Dressing like a rock star is obviously something that Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig doesn’t think too much about. Arriving on stage Friday night at Barclays Center clad in a stiff looking jacket and white pants, the front man looked like he’d just helicoptered in from a WASP speed dating night in the Hamptons.
But that lack of convention has long been the New York group’s secret weapon. Their critics can begrudge them their background and privilege all they want, but it’s something they have used brilliantly to create their own little corner of indie rock.
Nowhere is that more apparent than their new album “Modern Vampires Of The City” which provided some of the show’s finest moments. The reconstituted Afrobeat influences of their early work have fallen by the wayside and what has emerged is a band with a more varied and engrossing sound.
But perhaps the most marked progression is that of Koenig himself, who isn’t one to rock leathers and cowboy boots, but has developed into a remarkably wise and witty lyricist.
“Irish and proud baby, naturally/But you got the luck of a Kennedy,” he quipped sharply on the rattling thrum of “Diane Young” — a song that also happens to be one of their catchiest. “Step” also drops in painfully unhip references to Angkor Wat and the ancient king Croesus, but also comes wrapped in a melody so pretty that most of the arena sang along. A good education hasn’t won Vampire Weekend many credibility points, but they certainly know how to write a good couplet or two.
But the show was far from a literary workshop. The quartet dropped in old favorites such as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” and “A Punk” to keep energy levels constant while the disco beats of “Giving Up The Gun” were good enough to turn a dance club upside down.
Rock ’n’ roll has more than enough clichés to contend with and Vampire Weekend’s refusal to toe that line makes them a great break from the norm.
Prior to the headliners, Solange warmed up the crowd with a tight set of R & B. Beyoncé’s younger sister was evidently in the mood for dancing and worked her way through numerous jives, shuffles and grinds throughout her 45-minute gig.
The real revelation turned out to be opening act Sky Ferreira, the former model who lit up gossip columns earlier this week following her and her boyfriend’s upstate bust on possession of heroin and ecstasy charges.
Ferreira, whose new album is due out next month, showcased her superb voice in a selection of hook-infested songs that had the sparkle of 1980s Madonna.
If Ferreira can scale back her other “interests,” full-fledged pop stardom can’t be too far behind.