Vampire Weekend
Greek Theatre, Berkeley
Jun 15, 2024
Photos by Raymond Ahner
To support their latest studio release Only God Above Us, long-time indie rock darlings Vampire Weekend recently announced a lengthy cross country tour that sees the band playing well into the fall. Three cities will be treated to two-show engagements where the band will be playing on a Saturday evening, and then again on Sunday afternoon. The Greek Theatre in Berkeley was the first venue to host the two shows in one weekend concept, and judging from their fans’ reaction to the Saturday night show, the entire tour seems destined for success.
Vampire Weekend opened their Saturday evening set with “Hold You Now,” followed by both their mega-hit “Cousins” and “I Stand Corrected,” which they were playing live for the first time since 2019.
After the curtain dropped, revealing a massive background, the band launched into “Ice Cream Piano,” off the new album complete with saxophone. From there it was a career-spanning setlist, including more off of the latest release, highlighted by “Classical,” ‘Capricorn,” “Prep-School Gangsters,” and “Gen-X Cops.” The bands chemistry seemed effortless, especially noted on “A-Punk.”
After wrapping up their set with “Hope,” the band returned to the stage for not one, not two, but a staggering twelve cover songs, although they were done only partially. Covering everything from Led Zeppelin to Buddy Holly to Green Day to Bruce Springsteen, there was definitely enough to keep everyone in the packed crowd happy and singing along.
By the time the nearly two and a half hour set was complete, it was quite clear that Vampire Weekend will have quite a successful tour.
Opening the show on this evening was founding member and bassist of Phish, Mike Gordon. Playing a handful of shows with the headliners before heading out on tour with his main band, Mike drew the crowd into the amphitheatre early, more than getting the fans ready for what was to come.
Here’s a slideshow with more photos of the show by Raymond Ahner:
