Unadvisedly, I practically skipped between Brixton underground station and the O2 Academy in a giddy anticipation of seeing the second of Vampire Weekend’s sold out London gigs. Considering we’re only 50 days into 2010, it’s perhaps insanely premature of me to herald the Brooklyn based group’s sophomore LP Contra as ‘the album of the year’, but so far it sort of basically is.

Keen as I was to see if the four-piece could recreate the indie pop meets African calypso of their second album on stage, I was also sceptical as to whether the often timid music would fill a venue such as Brixton Academy. By the end of opening song White Skies I was blissfully aware that I should never have worried. Charismatic front-man Ezra Koenig transformed his wispy controlled studio vocals into a powerful call that didn’t falter once over the next hour and a half of songs taken from the latest disc as well as the Vamp’s self-titled debut.

Koenig would also frequently deliver brief nonchalant anecdotes and observations between songs including the amusing analysis that the majority of Vampire Weekend fans were probably graduates; not young enough to be students, but definitely not old enough to have submitted to a 9-5 just yet! Whilst Ezra looked after the front of house, the band’s drummer Chris Tomson (sporting an unfortunate Tottenham Hotspurs shirt – poor guy) provided much of the gusto that kept the gig going with his powerful percussion that the group is renowned for.

The combination of charm and musical graft won over what started off as quite an unsure audience, but eventually warmed to the band resulting in dancehall two-step bogels breaking out all over the auditorium to the reggae strains of Diplomat’s Son, some good old fashioned moshing to A-Punk and Walcott, and there was even an impromptu chant of Ace of Base’s The Sign during Taxi Cab!

The overriding emotion of the crowd upon exiting the Academy at the end was an unexplainable feeling of joy. Not of the ‘we are united under one banner’ hooligan variety a football crowd may exhibit after their team has won, but just a quiet satisfaction that underpins Vampire Weekend’s songs. And who said vampires were evil soulless entities hey?

5/5

Tags: Online Review, Pop, Vampire Weekend