At 8:00 p.m. on Monday, June 2, fans poured into Crossroads, one of the largest outdoor music venues in downtown Kansas City, for the third and final night of Buzz Under the Stars. The lineup consisted of the Cults followed by the headliner band, Vampire Weekend, who won the Grammy for best Alternative Rock album of 2014. The indie rock band, Vampire Weekend, started in 2006 at Columbia University in New York, and they originally played at venues around the university. They have since transitioned into playing prestigious music festivals such as Bonnaroo in Tennessee, and Reading in Manchester.

         The show Vampire Weekend played at Crossroads was packed with energy, talent and people. Opening and mellowing out the night was the Cults, an indie pop band also from New York City. Doors, or in Crossroads’ case, gates, opened at 8:00 p.m., and Vampire Weekend did not start playing until close to 9:30. The atmosphere was extremely mellow leading up to the main event, which abruptly changed as soon as the band was sighted walking onto the stage.

         With lights flashing and speakers blaring, Vampire Weekend began their 90-minute set with “Diane Young”, a high-energy song from their newest album, “Modern Vampires of the City”. The song was a great choice as it immediately got the crowd involved with its catchy and playful chorus. The band kept its foot on the gas pedal throughout the show playing hits such as “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “Unbelievers”, “A-Punk” and “Oxford Comma”. Ezra Koenig, the band’s lead singer, was in pristine condition during the show, hitting each falsetto note perfectly and never losing intensity.

         Vampire Weekend is a very talented four piece that sounds amazing live and is very entertaining to watch; however, based on this performance, it is clear to me that interacting with the crowd is something which Vampire Weekend most definitely needs to improve. Many times the band would go into song after song without saying a word to the crowd. The show was very impressive in terms of the ability of the band and the musicians in it, however it did feel a bit impersonal. If you enjoy indie rock I would definitely recommend Vampire Weekend as a band to see. Vampire Weekend fans might also enjoy the American Authors concert that will be at Starlight Theatre on Friday, Aug. 1.