Vampire Weekend Drop Video For "Giving Up The Gun"

Sure, it's the most hyped record of the year, and it debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. That doesn't make Vampire Weekend's latest, Contra, any less enjoyable or full of pop goodness. Case in point: the new celebrity-laden-super-future-tennis-match-video for "Giving Up The Gun", above. Fun, no?

Vampire Weekend: Contra Drops This Week

Yes, we know it's poppy, accessible, and everyone loves it - even the New Yorker! But that's kind of the point, isn't it? We kind of suspect that that there's not much of the Vampire Weekend fan contingent that's looking to them for difficult, terse rock and roll. Quite the opposite, actually.

That being what it is, we were psyched to catch the band delivering "Cousins" on Letterman last week (see above), and getting ready to drop their latest Contra, tomorrow. The full record is already streaming at their website, and there's a boatload of pre-release hype going on this week. The following week (as previously mentioned), the band will be playing three nights at three separate New York venues. If you miss out, we're thinking you're probably bound to regret it later.

UPDATE: MTV has also apparently relaunched "Unplugged", with Vampire Weekend as the series opener. Check out vids here.

Vampire Weekend have three dates in New York City from 1/17-1/19 at United Palace Theater, Webster Hall, and Bowery Ballroom.

mp3: Vampire Weekend - Horchata
stream: Vampire Weekend - Contra
pictures: Vampire Weekend at the HAD Archive

A Few Thoughts On Vampire Weekend's Contra

Vampire Weekend at The Rickshaw Stop, from the HAD Archive

While we have yet to get our hands on a copy of the full length, all indications are pointing to Vampire Weekend's second release, Contra, being a winner. Unquestionably determined to avoid the sophomore slump, the band clearly took some time to make sure that the new release (which drops on January 12th of the new year) had all the pep and rhythmic funk of the original.

In the past couple of months, the band has been gradually leaking tracks from the record. These have included the previously mentioned "Horchata", the spacey "California English Pt. 2", and the latest addition "Cousins" (complete with video, below). What's more, the band has released an online television channel of sorts, complete with additional album snippets and some free dance lessons to boot. Indeed.

All of this brings us to our conclusion, which is that frankly we're pretty excited about this record. We have to admit there was a bit of concern here at HAD that the Vampire Weekend boys might not be able to turn out another record with as much spunk and goodness as their debut, but from the looks of things, they've done exactly that. As such, we'll certainly be catching them when they stop by for the record's release.

Vampire Weekend have three dates in New York City from 1/17-1/19 at United Palace Theater, Webster Hall, and Bowery Ballroom.

mp3: Vampire Weekend - Horchata

Vampire Weekend Release First Single From New Record For Free

You may have heard whisperings (okay, clamor) that Vampire Weekend had a new record on the way. Well, things are coming to fruition, and news is making itself known. Specifically, Contra will drop on January 12th of the New Year.

What's more, the band has taken it upon themselves to release the record's first single, "Horchata", as a free download. We have to admit, we had been a little bit concerned about what we might hear. Combine the fact that there's the ominous "sophomore slump" that tends to plague second records with the fact that the band has a relatively pigeonholed sound, and well: there was the potential for trouble.

However, we're happy to report that (at least with this tune) the band seems to have avoided any missteps, and has maybe even stepped it up a notch. "Horchata" employs many of the techniques the band used on their first record: African influenced guitars and beats, reverby vocals, and catchy melodies. That being said, the production has more depth, and it sounds less like a raw garage recording. Put differently: it sounds (in a good way) like a track that had some time spent on it in the studio, and wasn't just the product of rehearsals and live shows. Granted, it doesn't have the catchy danceability of "A Punk", but we're pretty sure it's still a win. Check it out below.

mp3: Vampire Weekend - Horchata

Vampire Weekend Play New Track On Jimmy Fallon: "White Sky"

We haven't heard from Vampire Weekend in a while, so we were psyched to see that they stopped in over at Jimmy Fallon's show to drop a new track on the unsuspecting masses. Frontman Ezra Koenig was all dolled up in red fleece, and conspicuously without guitar. Meanwhile, the band enlisted a string section for what seems to be becoming a standard addition to their live televnision appearances.

As for the song, well, we'd say that it's pretty par-for-the-course VW: Koenig breaks out some of the falsetto vocals, and the pseudo-African rhythms are in full effect. That being said, the song seems to lack something in the rock department, being far more of a lilting stroll through Koenig's melodic turns of fancy. Granted, it's easy on the ears, but we're hoping the band will dig up something a bit more edgy when their second record comes to fruition. Check out the video above.

Peter Gabriel And Hot Chip Cover Vampire Weekend

Given that we've been fostering a rapidly expanding obsession with Peter Gabriel's early solo records, we were pretty interested to see that the man has joined up with Hot Chip to cover Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa". The song features a prominent Gabriel name drop, so it seems that his cover fulfills some sort of self-referencing irony quotient.

Gabriel's take on the tune is a significantly more chill than VW's, with a more loping, Africanized beat. The fact that he can't hit the high notes in the chorus is a bit of a let down, but the rest of the vocals sound spot-on. Gabriel definitely lends his signature feel to the record, and it makes us hunger for a bit more pop music from a man whose output has been more on the experimental side for the past few years.

Thanks to Abeano Music for the tip!

mp3: Peter Gabriel and Hot Chip - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (YouSendIt, click through)

Reminder: Vampire Weekend Is At Mezzanine Tonight (Plus New Video)

Tonight marks the beginning of Live 105's Not So Silent Night festivities, and the pre-party will be kicking off at Mezzanine. The lineup features Vampire Weekend, along with Cold War Kids, Chairlift, and Audrye Sessions. Should be an awesome (if not a bit late, being at Mezzannine) show.

In the meantime, if you find yourself needing fuel for your late night fire, check out the Vampire Weekend video above from pitchfork.tv. It's a great clip, featuring a solid interview with the band along with three pared down string-trio versions of songs from the record.

Not So Silent Night Preparty Features Vampire Weekend, Cold War Kids, Audrey Sessions: Tickets On Sale Now

Photo from the HAD Archive

Word just came over the wire that the Live 105 Not So Silent Night Pre-Party will be at Mezzanine on Wednesday, December 10th, and will feature Vampire Weekend, Cold War Kids, Chairlift (?), and Audrey Sessions. Plus, of course, the ubiquitous DJ set by Aaron Axelson. Let's just say our NSSN skepticism has been somewhat abated by the awesomeness of a Vampire Weekend holiday show.

Tickets are on-sale now.

Popscene Is Hopping In December: Franz Ferdinand (DJ Set), Vampire Weekend, The Virgins

This morning we decided to check out 330 Ritch's December schedule (well, actually, Popscene's), and we were pleasantly suprised to see that the venue is hopping for the holiday season. Most notably, on December 11th Popscene will be hosting the Not So Silent Night afterparty, and Franz Ferdinand will be DJing. A week later, Popscene will be having their own "holiday ball", and NYC hot-item The Virgins will be in the house. Granted, the place is always a mob scene, but if you're feeling the holiday party vibe, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Stereogum Has New Vampire Weekend Track

Photo From The HAD Archive

The folks over at Stereogum have an exclusive on the new Vampire Weekend track, "Ottoman". The track has quite a bit in common with "Walcott", borrows some lyrics from "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", and despite being easy on the ears never really picks up the pace of some of the bands more danceable tracks. In other words, it kind of feels like a B-Side.

That's not exactly a surprise, considering it's riding on the soundtrack of Nick and Norah's Infinite Mixtape, which appears to be the "indie rock as a zeitgeist" vehicle of the month. While the film looks cute, we feel like we've seen the whole thing just by watching the preview. Does Michael Sera do anything other than play himself? For the sake of the Scott Pilgrim movie, we certainly hope so.

Stream: Vampire Weekend - Ottoman (Click Through)

Vampire Weekend Apes Wes Anderson

Vampire Weekend have just released their latest video - for "Oxford Comma" - and we can't help but feel that it's just trying a little hard to be "eclectic" in the style of a certain well known that director. That being said, we still love the band, and every time we hear them, all our skepticism tends to go out the window...all is forgiven.

Vampire Weekend @ The Rickshaw Stop

There are plusses and minuses to seeing an all ages show: the crowd tends to be far more enthusiastic and unpretentious, but you're also met with a far greater level of highly pitched teenage girls screaming. Similarly, there are plusses and minuses to seeing a band who only has one record: you know exactly what songs you're going to get, and that's all she wrote. Last night at the Rickshaw Stop, Vampire Weekend managed to transcend the negatives and deliver a high powered dose of pop to an all ages crowd.

The band (as they were in December at the Independent) was unrelentingly upbeat and on top of their game: the set traversed their entire album nearly flawlessly, and gave the crowd exactly what they were looking for. The most notable difference from the December show was that the crowds are now highly familiar with the material. The album's release has turned the band from an internet sensation into a real-world one. (See: the cover of this month's Spin)

Perhaps the most endearing moment of the night was when the band invited two girls who had handmade their own "Oh" glasses on stage to dance during A-Punk. It was almost so perfect you'd think it was a press stunt, but it wasn't - and that's exactly what made it so great.

As the set came to a quick close (less than an hour), we realized that this is probably the last time we'll see Vampire Weekend playing a venue of this size. The rate at which they're blowing up, and the fantastic energy of their set leaves little doubt that their return to San Francisco will be at The Fillmore or The Warfield, if not somewhere even bigger. We're glad we got to see it in action.

We also managed to grab some really decent video, including the one non-album song that the band played. Check it out:

Video: Vampire Weekend - Bryn & Ladies Of Cambridge


Video: Vampire Weekend - New Song:

Vampire Weekend On SNL

Thanks to the folks over at Stereogum, we grabbed these clips of Vampire Weekend on SNL this past weekend. As is typical of the show, the SNL venue left the band not quite firing on all cylinders, but it was still a bit more energetic than your average musical guest. That, and there was a live string quartet, which was a cool touch. Suffice it to say, we're still pretty psyched for the two upcoming shows.

See for yourself below...

SNL Continues Its Good Music Taste: Vampire Weekend Next Saturday

After this week's visit by Wilco (where, sadly, they played material exclusively from Sky Blue Sky), Saturday Night Live will next week be welcoming "it" indie band of the moment Vampire Weekend. We're ramping up for the shows at the end of March, and we have to say we're psyched to see them on national TV. Rawk. In the meantime, courtesy of Stereogum, enjoy this clip from Wilco's performance this past weekend...

New Vampire Weekend Video + new performance dateS

Vampire Weekend will be in San Francisco for Popscene at the end of the month, but news has just come down the line that they'll also be playing a free show at Amoeba Records the following night, February 1st, at 7 PM. So, basically you have your choice of over-crowded, pain in the ass venues. Still, cheap tickets, so don't complain.

However, if that's not enough for you, check this out: The band will be back in March for a pair of dates at two of our town's finest independent venues: March 22nd at the Independent, and March 23rd at the Rickshaw Stop. So basically, if you're hooked on the Vampire Weekend crack pipe, your dealer's coming to town.

Meanwhile the band has an awesome new video out for "A-Punk". Enjoy:

Vampire Weekend @ Popscene 1/31

Well, those venerable hosts of hype over at Popscene have apparently caught wind of Vampire Weekend. The band is playing at 330 Ritch for the weekly dance party on Thursday January 31st.

Depending how you look at this, it's a blessing or a curse: On the one hand, it's a tiny venue, and it'll be cheaper than your average gig. On the other hand, there are no advance ticket sales and the sets are usually short and mobbed with high school kids.

Either way, we'll be there - best.

Vampire Weekend Is Like Drugs

Okay, so you all know that we loved VW's show at The Independent last week. What you (and we!) didn't know was that we liked it so much that we are now on some completely unreasonable Vampire Weekend addiction trip, where we listen to songs constantly on repeat. Before you download thes mp3's, be forewarned that the addition just gets worse and worse as the music gets better and better!

These particular mp3's are from a Daytrotter Session. So good!

mp3: Vampire Weekend - Daytrotter Sessions - Bryn
mp3: Vampire Weekend - Daytrotter Sessions - I Stand Corrected
mp3: Vampire Weekend - Daytrotter Sessions - M79
mp3: Vampire Weekend - Daytrotter Sessions - Oxford Comma

Also, for good measure, from the band's site:

mp3: Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Dance-o-matic: Vampire Weekend @ The Independent

Okay, so we lied. Or maybe misspoke. We genuinely thought we wouldn't be able to make it to the Vampire Weekend show at The Independent on Wednesday night. Turns out we were wrong. We were there, and loving it.

The band played a little over an hour, and turned in an awesome set of highly danceable ass-kicking tunes. The set was highlighted by the band's unbridled enthusiasm: while lead vocalist Ezra Koenig clearly was in the driver's seat, the rest of the band was most definitely on-board. Smiles and backing vocals abounded, and everyone was psyched and sweaty.

The set included a good deal of the band's current material, but also a number of songs off of a currently-in-recording second album. The new songs fit smoothly into the set, and while they aren't a huge departure, they will clearly entice the already-faithful.

Throughout the show, there were a number of cries of "San Diego's got nothing on us!". We here at H.A.D. aren't sure exactly what that means (I mean, duh, right?), but we do know that Wednesday's show was a solid block of tunes that we won't soon forget, and we'll certainly be coming back for more.

Tonight At The Independent: Vampire Weekend

While we here at H.A.D. will be otherwise occupied, we would be in serious hot water if we failed to mention that NYC natives Vampire Weekend will be playing at the Independent tonight. The band has been getting its fair share of hype lately, and by all reports rightfully so. Their sound seems to embody a lot of what was also happening in late-era Talking Heads: That is to say, "World Music" vibe with high danceability, and a nice dose of garage rock sensibility. Apparently the live show is killer. We'll make it over if we can, but if not, we'd love to hear how it went.

Tickets are still available.

mp3: Vampire Weekend - A-Punk