Concert Review: Vampire Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio

Some evening are like Mary Poppins: practically perfect in every way. Last night, the weather and atmosphere was prime: cool and breezy for a mid-June day. Jacob's Pavillion at Nautica provided a beautiful backdrop for a sold-out show. Vampire Weekend and Chicano Batman rocked the stage for not only a good time, but a long time.

Chicano Batman took the stage at 7:30p.m. with an energetic and funky set. Chicano Batman are from Los Angeles, and perform a retro blend of genres. They played "Cycles of Existential Rhyme," "Freedom is Free," and several selections from the Black Lipstick EP including the titular "Black Lipstick." A daytime moon shone beside the stage, an indicator of the clear sky and ideal weather. The crowd was attentive, if under-engaged. The short set felt full and enthralling.

Chicano Batman.

Chicano Batman lead singer Bardo Martinez.

After a brief reset, Vampire Weekend took the stage at 8:47p.m. and began with a raucous "Sympathy" from the recent Father of the Bride. The already-enthused crowd was further roused by "White Sky" from the band's second album, Contra. Jumping from song to song with smooth instrumental transitions, the band then dove into "Unbelievers."

Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend.

This tour comes not long after the departure of founding member and producer, Rostam Batmanglij. In his place, the other three founding members (Ezra Koenig, Chris Tomson, and Chris Baio) have employed the help of a quartet of live performers: Greta Morgan on keys and guitar, Garrett Ray as an additional drummer and percussionist, Will Canzoneri on the main keyboard parts and the inimitable Brian Robert Jones who often takes lead guitar.

Vampire Weekend.

Still early in the show, it was thrilling to hear Vampire Weekend play an animated rendition of "Holiday." Koenig's Epiphone Sheraton provided their signature jangly sound.

An early track, "Boston" (or "Ladies of Cambridge") was next, followed by a duo of songs from the new album: "Bambina" and "Sunflower." The band worked their way into "Sunflower" slowly, extending the intro significantly. The pair of songs really brought forth and channeled the relaxed vibes of Father of the Bride.

After the popular "M79," the crowd was more than ready for "This Life."

"Step" was unusual to hear without being immediately followed by "Diane Young." They instead played "Spring Snow" from the new album, and then "Giant," both songs not commonly done live. The crowd was encouraged to join in as the M.I.A. part in "Diplomat's Son." The crowd never seemed to figure out when to stop and start the repeated chant, but the participation did engage everyone at what could have been a quieter part of the show, since the songs were deeper in the catalog.

An upbeat "Hannah Hunt" gave way to "Harmony Hall." Being that it's one of the biggest hits, as well as my personal favorite from the album, it was exciting to hear the opening guitar parts played by Koenig and Jones. By this time, the band had been playing for an hour and fifteen minutes, and the beat was dragging a little. Nevertheless, "Harmony Hall" and the subsequent "Diane Young" brought down the house. That is, until the high-octane "Cousins" blew us away yet again, proving the crowd could always participate more. A pair of songs from their self-titled debut album followed, with "A-Punk" and "One (Blake's Got a New Face)." Finally, the tempo slowed down with "2021" and "I Think Ur a Contra," which quietly wrapped up the set.

The audience wasn't left waiting long before the band returned to the stage for an encore. They began with an emotional "Big Blue," and unfurled the flags representative of different elements of the new album.

Next, Vampire Weekend debuted a cover of "Don't Dream It's Over" (by Crowded House). As regular readers will know, I'm a big fan of covers, especially when my favorite artists cover one another, so you know I was thrilled.

The Vampire Weekend version of the song was very true to the original, which made it pretty good, but I wish they'd put more of their own twist on it than just riffing a little longer during the musical bridge.

Following "Don't Dream It's Over," the band took three requests from members of the crowd, beginning with one of my favorite rare tracks, "Ottoman." This rendition definitely borrowed from the vibes of Father of the Bride. The next two requests were "How Long?" and "Flower Moon" from the new album, but they only played the first minute or so from "Flower Moon" since they were short on time. 

Earlier, I mentioned the strange separation of songs from Modern Vampires of the City. Well, the band made up for this at the close of the concert when they kept "Worship You" and "Ya Hey" together. Giant inflatable globes made their way into the crowd as the final songs were played, which created a fun vibe in the audience. 

The band played for over two hours, which is admirable. They also kept it fun the entire time, which is just one reason that this was one of the best shows I've been to in a while. It was mostly pitch-perfect and enjoyable through and through. You could tell they were a group of fine musicians. I paid over a hundred dollars for my ticket to this show, making it one of the more expensive shows I've attended, but it was worth every penny. 

If you have a chance to catch them on the rest of their tour this summer, I highly recommend checking them out.

Concert Review: Of Montreal in Cleveland, OH

Seldom have I seen a crowd so geared up for the performance they are awaiting as the audience at the Beachland Ballroom on Thursday.

Kishi Bashi took the stage alone at around 8:30, and began to play a set that instantly entranced the crowd. Bashi used his violin and live samples to play some of the most incredible and musically sound pieces I've heard live in a long time. His mastery of both pizzicato and conventional violin bowing were incredible to hear and observe visually.

Kishi Bashi

Kishi Bashi surrendered the stage to Loney Dear, a Swedish duo that were received with much less enthusiasm. 

Loney Dear

Loney Dear put on a reasonably good set, but the crowd was too energized for their soft, calm songs. It didn't help that, after Kishi Bashi, their music seemed a lot less impressive.

There was a long wait in between Loney Dear and Of Montreal. Lots of light adjustments happened, each time stirring the crowd into a frenzy. When the band finally took the stage, they launched instantly into an almost non-stop set of songs from their last four albums. Each song seemed to bring a new level of excitement to the crowd. 

The set was lively and energetic and just loud enough not to be too loud. The crowd danced and sang along to every song. The band ended their set and it was almost immediately clear that there would be an encore. Two people dressed as pigs returned to the stage and welcomed the band back out after a few minutes. Of Montreal then launched into a ton of songs, one right after the other, mostly from Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? and Skeletal Lamping.

There was not a lot of talking or pausing during the band's set or encore set, it was mainly just song after glorious song.

After the show, as we headed back to our vehicle, we noticed that lead singer Kevin Barnes was surrounded by a small crowd at the exit door. He was very sweet about signing things for people and taking pictures with fans.

Seeing Of Montreal isn't just a good show, it's a great experience.

Concert Review: The Modern Art Tour in Cleveland, Ohio

It’s always a pleasure to see multiple bands I enjoy in the same setting, so I was excited to learn that SPEAK would be an opening act for Miniature Tigers during the local leg of the Modern Art Tour. Also performing were The Chain Gang of 1974 and Geographer.

The venue, Grog Shop, is a small and intimate place, with the stage leading directly into the audience. When we entered the room, SPEAK were still doing their warm-ups. They wrapped up quickly and we were left to wait. All of the bands mingled freely in the crowd, before, during, and after the show.

SPEAK took the stage at just after 8 and performed a crowd-pleasing set for a crowd to which they were mostly unknown. 

SPEAK

The high-energy songs from their album were joined by a couple of songs I didn’t recognize from the album as well as a cover of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” As with the SPEAK covers I've experienced in the past, the band added their own accents to the cover, speeding it up, and making it their own. They closed their set with “Stand By Us” and “Carrie.”

Up next was The Chain Gang of 1974, a group which didn't really sit well with me. Their very 80s synths became tolerable and almost good toward the end of the set, but the vocals and general attitude of the band didn't suit my tastes at all. 

The Chain Gang of 1974

Co-headliner Geographer took the stage and it was immediately clear that many patrons were there to see Geographer specifically. Lead singer Michael Deni performed beautifully, with a voice that was admittedly better than any other singer that evening. Geographer's lineup features drums, synths, and an electric cello (played by Nathan Blaz), which seems an interesting choice for a rock group.

Geographer

Finally, Miniature Tigers came on around 11 o'clock. Miniature Tigers were quite lively. Lead singer Charlie Brand did a great job of engaging the crowd, competing with several now insanely drunk members of the crowd and the two guys from The Chain Gang of 1974 who were creating a ruckus in the audience. 

 

Miniature Tigers

 Photos by Gareth Sedam

Miniature Tigers performed most of the songs off of Mia Pharaoh, with a few songs from Fortress and "Cannibal Queen" thrown in. I think the near absence of songs from Tell It To The Volcano was a slight disappointment to some, but the set was impressive just as it was. Miniature Tigers closed their set at just after midnight and hung around to sign autographs and talk to fans.