Vampire Weekend Drummer Chris Tomson Hops On Guitar While Mike Gordon Joins Band In Bend

Vampire Weekend’s tour in support of their new album, Only God Was Above Us, stopped at Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend, Oregon on Wednesday night. Phish bassist Mike Gordon and his solo band are the opening act for this leg of the tour and Gordon once again joined VW during their headlining set.

Gordon returned to the stage around the halfway point of Vampire Weekend’s main set. Wednesday’s sit-in followed Gordon dropping in on Vampire Weekend’s performance on Tuesday night in Burnaby, British Columbia. The audience in Bend saw Gordon accompany the band on “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” from their 2008 self-titled debut album.

Frontman Ezra Koenig spoke to the crowd while Gordon assisted the “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” performance. Koenig said it was Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson who gave him the guitar he first used with the band and then invited the drummer to swap instruments.

Tomson promptly turned his drum kit over to Koenig and then showcased his skills on Koenig’s guitar, squaring up with Gordon at the center of the stage.

Later in their set, Vampire Weekend rolled through their “Cocaine Cowboys” medley that fuses together their own “Married in a Gold Rush,” Gatlin Brothers’ “All the Gold In California,” Flying Burrito Brothers’ “Sin City,” Grateful Dead’s “Cumberland Blues” and Phish’s “Possum.”

Vampire Weekend continued the tour's trend of taking impromptu cover song requests from the audience during the encore. Last night saw attempts at Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage,” The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” Santana’s “Smooth,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Vampire Weekend will play a concert tonight at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. The show is the last on the tour with support from Mike Gordon.