Vampire Weekend are in the midst of their UK and European Father of the Bride Tour, in support of their latest album, their first in six years.
Father of the Bride is arguably the group's best work to date, drawing from a wide-range of influences (indie-pop, African, country-folk) and highlighting worldwide issues ranging from the personal to the universal (crumbling relationships, political unrest). You can check out our album review here!
The band's UK and European leg kicked off November 7 at Edinburgh Usher Hall in Edinburgh, and is expected to run through November 26 at Lisbon Coliseum in Lisbon.
Vampire Weekend are a Setlist.fm DREAM because they switch things up every night and always keep fans on their toes. They're known to throw in a major deep cut or two, and always take song requests from the audience.
Take a look at the highlights from the latest leg of their Father of the Bride Tour (so far)!
November 7 – Edinburgh, Scotland
Fans were treated to a special show at Usher Hall on the UK tour's opening night. In addition to their 21-song main set, the band played five songs for an encore – two of those by request!
Vampire Weekend opened up with "White Sky" off 2010's Contra, which they've only opened with 6 times so far on this tour. They kept the Contra momentum going throughout the night, also playing "Holiday," "Cousins" and "California English."
They also played "Ottoman," which was released in 2008 for the romcom Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, as well as a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm Goin' Down" with elements of Sharkira's "Waka Waka" sprinkled in.
Their 5-song encore consisted of songs "Mansard Roof," "Walcott" (requested by a girl wearing a homemade "8 Minute Edinburgh" t-shirt), "Hannah Hunt" (requested by a man in a snake shirt, who the band said was going "hard all night"), "Worship You" and "Ya Hey."
November 9 – Manchester, England
Fans at the O2 Victoria Warehouse were treated to some deep cuts!
Included in the setlist were songs "Jonathan Low" – which has only been played live 8 times since the band wrote it for "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" in 2010 – and "Hudson" – which has only been performed 5 times since it was released on 2013's Modern Vampires of the City.
Other highlights included a jam sesh during "Sunflower," and fan-favorites "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," "Unbelievers" and "A-Punk."
Vampire Weekend's encore consisted of songs "How Long?," "Oxford Comma" (requested by a fan blowing kisses), "White Sky" (requested for a second time), "Hudson" (requested by a young girl in a yellow poncho), "Worship You" and "Ya Hey."
November 14 – London, England
The band's show at Alexandra Palace was a blast from the past.
They played "Mansard Roof," "Boston (Ladies of Cambridge)," "One (Blake's Got a New Face)" and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" from their 2008 self-titled debut, as well as "Finger Back" and "Step" from Modern Vampires of the City.
They played hits "Harmony Hall" and "M79," and also played "Rich Man" and "Flower Moon" towards the end of their main set, which have only been played 19 and 23 times, respectively.
Their encore kicked off with "Big Blue" off the new album, before they performed requests "Campus" (by a person with 6 show signs), "Run" (by someone on their phone) and "Giant" (by someone wearing two t-shirts). They closed out the night with "Walcott."
The band has a handful of shows left for their European run, but don't worry – they're coming back in 2020! Head to Vampire Weekend's website for a full list of upcoming dates, and see their remaining 2019 European dates below.
Vampire Weekend's 2019 European Father of the Bride tour dates:
11/16 – Paris, France @ Le Zenith
11/18 – Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
11/19 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live
11/21 – Cologne, Germany @ Carlswerk Victoria
11/22 – Lausanne, Switzerland @ Les Docks
11/24 – Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz
11/25 – Madrid, Spain @ La Riviera
11/26 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Lisbon Coliseum