Alright, alright, I know their show was on Thursday, June 12^th, which makes this write up far from recent, but in my defense, this was my first time attending Bonnaroo, and taking time to write live reviews would have interfered with getting a truly authentic festival experience. After all, who wants to be shut up in a tent on a deserted campsite, writing feverishly, while listening to 80,000 people cheer for living legends and indie bands as they trip on multiple hits of acid? You catch my drift.

Putting on a lively, energetic show, vocalist Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij on keyboards, drummer Christopher Tomson, and bassist Chris Baio of Vampire Weekend took the stage at This Tent (one of the festival venues) on the opening night of the 2008 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. One of the biggest music festivals in the US, and declared the best music festival by Rolling Stone in their Best of Rock 2008 issue, Vampire Weekend was part of a line-up that included musicians from genres as diverse as blues, techno, rock, jam bands, bluegrass, and others too numerous to mention.

Each of their hooky, upbeat tracks was a crowd favorite, and the audience, under the influence of opening night excitement, as well as drug cocktails, sang along word-for-word to lead singer Koenig’s confident vocal delivery of A-Punk, Oxford Comma, Mansard Roof, M79, One (Blake’s Got a New Face), and many others.

Feeling the enthusiastic reception, Koenig commented on the infectious energy of the crowd and asked “Do you guys know about cosmic consciousness?” Some nodded their heads in hippie unity, while the blank stares of others prompted Koeing to explain that “It’s a science.”

Vampire Weekend catapulted to stardom in the few months following the January 29^th, release of their self-titled debut album on XL Recordings . With influences ranging from African pop music, new wave sounds, and classical music (most notably heard on M79), their music speaks to preppy college kids whose ears are happy to absorb the joyous ska-punk that lifts them from depression brought on by identity crises, underachievement, and tumultuous break-ups. Having formed in 2006 in New York City, they toured with The Shins only a year later, and were declared “The Best New Band” in the March 2008 issue of SPIN magazine.

Vampire Weekend are currently touring like madmen. Their European tour kicks off on June 24^th in Norway, and they’re back in US for the Pitchfork Music Festival. Dates in Australia and Japan have also been confirmed. You can check them out here.

Walcott @ Bonnaroo

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A - Punk

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