vampweek.jpgNEUMO’S, March 26, 2008—You can’t ask for a better opening act than Portland duo YACHT. Jonah Bechtolt (formerly of the Blow) and his girlfriend Claire Evans brought a whopping dose of sheer energy to Neumo’s Wednesday night, flailing about the stage (and on top of speakers, and in the crowd) with frenzied dance moves—think David Byrne-rivaling weirdness, but sweatier, sexier and higher energy. Backed by beats worthy of Beck, Bechtolt and Evans grinded against each other, windmilled their arms, and held their microphones aloft, tapping out the beat. Despite the duo’s hyperactive stage antics and some major audience ass-kissing—”Thank you so fucking much!” and “You’re all very attractive people!” were constant refrains—YACHT wasn’t able to get the stodgy crowd to do much more than bob along (though there was one moment when they obliged Bechtolt with a wave of jazz hands).

The crowd was there to see Vampire Weekend, of course—this show sold out over a month-and-a-half ago. The four unassuming prepsters took the stage to riotous applause, to which they responded with modest casualness: “Hey, Seattle. We’re Vampire Weekend and we’re excited to be here,” said lead vocalist Ezra Koenig. “It’s a very kind city.” Runaway success doesn’t seem to have gone to these guys’ heads; they came off as friendly, polite and a touch overwhelmed.

Vampire Weekend started things off with crowd-pleaser “Mansard Roof,” the lead track from its debut self-titled full-length. Despite the best efforts of Charles Mudede in this week’s issue of the Stranger, no one seemed conscious of the postcolonial cultural appropriation that he finds operating in Vampire Weekend’s “dated form of Afro pop.” They were too busy enjoying the infectious, utterly charming pop songs, singing and clapping along, and cheering when they recognized a favorite song—which was pretty much every song. Koenig and crew—Chris Tomson on drums, Chris Baio on bass and Rostam Batmanglij on keyboards (no strings, sadly)—made their way through a 14 song set with minimal interruption. After imploring the audience to dance to “A-Punk,” Koenig immediately qualified his request, saying, “There’s also the strong silent type who doesn’t dance, and I respect that.” Bashful, crowd-pleasing banter, or a sly dig at dance-challenged Seattleites? You decide. The crowd certainly got into it for “One (Blake’s Got a New Face).” “Do you remember the thing we did last time we were here?” Koenig asked. “It was kind of a positive, out in the woods, trust fall kind of thing.” At his behest, the crowd readily echoed back the song’s chorus (”Blaaaake’s got a new face!”).

Vampire Weekend bolstered its set with a couple songs not found on the album. “We felt it was important to try out new songs in cities that we felt had supported us,” Koenig said before they played a new song, apparently named “White Sky” (watch it on YouTube). They also played “Little Giant,” which has been around for a little longer than “White Sky.” “We played this one at the Crocodile Café [in September 2007],” said Koenig. “I feel like we kind of fucked it up last time” (watch it on YouTube).

The night ended with an encore performance of “Walcott,” which Koenig prefaced with a half-apology for the brevity of the set: “This is the most songs we’ve played at a show … we’re working on some jazz standards and some Tom Petty covers, but until then we only have our songs.”

The set list:

1. Mansard Roof

2. I Stand Corrected

3. M79

4. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

5. Bryn

6. Boston

7. A-Punk

8. The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance

9. One (Blake’s Got a New Face)

10. White Sky (?)–new song

11. Little Giant

12. Campus

13. Oxford Comma

14. Walcott

For more on YACHT, check out their frequently updated, expansive website. For more on Vampire Weekend, see their less obsessive but still informative website.

PHOTO: Vampire Weekend, by Esther White