Vampire Weekend - “White Sky” (Live on Jimmy Fallon)

6.7 out of 10 stars

While “White Sky” has been floating through YouTube for months now, last night marked the song’s big national debut. And while Ezra Koenig’s vocals were perfect and the whole band seemed to be clicking, the song came nowhere near the original live performance that I saw. Originally, “White Sky” was a wild, rollicking party song, with wild-but-controlled vocals, “heys” from Rostam Batmanglij in the backround, and a clap-heavy, keyboard-driven beat that sounded like Kanye having some fun with his 808 drum machine.

But last night was different. The boys turned the song into a slow, rather dull ditty. It was still sugary-sweet, sure, it used the string section to great effect, and it will sound great on the record as an easy listen on the ears. But it certainly wasn’t the wild, upbeat Vampire Weekend song I was expecting. Actually, while it’s still a very good song, it may just be one of VW’s weakest to date.

This doesn’t mean I don’t have confidence in their next album- as a matter of fact, I have a feeling it will be even better. I just wish Koenig and company had kept this song the way it was to start.

Click on for the song in its ORIGINAL form, as well as a live mp3 from last night
Click here to view the embedded video.

Vampire Weekend - White Sky (Live on Jimmy Fallon) (0)_