An encore weekend with Vampire Weekend at The Met

Vampire Weekend returned to Philadelphia for a sold-out two-night run at The Met this past weekend. Philly was one of the first stops of part two of their tour in support of last year’s album Only God Was Above Us, and the only city they’re returning to on this run. (They played a terrific show at The Mann Center last fall.) 

On a cool evening this past Friday, The Met was overflowing with anticipation as the special guest, Geese, performed. The offbeat rock band warmed up the audience, with songs such as “I See Myself” and “Cowboy Nudes” off of their 2023 release 3D Country. Fans screamed and applauded in response to the impressive drum and piano solos interspersed throughout the set. The laid-back yet punk summer-toned tunes echoed throughout the room, setting the stage for the main act.

Vampire Weekend took the stage by storm, with flashing lights and an oversized banner bearing the band’s name. The founding members of Vampire weekend — vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, drummer Chris Tomson, and bassist Chris Baio — began their set with “Mansard Roof,” the opening track on their self-titled debut from 2008. The crowd jumped and waved their hands in the air as the exuberant, nostalgic sound filled the venue. 

The Vampire Weekend banner was dropped and then removed to reveal a more elaborate stage setup, featuring additional musicians and instrumentalists to accompany the band. Dramatic lighting with a blue haze and yellow glow created spotlights and silhouettes on stage, and from time to time filled the audience with light, creating the feeling that we were part of the stage and part of the music. To add to the summer feeling, a beach ball was bounced back and forth between audience members on the floor. Fans held their phones and drinks in the air, clapping their hands, and stomping their feet to the groovy songs. 

Weyes Blood, the revered indie singer-songwriter who spend some of her youth in Doylestown, joined the band to perform a cover of the traditional folk song “Peggy-O.” She stayed on stage to accompany Vampire Weekend in singing “Married in a Gold Rush” off of their 2019 album Father of the Bride, and “Andromeda,” a Weyes Blood classic off of her fourth album, Titanic Rising, which Koenig called one of his favorite songs.

The band went on to sing “A-Punk” off of their debut album and closed their main set with “Hope” the powerfully raw closing track on Only God Was Above Us. But that was not all that Vampire Weekend had up their sleeve for Friday night. As they’ve become known for doing on this album cycle, the band performed a medley of covers for their encore — they called this set their “salute to indie,” including classics like “Space Song” by Beach House, “Someday” by The Strokes, “The Less I Know the Better” by Tame Impala, and “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They took requests and closed the encore with “Worship You” and “Ya Hey.”

Though the Saturday crowd did not get Weyes Blood, they did get a more robust mix of covers, including MGMT’s “Electric Feel” and Peter Bjorn & John’s “Young Folks,” along with 90s faves like “Sex and Candy” by Marcy Playground and “Laid” by James, and classic rock-era selections including Dusty Springfield’s “Son of A Preacher Man” and Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.”

Vampire Weekend put on a show that was a combination of fan favorites, top hits, and classic covers their fans know and love. This week they embarked on the rest of their tour, where they will be stopping in places like Saratoga Springs and Miami, before taking the Only God Was Above Us tour internationally and performing in festivals worldwide; find their full dates here and check out more photos from The Met below.