There are worse ways to launch your new album than playing a show in "the zone of totality" during a solar eclipse.
Performing outdoors at Moody Amphitheatre in Austin, Texas, Vampire Weekend did just that today (Monday), giving four songs from Only God Was Above Us their live debuts and doing six from the album overall.
In addition to playing “Ice Cream Piano,” “Connect,” “Gen-X Cops,” and “Hope” for the first time in front of an audience, they also dragged out the rarity “Jonathan Low,” which had appeared on the soundtrack of -- wait for it -- the movie Twilight: Eclipse. They followed it with "Flower Moon," and then stopped the show to watch the eclipse, which had reached totality.
Shortly after they resumed, they brought out Phoenix singer Thomas Mars for “Tonight,” from Phoenix's Alpha Zulu album. Their recording had featured Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig, butt the two haven't sung live together since recording it. They were then joined by Dave 1 of Chromeo, initially to help Mars sing "Happy Birthday" in French to Koenig, who turned 40 today, and then to sing "Needy Girl" with Ezra.
After another handful of songs, the band debuted a medley that they're calling "Cocaine Cowboys." It's made up of their own “Married In A Gold Rush” followed by covers of Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers Band’s “All The Gold In California,” The Flying Burrito Brothers' “Sin City,” and the Grateful Dead’s “Cumberland Blues.”
They livestreamed the show, which will be available to Veeps All Access members to watch for an entire year. (Stereogum)