It’s really hard to remember what it was like before Vampire Weekend were mega-famous. My friend Katherine stumbled upon them at a tiny show in NYC last February and fell in love — I didn’t get to see them until last November when they packed a freezing cold warehouse in Lexington, KY. And now I’ve seen them entrance several thousand fans to close out Bonnaroo’s Thursday tent shows.

But that’s not to say that they haven’t earned their fame (a “fact” that’s been debated endlessly over the past six months). They have. Their songs are tight and the band is full of energy. Ezra flitted around the center stage like a ballroom dancer dodging bullets and just really seemed to get more physically expressive with each song. If he’s got this kind of enthusiasm when they’re playing “Bryn” in three years, I’ll be impressed. He also poked a bit of fun at the band’s pop-leanings by saying they’re a jam band who just happen to play two-minute songs shortly before playing a new tune. I
don’t remember if it was “White Sky” or not, but it was nice.

Also, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of yelling out “Blake’s got a new face.”

More photos after the jump…