ARTICLE: “Party time at outdoor venue” (Vampire Weekend)
Fun times at the Vampire Weekend show in Holyoke on Monday. Here’s my review of the show, published in today’s Berkshire Eagle.
“Vampire Weekend’s lyrics are stocked with careful, 21st century details rich in consumerist signifiers (‘the colors of Benetton,’ Tom’s of Maine, S. Pellegrino) and self-conscious multiculturalism (‘You spilled kefir on your keffiyeh.’) It’s up to the listener to gauge the ironic distance: are we a bunch of white people feeling validated because we get the references, or snidely judging the people who feel validated because they get the references, or is there another layer of meta-irony to iron out before we agree on the level at which we are appreciating this experience?
None of this subtext felt present during an evening of sophisticated pop played for a very appreciative, generally college-aged audience. You’d have to be a real grump to deny the obvious: Vampire Weekend just plain killed it.”
Above photo of Ezra Koenig performing at Mountain Park by David Barnum
