Vampire Weekend returns with a surprise show in LA
On Monday, April 23, Vampire Weekend made a surprise appearance at Los Angeles’ Largo Theater, performing for “Running Late,” the show hosted by Scott Rogowsky (comedian and host of quiz app HQ Trivia), reports Pitchfork.
According to the report, the band performed two songs: 'Unbelievers' (from 2013’s Modern Vampires of the City) and 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' (from their self-titled 2008 debut).
The performance marks the band's first outing without guitarist Rustom Batmanlij, who left the band on amicable terms in 2016. Vampire Weekend have been hard at work on the follow-up to 2013’s 'Modern Vampires Of The City', their first album since Batmanglij left the band, for a while now.
Late last year, frontman Ezra Koenig revealed that the album was inspired in part by country singer/songwriter Kacey Musgraves, and they worked on it with Haim producer Ariel Rechtshaid.
A working title for the album was also revealed. It's to be called 'Mitsubishi Macchiato', and it featured on the Number 7 spot on our list of 'Top 15 upcoming albums of 2018'.
Ever since then, we haven't heard much from the NYC indie rockers, except for the fact that they were scheduled to perform at the UK’s End Of The Road Festival this summer, which was supposed to be their first show in four years apart from a couple of brief performances at Bernie Sanders rallies in 2016.
But all that changed on Monday night when the band suddenly dropped a surprise performance, much to the delight of fans.
According to one Redditor who claims to have been at the show, the band also played a cover version of The Beatles' 'Here Comes The Sun.' They also reportedly had a new live lineup featuring three new members alongside Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson: one on percussion, one on keys, and one on lead guitar, but their names are still unknown.