Vampire Weekend cover Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen at New Orleans Jazz Festival
In the studio, Vampire Weekend’s mission sees them adopt an experimental approach to a classic indie rock sound, incorporating themes of classical music throughout and with cohesive and accessible sound at the heart of everything they do.
In a four-and-a-half star review, Far Out called their new album, Only God Was Above Us, “A classical instant classic.” The review continued: “This album is the best the band have ever made. Each song has windchime-like trickling guitar and keys at its heart, with even the most minimalistic tracks building like symphonies. It’s this style of music as it’s never been done before. Unpredictable in its structure and execution but completely charming throughout.”
However, when it comes to their shows, Vampire Weekend are embracing chaos with every turn. At Coachella, they played ‘Cocaine Cowboys’, a 15-minute mash-up of country and honky tonk music. To help them with this performance, they welcomed Paris Hilton onto the stage, who took part in an impromptu game of Cornhole.
Now, performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on April 27th, the band performed Bob Dylan rarity ‘When He Returns’, and Bruce Springsteen hit ‘Hungry Heart’.
Though the covers might seem obscure, frontman Ezra Koenig has previously spoke about his love of Springsteen at length. Hailing from New Jersey himself, Koenig confessed that it was hard to grow up without the influence of Springsteen, and who doesn’t love Dylan?
“All the songs on Born in the USA are always floating around, but it wasn’t until I heard ‘My Hometown’ on the radio or something I got really psyched to the album,” he told Pitchfork in 2010. “I just listened to it constantly. Maybe it has something to do with starting to feel more nostalgic for growing up in New Jersey, which is also cheesy to say. Obviously, it’s more complicated, and everybody has their own relationship to where they grow up.”
Vampire Weekend are set to spend most of this year on tour across North America and Europe, but it remains unclear what fans can expect from their live performances. Nevertheless, the element of surprise is precisely what makes them such an enticing group.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.