On Saturday, Vampire Weekend played the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and delivered a thrilling set chock full of special surprises. After an audience member celebrating their birthday requested the band play a Boss tune, they launched into a brief but delightful impromptu rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” from his 1980 album The River. The group continued with the classic-rock theme by performing “When He Returns,” a track from the 1979 Bob Dylan album Slow Train Coming. The cover highlights Koenig’s voice over grand yet minimal piano.
Vampire Weekend has been peppering recent performances with increasingly unpredictable left-turns. Their current tour features a wide array of openers: Phish’s Mike Gordon, the Maya Rudolph Prince cover band Princess, Mark Ronson djing, and Turnstiles – no, not the beloved hardcore group but a Billy Joel tribute band. During their recent Coachella set, the band brought out even wackier guests; an Abraham Lincoln impersonator and Paris Hilton herself joined for a game of cornhole.
Vampire Weekend heads to Philly’s Mann Center on September 28th, with the New York-based Cults opening. Fans can safely await something wild, fun, and totally unexpected – while the band delivers their signature mix of 2000’s indie-rock, global rhythms, and increasingly jammy grooves. Tickets and more information on the show can be found at the WXPN Concert Calendar.