All Points West Day 1: Yeah Yeah Yeahs + Vampire Weekend

Yeah Yeah Yeahs at APW, 7.31.09

We arrived at Liberty State Park on Friday around 4PM and headed straight to the Blue Comet main stage for the Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Jay-Z trifecta of awesomeness. Upon arrival we were greeted with a torrential downpour, complete with lightning and mud.  It wasn’t an ideal situation, but we laughed through it all and made the best of it.

The last time I saw Vampire Weekend was in 2008 when they played with Chromeo at the 2008 mtvU Woodie Awards, a huge year for the band that helped birth a new wave of music fans via Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (I will admit that I liked that movie).  But alas, we did not have the security of Roseland Ballroom as protection from the undesirable weather conditions on Friday night.

Vampire Weekend at APW, 7.31.09

With lightning flashing across the sky it was unclear whether the show would go on, that was until Vampire Weekend took the stage. The band got soaked but were visibly happy to be there which in turn uplifted everyone’s rain soaked mood.  VW left the stage on a positive note by ultimately taming the storm and delivering the news that Friday ticket holders had a free pass to one of the two remaining dates of the All Points West Festival!

By 7:30 the rain clouds disappeared for Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ set and the park grounds turned into a muddy dancefloor with an enormous glittery eyeball centerpiece as the disco ball. Heads Will Roll kicked off the journey with seamless stops back and forth from rock-rave to intimate and emotional places such as an acoustic sing-along version of Maps.

Other highlights for me included the masterfully subdued Skeletons, Y Control, Date With the Night, Zero, and Honeybear. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that it took me almost 10 years into Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ career to finally see them live but all of that pent up adoration was 100% justified by the band’s incredible performance on opening night. It was a perfect crowd rouse for Jay-Z who followed shortly after. Needless to say, we’re anxiously looking forward to catching the YYYs kill another live set this weekend at Lollapalooza!

MP3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Honeybear or zShare
MP3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps (Slamer Remix) or zShare
MP3: Vampire Weekend – The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance (Miike Snow Remix) or zShare
MP3: Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (The Teenagers Remix) or zShare