Vampire Weekend turns Austin fans into creatures of the night at total solar eclipse concert

Despite the name, it’s always been easier to picture the members of Vampire Weekend guzzling clam chowder than blood. On Monday, though, our favorite Ivy League rock stars finally found meaningful communion with their undead namesakes. They came to Austin, put an army of the living under their thrall and cheered as the sun went black.

Out-of-towners and townies alike staked spots around the city to watch the total solar eclipse that afternoon. Some marked the moment with their favorite alt-rock stars at Moody Amphitheater in Waterloo Park. 

When first announced, the concert felt a bit random. The band is more associated with preppy northeastern idiosyncrasy than the sound of Texas skies. Nevermind all that. Vampire Weekend took a once-in-a-lifetime moment on the shores of Waller Creek and made mystic music, happy to be the opening act at their own show. 

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Consider the components of the vamps’ spell. The symbols of the lunar phases adorned the stage backdrop. It was frontman Ezra Koenig’s birthday. On one of their drums, the moon smiled; on the other, a wary sun shot a sideways glance. 

A little after noon, a de rigueur Bonnie Tyler needle drop heralded the band members. All dressed in black or white, except Koenig, who met the stifling humidity and vexingly cloudy skies with a Blind Melon T-shirt. (“No Rain,” get it?)

The live debut of two tracks from new album “Only God Was Above Us” kicked things off. “Ice Cream Piano” rollicked with classic Vampy Weeks rhythm. Fans wearing galaxy-pattern shirts bopped to “Classical.” Koenig sang of bleak sunrises, and his impish crooning hadn’t weakened a bit over the years. If anything, his voice rode the bubbling percussion and sultry keys with warmer blood than the early days.

The crowd-pleasers really brought the birthday boy to life. His adorable shoulder shakes on “Unbelievers” punctuated more celestial lyrics: “See the sun go down/ It's going on down and the night is deep/ Want a little light/ But who's gonna save a little light for me?” Listen, if there’s an eclipse, you’re gonna hear what you need to hear.

Koenig’s falsetto shot straight to the sky on “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.” People’s eyes, cowering behind commemorative Vampire Weekend eclipse glasses, traced the arc of his voice right up to the clouds. Practice glances, the first of many. 

Wind started to cut the muck in the air. Koenig gesticulated with purpose while performing, with two fingers held up like a Boy Scout. Or, as it was easy to think while he sang “White Sky” with a glowing ring at his back, like Benedict Cumberbatch opening a dimensional portal in “Doctor Strange.”

See? Mystical.

The energy at the concert, on stage and off, seemed to grow more frantic as wispy gray stuff rolled away overhead. “How’s the sun looking?” Koenig asked the crowd after “Sunflower,” quickly chiding: “With glasses only.” Answer: like a Hostess CupCake with a big bite taken out. 

Not for long. The band played “Capricorn,” and suddenly the sky held the remains of a pancake that the whole table shared at brunch. 

The free love jangle of “This Life” reminded everyone that “pain is as natural as the rain” — hopefully neither’s services would be required Monday. 

New song “Gen-X Cops” squealed and careened on its steely strings, a fresh sound for the band. On the roof level of the amphitheater, two police officers peered up at the sky through their special glasses. 

Bassist Chris Baio shook his tail as the band pummeled “Diane Young.” Horn trills drilled through a frenetic “Cousins,” and suddenly you could see an orange peel through your glasses. The band treated everyone to a rarity: “Jonathan Low” from the soundtrack to “Twilight: Eclipse.” If not then, when? “Shoutout to Robert Pattinson and the whole gang,” Koenig said.

The invocation of Edward Cullen shifted the celestial bodies — a much more exciting thought than the boring truth of a well-scheduled setlist. From the darkened stage, a funky miasma of guitar, cymbals and soprano saxophone plunged the venue into a more feral place. The orange peel above had dieted its way to a fingernail clipping. Suspense built. Perhaps, even, unease. Koening’s elfin demeanor turned to trickster glee.

“Curse the night/ If the sun don't make things right,” he sang on “Flower Moon.” A clattering klatch of shakers and discordant guitar broke into a jazzy reverie. 

And then, it all stopped. Totality knocked. Let the experience be “beautiful, restorative, mystical,” Koenig urged. The band left the stage. 

Soon, the office lights from nearby buildings shone brighter than anything else. Everybody made two pivots — first away from the stage, then upward. A few people squeaked. More shushed their neighbors. For a few surreal moments, the shadows stole all the sound. Still, clouds covered the big show.

People started howling. Vampirism? Out. Lycanthropy? In.

One eager soul shouted: “Moon!”

For a few seconds, the blanket of cotton above spun out into threads. Just long enough. The eclipse — black hole, white glow — took center stage. The crowd went wild.

But the sky was on a dimmer switch. God’s house lights came up. Vampire Weekend returned. Koenig clutched his own eclipse glasses.

“Talk about a buzzer beater,” he cracked, adding, “That’s the main event — nature, reality, the universe.”

The rest of the concert felt like one long cigarette drag with a sheet clutched to your chest. Remarkable, really, because the band brought out some special guests. First, Thomas Mars of Phoenix joined Koenig to perform their fabulous collab, “Tonight.” Koenig sang, “You need a little splendor,” and as the previous ten minutes had proved, so true bestie.

Another Francophone, Dave 1 of Montreal’s Chromeo, took the stage next to perform “Needy Girl” with the band. Guitar ace/Paramore touring musician/Vampire Weekend ally Brian Robert Jones joined the band for “Harmony Hall.” 

That led into fan faves “Oxford Comma” and “A-Punk.” It seemed like things might wind down. The moon had long since left the building.

But no. The eclipse seemed to inspire literal lunacy in the band. Since 2019’s “Father of the Bride,” Vampire Weekend has embraced their jam band dreams. They gave Austin an extended honky-tonk medley dubbed “Cocaine Cowboys.” 

“It’s a ride,” Koenig warned.

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Truly, the frontman became Cowboy Koenig on that stage. (Or he entered his “Joanne” era — choose your diva.) Lyrics from the song “Married in a Gold Rush” took up residency at the Broken Spoke, full of newfound twang and boot-scootin’. Ghosts who flew in express from Graceland possessed Koenig and Baio’s legs. The band switched pardners, and “All the Gold in California” by Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers Band cut in. 

“Here at Vampire Weekend, we’re not just singing about gold — we’re giving it away,” Koenig said. The crew brought out a giant eclipse-themed cornhole board. One of the band’s stage techs tossed golden bean bags at the hole. He sank a shot. 

As a reward, venue staff came down the aisles and flung gold-wrapped chocolate bars into the audience. One man a few rows back from the stage promptly unwrapped his catch and broke off its tiles like communion wafers, sharing them with his neighbors. An eclipse miracle.

Before sending everyone home with “Walcott,” Koenig, Austin’s newest high priest of the astral realm, gave a benediction.

“Thank you,” he said, “to the sun and the moon.”

Eric Webb is an award-winning culture writer based in Austin. Find him atwww.ericwebb.me.

After the eclipse, we'll have posters and framed prints from Statesman photojournalists available at usatodaystore.com.

Setlist for Vampire Weekend at Moody Amphitheater on April 8, 2024

• “Ice Cream Piano”
• “Classical”
• “Unbelievers”
• “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”
• “Holiday”
• “White Sky”
• “Connect”
• “Sunflower”
• “Capricorn”
• “This Life”
• “Gen-X Cops”
• “Diane Young”
• “Cousins”
• “Jonathan Low”
• “Flower Moon”

Break for total eclipse

• “Hope”
• “Tonight” (Phoenix song with guest Thomas Mars)
• “Needy Girl” (Chromeo song with guest Dave 1)
• “Harmony Hall”
• “Oxford Comma”
• “A-Punk”
• “Cocaine Cowboys” (country Western medley of “Married in a Gold Rush” by Vampire Weekend, “All the Gold in California” by Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers Band and more)
• “Walcott”