Leeds Festival 2009
The late Saturday afternoon had brought sunshine to The Main Stage, an ideal slot for Vampire Weekend and the dashing guitar pop of ‘Mansard Roof‘. Glorious indeed yet there are questions to be posed; namely how can such lightweight guitar pop as ‘Campus’ and their brand of intelligent, multi-textured, sheepish indie work so well in such a vast arena? Hell, attendees must not grumble yet perhaps the answer lies in well rehearsed combinations, like lead singer Ezra Koenig’s multi-faceted vocals which aligned perfectly to the bass tones of ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’.
Festivals are ideal for such oft-centre bands and it became impossible not to clap along to the impulsive ‘I Stand Corrected‘. Unlike Arctic Monkeys, the set found a balance between familiar and new material, opting to slot three newies alongside each other. The first, ‘White Sky’ showcased a possible electro dance direction the band will follow, complete with yelps. ‘Boston (Ladies of Cambridge)’ could easily be described as endearingly stop-start rodeo. Thankfully the crowd seemed eager to judge new material until ‘A-Punk’ retrieved their immediate interest. Indeed, the track proved just another from their eponymous debut to stand up for itself as a bona fide classic. In close company were ‘M79’ and ‘One (Blake’s Got A New Face)’, even with the latter’s bizarre shout out aloud chorus. Then there’s the dreamy pop of ‘The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance‘, the naïve and understated ‘Oxford Comma’ and a romantic ‘Walcott’ to end proceedings. Oh, if only every band could bring the sunshine.