London + Vampire Weekend + Free Tickets

AWESOME!!!

Need I say more? I really don't, but what else are blogs for?

So, on Wednesday of last week, Robbie told me that Vampire Weekend was giving a FREE concert in London at the Somerset house the next day. And about twelve hours later, Kate, Alison, Laura, and I were walking through the slush to the Oxford bus station to spend the day in London, suddenly and blissfully regardless of the books to be read, sources to be sought, and papers to be written before the week was out.

First of all, I can't wait to go back and see more of it. After we emerged from the bus at the Marble Arch station, we got on the subway and headed north to hit up some of the British Museum and get lunch at a pub (which I never want to go back to -- Piece of Advice #1: don't just eat at the first quaint-looking pub you happen upon). By 2:30, we headed off to find the Somerset House, which we discovered after walking almost the whole length of the Strand. (All the people we asked for directions, "Why, yes, just keep walking that way a bit - you can't miss it.")
It's beautiful. We walked all the way round the skating rink and made it to the other side -- right under the balcony which that night would function as a stage. And, let it be known: we were the first ones there. Within ten minutes, there were four more groups of people, and within thirty more it was starting to get crowded. But we had our spots: directly in front of the balcony, backed up against the ice rink: front and center.

The concert was fantastic, charged. Everyone was giddy -- from the hundreds of fans to the band themselves. (Maybe the freezing cold had something to do with it. :)) They opened with "White Sky" and, dude, that Ezra Koenig can do things with his voice...WOAH!!!! They did some of their old ones and some new ones and we all sang along and yelled our support up to their colorful perch. We took pictures and they took pictures and everybody was laughing and singing and ecstatic. The concert had the very same giddy, frenzied energy to it that you can hear in their songs.


Then the sound blew out during "Horchata." Yeah, it was just the saddest thing ever. We all started yelling up at them but they couldn't tell what we were saying and they kept playing through. When it was over and someone told Ezra that the sound had gone out halfway through, he walked up to the mic, ran his fingers through his hair and let out the quirkiest "Well, f***!" I've ever heard. The drummer, Chris Tomson, stood up covering his mouth with his hand and made a gesture saying something like, "You'll have to excuse him - and us" and then immediately grinned and started taking pictures again. Everyone quickly rallied and they played one last song (the most energized version of "Walcott" I've ever jumped up and down to) before they breezed out.

Here's a review Kate found the next day:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20100115_vampire_weekend.shtml

I would just like to point out the part towards the end: "People in the crowd directly beneath were shouting up to them, inviting them to play the rest of the gig on ground level."

That would've been us. :)

The day was rounded off with a stroll guided by Nick through Trafalgar Square, over some bridge to see the Thames, and into The Ship and Shovel to thaw out our frozen toes (a pub I would return to if given the chance).

Now: Back to work! Tomorrow: My first tutorial.