Originally written by Richard MacFarlane · 30 October 2008
Oh man, did I feel like a douche when I realised at the end of Ra Ra Riot's set that El Guincho had played before them at around 7:30pm. Duh! I had pretty much cried when his set was canceled at Bestival the other day, so missing him for a second time was particularly unfortunate; it would've matched up so well with Vampire Weekend's tropical leanings.
Ra Ra Riot, though, go some way to generate energy with solid and spirited pop, fleshing it out Arcade Fire style with violin and electric cello; the lead singer jumping around and on other band members. Their indie pop is very bouncy, flourishing in both minor and major orchestral flourishes, shooting out ecstatic keyboard lines in places and moving song structures around in others. They sound full and lush, though maybe a tad bland in places.
Vampire Weekend emerge in a massive cloud of smoke soundtracked by some fairly blinged-out hip-hop. Then they go straight into album opener 'Mansard Roof', full of a gusto that holds through the whole set. The quartet aren't as collegiately-clad as I expected (no sweaters with arms draped over shoulders), but they play through the hits with excitement, surprising slightly with some note changes here, pace adjustments there, and by slowing some songs down while speeding others up (see 'Campus').
I always thought the best part of their sound was the unabashed sense of fun running through the songs: even if they're certainly very 'indie', their appeal remains pretty universal. I figured, then, that their proclivity towards good times would attract similarly mannered people, but for some reason various fans tonight express their pleasure for seeing their fave indie bros live by chucking drinks across the venue. What? Yeah, kind of weird. Taking a break from his super-friendly and lighthearted banter, lead singer Ezra Koenig facetiously suggests we just "kind of, you know [bops head and shoulders and grooves slightly] get down a bit".
Regardless, the new jams they play tonight are impressive, getting way more into Paul Simon territory - or even, on one, Animal Collective - boosting the tropical vibes and appropriating sounds in even bigger ways. Finishing on an encore of the blog-circulated cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'Everywhere' (always a really fun but unessential track for me) and album closer 'The Kids Don't Stand A Chance', they smoothly close things sounding like a band at once comfortable with their rapid-fire popularity and ecstatic about making new music to spread further delight.