Vampire Weekend | Concert Review

Story by Dylan Bliss 

| Published Sep 7, 2010

There are rules. No listening to the headlining band in the car on the way to the concert. It cheapens the sound of the live performance as the recorded track runs cleanly alongside it. Unfortunately, some of my friends don’t abide by these standards, and after a few minutes of heated deliberation I allowed for one song to be played. We were cruising up through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains on the way to see Vampire Weekend at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Little did I know that hearing them play beforehand would have no affect on one of the best concert experiences I’ve had to date.

Once we parked and waded through the hipsters, tailgating and toking, we reached the heart of the amphitheatre. Everything about this venue is absolutely breathtaking. The drive up slowly revealed enormous red-orange rock formations that hugged around the thousands of seats and down around to the back of the stage. Dum Dum Girls and Beach House opened to a growing crowd as the sun went down over the Rockies. Victoria Legrand, Beach House’s lead singer, has one of most resonant tones I’ve ever heard live; the audience constantly cheered as her band’s airy tunes filled the giant bowl with her voice.

Vampire Weekend wasted no time. There are very few songs from their catalog that would make me frown upon hearing them live. My good friend Ben Petersen said it best as they jumped into their fourth or fifth song: “They can do no wrong!” If you’re familiar with Vampire Weekend you’ll know that their sound is very clean and precise. This quality was easily reached and possibly surpassed with some of their tunes, despite the lead singer having lost his voice not 4 days prior.

With the stunning light and fog show, the gorgeous atmosphere, and the explosive performances from each band, this concert was most definitely worth the climb.