Snapshots of Vampire Weekend // The Crossroads // June 2014

A few weekends ago we went to the Vampire Weekend show in KC. It was a great show and the Crossroads was a fun new concert venue for us. 

As soon as the show was announced, we knew we needed to buy tickets... it would sell out fast and would definitely be a great show. We'd had several other shows pass by and sell out, that we were pretty sad to miss... So rather than let that happen again, we decided to go right away, and I am so glad we did.

We have several friends who are really into Vampire Weekend, and it turned out that one of them wanted to go with us! So we went to a concert with a friend, which is really rare and fun! And it turns out that he is super into Vampire Weekend. It worked out really well, and was a good time. 

We got to the venue and found a place to stand. It is a really open outdoor area that is fenced in behind a block in the Crossroads Art District downtown. It has several bars, is connected to the restaurants and is outfitted with port-a-potties ... joy. The ground is sloped which made it easy to watch from many places, and it eventually caught a breeze. The ground is covered in wooden mulch, which is relatively comfy to stand on, but definitely retains the heat from the day after the sun goes down. 

We watched the opening band Cults, which I wasn't familiar with. I was really pleasantly surprised though! I'm excited to look into their music more over the summer. It's pretty rare that I enjoy and opening band so much without knowing their songs. :) 

About 45 minutes later Vampire Weekend came on. They played their current singles and most popular ones from the past albums pretty quickly, but still really held the audience. I was impressed with their ability to move back and forth between such different songs so easily. They covered quite a range and I found it highly entertaining. 

We also tried some of the pizza from Grinder's the shop connected to the venue. It was really good and everything else they had looked and sounded amazing. :) I almost got a Strawberry Daiquiri... but it wasn't quite frozen yet. We'll have to go back sometime for lunch or dinner.

Toward the end of the show they played a song called 'Horchata' which always makes me think of my friend Brittany (from B. Michelle Bake Shop) and her husband Tyler. It was a little bittersweet because they were driving across the country to Boston the next day, and staying permanently. Or at least as permanently as you can when you are in your early 20's. :) But it made me smile. 

The venue was strange in that you didn't exit through the two large gates where you entered, but through the Grinder's restaurant connected to the venue. I felt a little like veal.... but it really didn't take too long to get back to the car. Can I just add that owning a small car is so awesome when it comes to public parking.... you can fit into all of those awkwardly small parking spots, especially when parallel parking is involved, compact car garage spaces and places where the other two cars are parked super poorly ... it's pretty great. 

Now, I want to download some more Vampire Weekend music, and check out some of Cults' stuff too.

What is your favorite Vampire Weekend song? 

Have you ever seen them live?

What is the best concert you've ever been to? Or best venue?

Check out more concerts we've been to under the 'Music' tab, above.

Thank you for Reading!

Alexandra