Vampire Weekend Returns To Red Rocks

With a majestic venue like Red Rocks Amphitheatre right in our backyard, we have seen some epic performances throughout the years. For one I feel artist tend to add to their usual sets by taking it a notch up, and two we have just come to expect it as fans. Brooklyn indie darlings Vampire Weekend strolled in for two back-to-back sold out nights a couple weeks and did not disappoint. Playing for almost two and a half hours Ezra Koenig and company played what seemed like their whole catalog of music. On their recent album Father of The Bride the band takes us on journey almost six years in the making. With a mix of older songs and newer songs off the latest album fans got to witness a complete performance that has spanned since 2006. In fact it was in a small dingy club in Austin, Texas in 2008 that we first fell in love with the band. Since then the band has maintained a charm that is unique to its fan base making them even more popular today than ever.

Some nights the atmosphere plays right into a performance (hence U2 in 1983) such was this night as a perfect October evening complimented one of the more stellar performances of the year. Hopefully we don’t have to wait another six years for the band to come back.

Photo Credit: Kennedy Cottrell

Rostam: Air Max 95s, Counting Persians, and What Makes a Great Show

What makes a great show? Is there a rubric? 

Written & photographed by Meesh Deyden

Something special must be happening when a concert photographer wants to put down her camera and be fully present at a show. About 4 songs in to Vampire Weekend alum, producer extraordinaire, Discovery co-vocalist Rostam's set at Globe Hall, I found myself retiring my shutterbug perspective for a bask-in-the-glory-of-all-that-is-holy mode of showgoing. 

Rostam & his string quartet (photographed by Meesh Deyden)

Rostam & his string quartet (photographed by Meesh Deyden)

You can tell when a show is gonna be dope even before it starts-- there are indicators. Fans shout and cheer before the performer even takes stage. Greetings amongst attendees range from blissful silent nods to full on sparks of nascent friendship. The house is packed, and no one's too drunk or too sober. It's good vibes all around. Globe Hall had all that goin Friday night, and then came the string quartet. 

Rostam's touring band is composed of a bongoes-focused percussionist and a MF string quartet. So here we are post-opener Joy Again, and here comes a MF string quartet. Now, if you know Globe Hall, you know the venue feels an awful lot like a high school auditorium with its linoleum floor and collapsed faux-wood tables lined somewhere out of the way. Take that image, add four men with their violins ready, music stands positioned just so, and you've got what looks to be the start of the most handsome high school recital ever.

This, all before any music begins. 

Rostam backstage (photographed by Meesh Deyden)

Rostam backstage (photographed by Meesh Deyden)

Rostam first played the last song off his Half-Light album, a reprise of his hit "Don't Let It Get to You," followed directly by the album's first track, "Sumer," creating an extended crescendo reflective of his conductor-like approach to structuring his live performances. This approach was also evident when he expertly guided the audience in singing the beat for "Rudy." We weren't on time, so, being the producer/conductor he is, kindly advised us to start over and he'd "lead [us] back in."

Belting along seamlessly now, and almost as sweetly as Rostam's electro-modified vocals, fans bobbed and jived to the singer who seemed to smile with every lyric. 

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Mid way through the set, Rostam, who is of Iranian heritage, posed a query for the snugly packed crowd, "How many Persians in the audience?" Denver, though white af, still boasted 1, with the dude exclaiming, "I'm the only one!" to a now giggling audience. Rostam, touring much of the mid-west recently, responded that "in Minneapolis there was one, but she was my cousin." And while this interaction may seem insignificant, lighthearted engagement between performer and audience about race & ethnicity in America in 2018 is pretty damn spectacular. 

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Now if all this isn't already the makings of a good show, Rostam has to go and play his harmonica, repeatedly caress his mic stand, call for the lights to dim for a song that heralds "everyone of us has felt the lights go down," and bring an encore that showed us B side material (a cover of Nick Drake's 1971 Pink Moon) and a "brand fucking new song" that'll surely grace the charts with its lusty lyric "we are sweating with no clothes on."

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So yea, I put down my camera. I noted his slick Air Max 95s, dutifully appreciated them like my editor in chief taught me, and I enjoyed the show. 

You can stay updated with Rostam's latest here. 

Vampire Weekend w/ Of Monsters and Men | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | May 20

It was a beautiful spring evening at Red Rocks last Monday night. The sun was setting behind the orange clouds and wonderful music was played as the crowd swayed. Of Monster and Men serenaded the crowd with songs of life and love. The natives from Iceland have left quite an impression in the states within the last year and a half.

​Of Monsters and Men (Photo Credit: Matt Smith)

Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir Iceland native and lead singer Of Monster and Men sounded even more beautiful and real in a live setting. Her studio sound is really good, but if you have not heard her sing live you are missing out. They had great stage presence and even jumped out into the crowd a couple of times and danced along side their fans. Of Monsters and Men seemed to really enjoy the crowd and playing at Red Rocks. Crowd favorites included radio friendly hits such as "Little Talks," and "Mountain Sound," which had the crowd singing in unison!

Vampire Weekend took to the stage and opened with "Cousins," as they prepped the crowd for almost two hours of musical bliss. They too were dancing and having a great time on stage increasing their stage presence since they last played here. They played a great mix of their new album Modern Vampires Of The City and the rest of their discography. They even played "Boston (Ladies of Cambridge)," a song only known by long term VW fans. Vampire Weekend blew away the crowd and rocked Red Rocks this beautiful evening, they continue to add to their already impressive resume.

-Matt

Vampire Weekend Setlist: Cousins | White Sky | Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa | I Stand Corrected | Diane Young | Step | Holiday | Unbelievers | Horchata | Everlasting Arms | A-Punk | Boston (Ladies of Cambridge) | Don't Lie | Ya Hey | Campus | Oxford Comma | Giving Up The Gun | Encore: Obvious Bicycle | Diplomats Son | One (Blake's Got A New Face) | Walcott

Knoxville band Royal Bangs at the Hi-Dive 11/18: Review


Bear Hands deserves equal recognition, a unique blend of The Police and Modest Mouse, they are quite talented as well. Although their sound was different from the Royal Bangs, they complimented each other and owned their time slot.  Touring with bands like MGMT and Vampire Weekend, I will definitely be looking forward to the next time I see them perform.

Amanda