Published at 4:26 PM on March 15, 2008

By Caren Kelleher

Vampire Weekend: Two shows, two cities, two verdicts

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Last night I went to see Paste 4 to Watch artist, Vampire Weekend (the apparent darlings of SXSW) which I had said that I would not do during SXSW—not out of protest or anything, but because I had already seen them earlier that week in Atlanta, where they opened for The Walkmen at The Earl. But here was an interesting opportunity: to compare a “normal,” non-SXSW, non-NY show with a “hyped” SXSW one… all within 6 days. Here’s what I noticed...










































Atlanta
SXSW
Opened for... The Walkmen DeVotchKa, Constantines
Opened with... Mansard Roof Mansard Roof
Wore... Preppy sweaters Preppy button-downs
Crowd size... 300ish 600ish
Crowd was... treating the band like a museum exhibit; cautious, sober, intrigued drinking the Kool-Aid; cheering, booty dancing, responsive
Band said... it was excited to be kicking off its tour it was exhausted and playing its last show of SXSW
Complimented... the audience for its harmonies on “One (Blake’s Got a New Face)” the small group of super-fans in the front, jumping up and down
Verdict...
Solid but young band that sounds the same when live or on CD, which isn’t a bad thing, thus deserving attention Solid but young band that is way too young for this much hype, which is a bad thing, but a point that warrants attention

Just one girl’s opinion. Discuss freely in the comments section.

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