Vampire Weekend | Sailboat Flags, Green Frogs & Large Spinning Globe

Vampire Weekend is back and kicked off the summer solstice weekend with fans this past Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina. The band is currently sweeping across North America on a 35-date tour promoting their new 18-song double album titled Father of the Bride.

This wasn’t your typical college preppy dress up band performance as Vampire Weekend dove deep into experimental alternative-punk sounds while also keeping the show loose and provided a more laid back, jam-influenced sound. The band played an extensive 26 song set included several off their fourth and most recent album Father of the Bride including “Sympathy, This Life, Sunflower, Harmony Hall and 2021” just to name a few. While the band did not play every song off the new album, they did include songs from their 2010 album Contra including “Diplomat’s Son, Horchata and Cousins” which delighted fans of their older music.

The show felt much more laid back as compared to previous shows. Ezra Koenig, lead singer of Vampire Weekend arrived on stage sporting bright green athletic shorts with the new FOTB tour snake patch embroidered on his right knee and a standard blue pull-over jacket. Visual imagery for the night of included sailboat flags, green frogs, while the stage design included a large spinning globe as seen on the new album cover.

The new touring band features Greta Morgan, Brian Roberts Jones, as well as returning band members Chris Tomson, Chris Baio. Longtime songwriter and former bandmate Rostam Batmanglij is no longer producing and touring with Vampire Weekend however he still contributed to a few songs on the band’s most recent album. This opportunity provided a fresh change up to the vocal sound of the band.

Vampire Weekend has been covering different songs each stop of this tour. The Raleigh show was no exception as fans were delighted to hear a a cover of the 1987 Fleetwood Mac song “Everywhere”. Vampire Weekend also played a 4-song encore including a special request of “The Kid’s Don’t Stand A Chance”.

Opening support was provided by LA-based band Chicano Batman. The four-piece band features indie-alternative sounds with psychedelic soul and funk influences.

Father of the Bride Tour concludes on October 9, 2019 with a two-night run at Red Hat Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.

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