In late October of last year, Vampire Weekend performed two memorable sold-out shows — an evening gig, followed the very next day by a matinee performance — at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City.
These shows included many longtime Vampire Weekend fan favorites, of course, such as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” “A-Punk” and “Oxford Comma.”
Yet, the NYC-born indie-pop act — led by vocalist-lyricist-guitarist Ezra Koenig — also performed a wonderful assortment of cover songs during those two shows. The list includes a number of Big Apple-appropriate tunes, such as the easily recongizable “Seinfeld Theme,” the Frank Sinatra favorite “Theme From New York, New York,” the Ramones’ blistering “Blitzkrieg Bop” and Billy Joel’s classic “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” the latter of which was reportedly performed with a candlelit table and waiter in a tux on the Garden stage.
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Other cuts to make the Vampire Weekend setlist were The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House,” The Surfaris’ “Wipe Out,” Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” and Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town.”
That must have been some party at the Garden, right? Well, now fans from other parts of the country (as well as elsewhere) can experience it as well thanks to “Weekend at the Garden,” a limited edition double-LP recorded during that epic NYC stand.
The offering, which includes portions of the two performances rather than the complete shows, is part of the band’s Frog on the Bass Drum vinyl series. The vinyl sets start at $40, frogonthebassdrum.com.