VAMPIRE WEEKEND @ Bowery Ballroom - 1/29 - 1/30

The kids from Brooklyn are having a short homecoming this week when they swing through lower Manhattan. Although the shows are sold out, there are usually scalpers kicking around the Bowery and of course you can always try Craigslist at the last minute. There has been a good amount of press behind Vampire Weekend for their debut release on XL Recordings and with good cause. It's hard to tell how the public will eventually judge this band, their music is unconventional and yet it is very listenable at the same time. The boys take their music to an interesting level by adding various world instruments and styles such as African drums/percussion and Caribbean sounds. Think about Paul Simon's Graceland if it came out today and was packed full of indie pop goodness.

RIYL: Gogol Bordello, Beirut, The Walkmen