Vampire Weekend Pay Tribute to John Hughes at Lollapalooza

Posted on Aug 10th 2009 10:10AM by Garin Pirnia
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On day three of Lollapalooza, the temperature decided to skyrocket close to the 100 degree mark, but that didn't stop neo-Afrobeatists Vampire Weekend from bringing the fun. Lead singer Ezra Koenig wore bright yellow shorts and yelped through a sunny pop song that may or may not have been a new one. Right before they played 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,' Koenig took a moment to dedicate the song to the late and great John Hughes. He explained how important Hughes' films were for the city of Chicago, especially its suburbs.

There wasn't a cover of Simple Minds' 'Don't You (Forget About Me),' but the kind acknowledgment sufficed. For the rest of their set, Vampire Weekend stuck to songs from their debut record including 'Mansard Roof,' 'Oxford Comma' and 'Campus.' As the dense crowd danced along, Koenig joked about someone's blow-up doll popping before reaching the call and response part of the set, encouraging the audience to find some energy and scream along. He succeeded in whipping the entire crowd into a frenzy on fast-paced closer 'Wolcott.'