In their typical fashion, Vampire Weekend has followed up a long stretch of relative silence with an absolute torrent of news this week: a new album, two singles released today and a long tour that will see their return to BMO Pavilion on Aug. 1.
The group was last in Milwaukee in June of 2019 and played an absolute ripper of a set on the Summerfest grounds in support of Father of the Bride. We’ll most likely hear a few selections from that one again, but the focus this time around will be the band’s fifth studio LP, Only God Was Above Us.
The first two tastes of the album were released in full Friday: “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops.” The former is a meandering number featuring echoey vocals from Ezra Koenig and one of the band’s signature piano breaks, while the latter has more pep to it and puts guitar in the foreground. Chris Tomson’s drumming was a particular standout for me on both tracks, which you can find embedded below.
Opening duties for the 19-week tour have fallen to a variety of artists, including Ra Ra Riot, who will kick off the Milwaukee show. There are a variety of presales, including one for Citi cardmembers at 10 a.m. next Tuesday, Feb. 20, and an artist presale at the same time the following day. The general sale starts at 10 a.m. next Friday, Feb. 23. More information on all sales is available at Ticketmaster.
On top of all that, we have a few things cooking at Radio Milwaukee HQ. Our friends at Discourse are in their laboratory to see if they can come up with a concoction in honor of the show, and 88Nine will give away tickets before any of the presales and throughout all next week. Make sure you tune in for more info and so you don’t miss any of your chances to win.
