Listen, I get it.

The band is touring on a highly acclaimed new album — its first new record in six years. And this was the grand homecoming concert, maybe the group’s “biggest show ever,” as its frontman half-seriously put it.

Nevertheless, two and a half hours of Vampire Weekend is too much Vampire Weekend.

The millennial-worshipped pop band — “indie” no longer applies when you’re selling out arenas — packed the bowl full at Madison Square Garden Friday night, with a few-thousand fans even sitting behind the open stage, thrilled just to watch the back of Ezra Koenig’s head as the jaunty singer led his seven-piece outfit deep, deep, deep into the night.

Song after song … after song … then a special guest, who added nothing to performance … then the opener came back out, also contributing nada … then the encore … then fan requests … then a few more songs.

Koenig must’ve missed the “leave 'em wanting more” lesson at rock star day camp.

Sonically, the set was ambitious and captivating; Vampire Weekend has only fortified since the departure of co-founding lead guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij in 2016, adding a brilliant strummer in Brian Robert Jones, a dynamic keyboard and organ player in Will Canzoneri and extra percussion and keys courtesy of Garrett Ray and Greta Morgan to bolster the heady mix.

Vampire Weekend guitarist Brian Robert Jones performs Sept. 6, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media

Further, few acts operating in pop, rock or elsewhere possess the virtuosity to interconnect such a hodge-podge of influences, from New York punk and The Grateful Dead to German schaffel techno and Conway Twitty.

It’s smart music made by smart people — Vampire Weekend formed while attending Columbia University in 2006 — and the band’s generally pleasant (if not tediously referential) new album released in May, “Father Of The Bride,” is no different with meticulous attention paid to every sound and globe-trotting origin. The Spanish flamenco in “Sympathy,” Japanese retro-pop in “2021” and West African palm-wine in “Rich Man” are among the most intriguing pieces of this new puzzle, which fittingly depicts a blue-green Earth on its cover — the sun never seems to set on Vampire Weekend’s encyclopedic style sampling.

Yet for all the culture it loads into its songs, Vampire Weekend provided little in the way of emotional connection Friday night. Koenig, 35 and raised in Glen Ridge, was the only band member who spoke to the crowd of more than 15,000, and he seemed to shrink in the moment of sprawling homecoming, exhibiting all the charisma of Jake from State Farm as a large globe rotated above him.

Perhaps this is why the lengthy set felt like such a slog; at no point did it feel like “hey, we’re all in this together.” Instead it was “we’re going to play all these songs at you, please enjoy.” For this automaton aesthetic, 90 minutes would have sufficed.

The list of patently bouncy festival staples, from the career-launching “A-Punk” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” to the later jovial hits “Unbelievers” and “Diane Young” went off without a hitch. On the arena floor, which was a full pit with no seats, thousands of fans danced and flailed as their LED light-up wristbands blinked in blues, reds and greens to the beat.

Vampire Weekend singer Ezra Koenig performs Sept. 6, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media

The hurtling jam, “Sympathy,” was the night’s coolest new tune, with drummer Chris Tomson laying into his congas and ever-grooving bassist Chris Baio handling a ukulele for effect. But the album’s lead single, “Harmony Hall,” is the anthem Koenig and crew will be playing for the rest of its career, with its lamenting ear-worm hook “I don’t wanna live like this, but I don’t wanna die” and the labyrinthian acoustic guitar riff that Jones so effortlessly threads through the song.

The aforementioned special guest was Steve Lacy, a 21-year-old California guitarist from the Grammy-nominated R&B group The Internet, who appears on two of the new “Father” songs. Lacy bounded around the stage like a puppy, half-enthused, half-petrified as the band played one of his solo songs, “Dark Red” before embarking on their proggy collab, “Sunflower.” I’m not sure Lacy’s microphone was even turned on for this song, couldn’t hear a word, but Jones ripped a sweet solo during the song’s crunchy outtro.

Soon after, the chameleonic West African songstress and activist Angelique Kidjo, who opened the show, joined Vampire Weekend on stage for its set and album closer “Jerusalem, New York Berlin” — again, her voice was barely audible.

Fans watch as Vampire Weekend performs Sept. 6, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media

Upon the song’s conclusion, the thousands of lighted bracelets turned an electric blue and remained on as the band left the stage. It was then that a fan had the bright idea to throw his or her lit bracelet through the darkened arena, creating a sort of shooting star effect. The trend caught on; dozens if not hundreds of blue-light bracelets began to rain down on the arena from the upper decks, even pelting the band for a few moments as they returned for the 30-minute encore.

Perhaps it was a sign.

Vampire Weekend’s setlist

Sept. 6, 2019 — Madison Square Garden, New York

“Bambina”

“Unbelievers”

“White Sky”

“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”

“Holiday”

“M79”

“One (Blake’s Got a New Face)”

“Sympathy”

“Unbearably White”

“Step”

“New Dorp. New York” (SBTRKT cover)

“This Life”

“Diplomat’s Son” (Includes snippet of “Pressure Drop” by Toots and the Maytals)

“Hold You Now”

“Harmony Hall”

“Diane Young”

“Cousins”

“A-Punk”

“Hannah Hunt”

“2021”

“California English”

“Dark Red” (Steve Lacy cover) (with Steve Lacy)

“Sunflower” (with Steve Lacy)

“Oxford Comma”

“Jerusalem, New York, Berlin” (with Angélique Kidjo)

Encore:

“Big Blue”

“Ottoman” (Request)

“Obvious Bicycle” (Request with ‘Son of Preacher Man’ interlude by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins)

“Run” (Request)

“Worship You”

“Ya Hey”

“Walcott”

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.