Author: Anna Oseran
Having been an avid concert-goer in Portland, Oregon, I was hesitant about attending my first L.A. show. For those of you who don’t know, Portland is known for having a great music scene. When I heard that one of my favorites, Vampire Weekend was coming, I set aside my snobby musical upbringing, and agreed to attend.
The show took place last Tuesday at The Glass House in Pomona, and held an overwhelming amount of hipster teenage girls, who were giddily anxious in hopes of making eye contact with charming front man Ezra Koenig. I was skeptical to say the least. After two somewhat tiresome opening bands, Vampire Weekend took the stage, belting out their undeniably catchy title track “Mansard Roof.”
As the song picked up, the audience followed suit, dancing around cheerfully in their respective circles. The band made a valiant effort to communicate with the audience in between tracks, professing their love for California, despite a not-so-subtle theme of Ivy League East Coast prep throughout their self-titled album.
The boys followed up nearly perfect live renditions of “Campus” and “M79” by introducing a new song titled “White Sky.” The track combined their signature poppy resonance with a new, thicker and fuller sound, leaving fans eager to hear more. V-dub, as I like to call them, played consistently throughout the show; delivering a perfect amount of improvisation while still remaining true to the sound of their recorded tracks.
The set appropriately ended with what is arguably one of their best tracks: “Oxford Comma.” As the group put all the energy they had left into the closing track, I realized that they hadn’t played my own personal favorite, “Walcott.” Thankfully, the boys expediently returned after leaving the stage, to deliver, in my opinion, their best performance of the indisputably memorable track.
I think it’s appropriate to deem my first SoCal concert a success. It may be worth mentioning that I was less skeptical at the prospect of attending a concert the next night. Now I have at least five upcoming shows on my list. Stay tuned.
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