Sadly I won't be able to devote enough time to this post. Still, it'll prove a relief to get some of these thoughts out, and make room for new ones to be born, grow, and eventually mature to a point where they always want to borrow your car every friday night.
Last night's vampire weekend show in rochester raised a multitude of ideas and questions. From the beginning of my experience listening to vampire weekend I've always been quite intrigued by many facets of their existence. Friday evening only led to a number of interesting angles to think about.
For example, has vampire weekend reinvented the 'college rock' band? Judging from last night i would say yes. The mix of fans was very typical of what you would see at concert where the band's largest audience demographic is the 18 -22 range. Meaning, most of the people there were 18-22. This is not unique in itself, but looking more closely at who these people were, and by that, I mean what they wore, and general mannerisms it was easy to tell that these were not punk kids, they were not hipsters, they were not older post college faded rock glory folk, and not hippies.
They were a generation of in betweens, and since so many shows I go to are full of 'scene' kids, it was awkward experience to feel like the 'scene' of the night was vampire weekend kids. Why do i say 'vampire weekend kids', well because in my mind this distinguishes them from the 'oar' and 'guster' type college radio crowds. An overwhelming appreciation for opener's Beach House clearly indicated that the crowd was indie leaning ... i'm not sure what that really means, but it was meant to more clearly define the difference between those who listen to slightly off the beaten path pop, and those who tend to adventure a little bit further into the pop jungle.
Above all this is my interest in VW's ability to remain a credible band, shirking the sellout label that eventually every band who doesn't end up living in the drummer's mom's basement gets stuck with because the music they make is no longer 'real' once you've collected a paycheck for playing it.
There is no question that VW gets fat paid. A #1 album tells you that they got a few fans. In the past I've talked about how the music industry is learning to survive without big money. And that listeners are controlling the quality of the product, not boardrooms. So how does VW do it? How do they remain 'in' when it's 'out' to have mainstream appeal. A video starring jake gyllenhal, a bunch of obvious rich kids, and yet they are admired and adored for following the same steps that many of other bands have taken into the 'sellout dungeon'.
I guess I remain one of the admirers for now. They have definitely earned my respect for being able to balance the air of coolness and the legitimacy of a band as a profitable career. I suppose it's as easy as continuing to create interesting, and enjoyable music, huh?
