February 22, 2008 0:46

Vampire Weekend gig interrupted by fire alarm

It's a Shockwaves NME Awards Show of two halves

Photo Gallery: Vampire Weekend
Photo: Guy Eppel

Vampire Weekend played an interrupted Shockwaves NME Awards Show in London tonight (February 21).

The band's gig at ULU was split into two after the venue's fire alarm sounded midway through 'The Kids Don't Stand A Chance', forcing the Brooklyn group and the audience alike onto the streets.

The show was watched by among others Damon Albarn, and initially a falsehood spread among the crowd that the Blur frontman was responsible for the false alarm despite the fact that a prior commitment had forced him to leave the venue some ten minutes earlier.

When Vampire Weekend and the crowd were eventually let back into the venue, a diminished audience were treated to some new material a cover of Tom Petty's 'American Girl' plus the second half of 'The Kids Don't Stand A Chance'.

"I don't know what happened but it ain't my fault, but it's more intimate," declared frontman Ezra Koenig before the band debuted a new track so new it is yet to be named.

"We're going to play a new song to make up for going outside," he explained. "This song has no name."

The rest of the band's set, which pushed the venue's curfew, showcased their self-titled debut album, including the likes of 'Oxford Comma' and 'Mansard Roof'.

"To you my ULU nation - we've been through a lot together," Koenig announced as the band concluded the show with 'Walcott'. "We only have literally one song left in the Vampire Weekend canon, but it's rapidly expanding! This is for anyone who has wanted to leave... a cape!"

Vampire Weekend played:

'Mansard Roof'
'I Stand Corrected'
'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa'
'Bryn'
'Boston'
'M79'
'A-Punk'
'One (Blake's Got A New Face)'
'The Kids Don't Stand A Chance'
'American Girl'/ 'The Kids Don't Stand A Chance'
Untitled song
'Campus'
'Oxford Comma'
'Walcott'

The Shockwaves NME Awards 2008 are coming soon -- and it's time to have your say. Vote now by heading to NME.COM/awardsvote and you could win VIP tickets to the ceremony, which takes place in London on February 28.