Allsaints AW11

(source: allsaints.com)

Vampire Weekend, Alexandra Palace 2/12/10

On a cold, snowy winter’s night in London, Vampire Weekend bring their summery Upper West Side Soweto to warm everyone in attendance at Alexandra Palace. Coats, hats and scarves are still firmly attached after support Ratatat but the headliners soon change this. Accompanied by rap music, the New York four-piece take to the stage and launch into ‘Holiday’ and the crowd react as if a ray of sunshine has ascended around the room. Many other tracks from second album ‘Contra’ are unleashed early; recent single ‘White Sky’ is one of them and does its best to lift dampened spirits with its quirky riff and chirpy onomatopoeic chorus.

During the first few songs, it feels like they aren’t quite filling up the venue. They’ve slayed bigger spaces than this before so it shouldn’t be a problem. However, the second half sees them turn things around-the fast pace craziness of ‘Cousins’ is to thank for this along with an energetic ‘Giving Up The Gun’; arguably the best played on the night. The band throws everything into it and its compelling build up almost knocks us over. Predictably ‘A-Punk’ provokes the loudest crowd reaction, but tonight it seems it is perhaps played too early as it forgotten quickly.

Some of the slower numbers are drowned out by the big space which is a shame; ‘I Think Ur A Contra’ and ‘Taxi Cab’ slightly lose the concentration of people who prefer their more upbeat numbers. But these songs really illustrate the extent of their instrumental ability and allow us to appreciate the true beauty of every different experimental sound produced within their music. One slow song that certainly isn’t lost within the crowd is fan favourite ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’, which rouses a jubilant response and ‘One (Blake’s got a new face)’ stuns as frontman Ezra Koenig’s vocal range reaches heights I can only imagine exist.

The last section of the show sees them celebrating their debut as they parade through ‘Campus’ and into ‘Oxford Comma’ without hesitation. ‘Mansard Roof’ attracts a mass sing-a-along whilst an exhilarating ‘Walcott’ concludes the show in a suitable fashion. They prove to be the perfect songs to end the encore as everyone dances buoyantly within a giant but friendly mosh-pit that seems to have engulfed the entire room. Ezra is complimentary of the scenes as he enthuses; “that was an amazing mosh pit, a combination of moshing and hugging – it's so positive!” Even though they play almost every song they’ve recorded, the gig seems to finish quickly as there’s hardly a break in-between all the commotion. But at the rare times there is, the band are swift to show gratification towards the crowd, who they thank for coming out in such adverse weather conditions. I think I can speak on behalf of everyone when I say that it was definitely worth it.

See this review on Bring The Noise here

General Fiasco, Dingwalls

With support from Pegasus Bridge & The Theory of Six Degrees.

Many music critics spotted that there was something special about this band from Northern Ireland when they first appeared on the scene three years ago. This soon gained them spots on Introducing stages at festivals around the country and eventually got them snapped up by Infectious Records (which couldn’t be more appropriately entitled because that’s exactly what they created with their debut ‘Buildings’). Touring extensively over the past two years has obviously deservingly paid off for them - having already been on the road supporting acts such as One Night Only and Kids In Glass Houses, they’ve gradually built up a fan base for their own headline tour.

Tonight they perform to a packed out Dingwalls and as the last stop on their tour, the crowd ensure they chose the right place to end. The trio (with extra guitarist tonight) are impressively controlled, almost as if they’d been performing together for years. Their catchy indie gems create an electrifying atmosphere at this intimate Camden venue, particularly ‘Rebel Get By’, ‘Dancing With Girls’ and ‘Ever So Shy’. The band’s contagious energy bounces off the boisterous mob of teens that stand before them, causing a lot of excitable bodies to be thrown about the room (and often on stage). During ‘Sinking Ships’ the spotlight is on vocalist Owen as the acoustic guitar comes out and gets everyone singing in unison. The pace slows for a few minutes towards the end with touching power ballad ‘Buildings’, a strong contender for best performed song of the night. But the atmosphere is soon returned back to wild mode as they end on two of their biggest hits.

As well as playing their debut album in its entirety, they treat us to three brand new songs which I assume will feature on their second record. Although these are impressive, the star of tonight is undoubtedly concluder ‘Ever So Shy’, a song with a hook so infectious that it will stick in your head for days. Its big chorus and anthemic presence make the crowd go nuts, so much so that even the adults in the room have a jig. The band definitely confirm why they have been my ones to watch for a while now and during a time when pop indie acts such as Two Door Cinema Club are reigning, there’s a perfect slot for them to fit in amongst the most exciting bands of their genre.

(Photographs by Georgia Rawson- click here to see more photos of General Fiasco on her Flickr page)