Watch Ezra Koenig Play A Solo-Piano Vampire Weekend Medley On Fallon
Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig hasn’t really been participating in the singer-songwriter quarantine Olympics. We haven’t seen Koenig, for instance, posting a bunch of videos of acoustic cover songs on Instagram. But last night, Koenig was the musical guest on Jimmy Fallon’s remotely-recorded version of The Tonight Show. Sending in video from what looks like a home studio, Koenig knocked out a solo-piano medley of three of the songs from Vampire Weekend’s Father Of The Bride — an album that, as of this past weekend, is one year old.
Sitting at a piano, Koenig strung together pieces of the VW songs “Flower Moon,” “Stranger,” and “Big Blue.” We see the performance from a few different angles, so maybe Koenig had to set a bunch of cameras up around his own room. The clip works as a nice showcase for Koenig’s piano skills and for how well these songs hold up without the lush, elaborate arrangements that Vampire Weekend gave them.
Vampire Weekend wrapped up the touring and promotional-circuit activities behind Father Of The Bride months ago. (They were set to headline a bunch of festivals this summer, but that obviously won’t happen.) During those tours, Vampire Weekend beefed up their lineup and gave their songs expansive, almost orchestral readings. But playing them on piano by himself, Koenig reminds us just how well-written the songs themselves are. Father Of The Bride! Good album! Watch the performance below.
Father Of The Bride is out now on Spring Snow/Columbia.