October 16, 2009 8:30

Vampire Weekend preview second album at intimate London gig

Ezra Koenig declares UK show is 'like singing for grandma in the living room'

Photo Gallery: Vampire Weekend
Photo: Pieter M Van Hattem

Vampire Weekend gave fans a preview of forthcoming album 'Contra' at an intimate London show last night (October 15).

The band, who were playing King's College in the capital, performed half of the album which is due out on January 11, kicking the gig off with 'White Sky' and 'Holiday' from the new record.

Mixing the set with a selections of crowd favourites, including 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa', 'I Stand Connected' and 'A-Punk', ahead of the latter frontman Ezra Koenig broke a guitar string, but told the sold-out crowd it was a lucky omen.

"That's not happened in a long time, but it's a good sign," he quipped. "I'm reverting to a more primal state. [The new string] sounds different, it sounds better!"

The band then played 'Contra' track 'Run' – "not to be confused with the Ghostface Killah track of the same name," joked the singer – and during their encore they performed 'Horchata', the album's opening song, which was recently released as a free download.

Admitting he was losing his voice before playing the track, Koenig thanked the crowd for their support, declaring that despite his difficulties he was so relaxed that the gig felt "like singing for grandma in the living room, because you're so kind!"

Wrapping the show up with 'Walcott', the singer told the crowd Vampire Weekend are set to return to the UK when the 'Contra' is released at the beginning of 2010.

"We'll be back in January and we'll play you all the new songs," he promised. "We'd like to bid you farewell with a Vampire Weekend tradition, a cautionary tale about a man called 'Walcott'."

Vampire Weekend played:

'White Sky'
'Holiday'
'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa'
'I Stand Corrected'
'M79'
'Cousins'
'One (Blake's Got A New Face)'
'A-Punk'
'Run'
'Campus'
'Oxford Comma'
'Mansard Roof'
'Horchata'
'Walcott'