Pre-Meal for Apr 16, 2025Vampire Matinee

Happy Wednesday!

I fell easily into conversation with a woman I was seated next to at a dinner recently. Like me, she’s a huge music fan; unlike me, she’d been to a bunch of live shows in the past few months, including Vampire Weekend at Madison Square Garden.

I confessed to being impressed by her stamina; I’m at least ten years younger and barely able to stay awake past my kids’ bedtimes.

“Oh, I didn’t have to stay up,” my dinner companion told me. “It was a matinee!”

Intrigued, I Googled around after dinner and discovered that her MSG show wasn’t a one-off; midday shows are something the band does now. Nobody’s sure why, exactly — some of them needing to travel to evening engagements, perhaps? Accommodation for an aging fan base? Ezra Koenig preferring a “chiller vibe?”

It honestly doesn’t matter — the new format is a beautiful expression of hospitality. The matinee set list is different from the one at the evening show, which means die-hard followers can attend both without repeats. And the daytime shows bring in a whole new crowd who might not otherwise be able to experience the band. It’s a win for the venues, a win for the band, and a win for their fans.

Is “that’s the way it’s always been done” the end of the conversation — or the beginning? I find it’s a good question to ask myself periodically, especially when I’m reflexively falling back on the tried-and-true. Is the old way still best, or would some creativity and innovation breathe fresh energy into a tired convention — like the idea that a rock show always happens at night?

Have a good service,

Will