampires treated themselves to a return to their roots with indie rock, baroque pop, shoegaze, Latin and Caribbean rhythms… name it. A jewel to be listened to in one go, and personally my album of the year.

Koenig is an excellent frontman, not the most expressive in his movements or attitude, but he does exactly what is asked of him in the case of Vampire Weekend: excel in all styles. Sentimental on “Unbearably White”, reflective on “Mary Boone” and powerful on “Capricorn”. To bring the full musical richness of the tracks to the stage, the musicians move from instrument to instrument, including Ezra Koenig, who takes a saxophone solo on the wacky “New Dorp. New York”. Multi-instrumentalists of the kind you see less and less these days. In my humble opinion, Vampire Weekend are certainly one of the most talented and innovative bands on the alternative scene since 2008, the year of their recording debut.

Between songs, the Vampire Weekend frontman addresses a 9-year-old fan of the band in the audience, who learns that this is her first concert, thanking her for coming. He also takes the opportunity to say hello to the people of Laval, but especially those of Montreal, knowing that Place Bell isn’t particularly full of North Shore residents (also knowing that they’re simply not in Montreal at the moment). It’s little touches like these that confirm that the band doesn’t go completely on autopilot during a tour.

After a two-hour concert, Vampire Weekend close the regular part of their show with “Hope”. One by one, the members leave the stage, until the band’s bassist, Chris Baio, plays the last notes, alone in front of the audience.

As a reminder, Vampire Weekend proposes an original and perilous exercise, to say the least: take any request for songs not written by Vampire Weekend. From “Don’t Look Back in Anger” to “Chop Suey!” not forgetting “So Long Marianne”, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “I’m Still Standing”. Each time, the interpretations are haphazard, with Koenig admitting every other song that half the band doesn’t know the chords. An amusing, good-will closing.

Until next time, dear Vampires.

PLACE BELL CONCERT SETLIST

1. Campus
2. Boston (Ladies of Cambridge)
3. One (Blake’s Got a New Face)
4. Ice Cream Piano
5. Classical
6. Connect
7. White Sky
8. Step
9. This Life
10. Sympathy
11. New Dorp. New York (SBTRKT cover)
12. The Surfer
13. Unbearably White
14. Oxford Comma
15. Capricorn
16. Gen-X Cops
17. Diane Young
18. Cousins
19. A-Punk
20. Prep-School Gangsters
21. Mary Boone
22. Obvious Bicycle
23. Harmony Hall
24. Hope

RAPPEL

1. Tempted (Squeeze cover)
2. Don’t Look Back in Anger (Oasis cover)
3. So Long Marianne (Leonard Cohen cover)
4. Here Comes Your Man (Pixies cover)
5. Chop Suey! (System of a Down cover)
6. How You Remind Me (Nickelback cover)
7. Dangerous Night (The Night Is a Knife cover)
8. The Boys Are Back in Town (Thin Lizzy cover)
9. Man! I Feel Like a Woman! (Shania Twain cover)
10. You’re Still the One (Shania Twain cover)
11. I’m Still Standing (Elton John cover)
12. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads cover)
13. Walcott

Publicité panam

Latest 360 Content

A Solar Evening at Club Soda

A Solar Evening at Club Soda

Francos | Fred Fortin Sets The Stage

Francos | Fred Fortin Sets The Stage

Maude Audet – Blue Tears

Maude Audet – Blue Tears

Francos | (Re)discover Connaisseur Ticaso, Free Thinker From The Streets

Francos | (Re)discover Connaisseur Ticaso, Free Thinker From The Streets

Francos | GreenWoodz, The Aura of a Rockstar

Francos | GreenWoodz, The Aura of a Rockstar

Empanadas Illegales – Sancocho Trifásico

Empanadas Illegales – Sancocho Trifásico

Salami Rose Joe Louis – Lorings

Salami Rose Joe Louis – Lorings

Planning For The FRANCOS With Camille Guitton

Planning For The FRANCOS With Camille Guitton

Festival Classica | Carmina Burana in a Slimmer But Just as Exciting Version

Festival Classica | Carmina Burana in a Slimmer But Just as Exciting Version

Polaris | No French Album to Win the Prize

Polaris | No French Album to Win the Prize

Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco – I Said I Love You First…

Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco – I Said I Love You First…

Marc Ribot – The Map of a Blue City

Marc Ribot – The Map of a Blue City

Nina Attal – Tales of a Guitar Woman

Nina Attal – Tales of a Guitar Woman

Francos | GreenWoodz Keeps Moving Forward Despite the Storm

Francos | GreenWoodz Keeps Moving Forward Despite the Storm

Francos | Tire le Coyote, Dynastie, Ventouse, Sounds, Words, Commitment… Threats

Francos | Tire le Coyote, Dynastie, Ventouse, Sounds, Words, Commitment… Threats

René Lussier / Robbie Kuster: Fiat lux

René Lussier / Robbie Kuster: Fiat lux

Aminé – 13 Months of Sunshine

Aminé – 13 Months of Sunshine

Violons du Roy at Bourgie: symphonic excitement from Old France

Violons du Roy at Bourgie: symphonic excitement from Old France

Piknic in June According to Mathieu Constance: Follow The PRO!

Piknic in June According to Mathieu Constance: Follow The PRO!

Festival Classica | Marianne Lambert Gives Voice to Perinatal Grief

Festival Classica | Marianne Lambert Gives Voice to Perinatal Grief

Festival Classica | Patrick Mathieu on Children’s Perspective

Festival Classica | Patrick Mathieu on Children’s Perspective

Concerts de Saint-Grégoire at Cadet Roussel Farm: “Quest to Reconcile Apparent Contrasts “

Concerts de Saint-Grégoire at Cadet Roussel Farm: “Quest to Reconcile Apparent Contrasts “

C la vie: The never-ending drum dance to close out FTA

C la vie: The never-ending drum dance to close out FTA

SAT Domesicle | Vancouver’s Normie Corp Immersion in MTL

SAT Domesicle | Vancouver’s Normie Corp Immersion in MTL

Subscribe to our newsletter
OSZAR »