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Vampire Weekend Has No. 1 Album in the U.S. — But in Neighborhood Bars, Not So Much

By Serena Solomon | January 26, 2010 7:32am | Updated on January 26, 2010 1:57pm

By Serena Solomon

DNA Reporter/Producer

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS - Sometimes it can be hard to find a little love in your own neighborhood, even if you're a world famous rock band.

Vampire Weekend may have the No. 1 album in the U.S. with their second release, "Contra," but they're getting little airtime in the bars that surround Columbia University, the band's alma mater.

DNAinfo visited some local watering holes in Morningside Heights and discovered that if you want to hear "Cousins," you better bring your iPod.

A manager at the Pour House on 109th Street and Amsterdam Avenue had not heard of the band. A bartender at Suite, a block away, shrugged his shoulders. Ditto for Dive 106 and 1020, both on Amsterdam and less then a mile from the university.

Asif Mirza, manager at Haakon's Hall, directly across from Columbia on W. 118th Street, was eager to hear about this mysterious band, whose members could well have been one of his regular student patrons.

"I promise to get them in the mix," said Mirza. He said the bar and restaurant is normally filled with classic songs from the 80's and 90's, with the late-night, younger crowd drinking to hip-hop.

The Lions Head Tavern on 109th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, however, showed their support for the local chart toppers.

"They get a lot of play on the jukebox," said the 28-year-old bartender, Brian Felicetta. "It's probably the only reason I have heard of them."

Felicetta said he did sense some pride from Columbia student patrons when a Vampire Weekend song plays. Upon inspection of the jukebox, however, none of the band's songs were on its most-played list. Those spots where reserved for mostly hip-hop artists, like fellow New Yorker, Jay-Z.

The band formed and buzz about them started to grow while all four members — frontman Ezra Koenig, guitarist Rostam Batmanglij, bassist Chris Baio and drummer Chris Tomson — were still in school a few years ago. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2008.

Despite their limited play uptown, the Columbia exports just performed three sold-out shows in the city and, according to their MySpace page, are heading to more sold out gigs in the U.K.

At O'Connell's (formerly Cannon's) on Broadway and W. 109th Street, neither bartender nor drinkers had heard a Vampire Weekend song.

One music-savvy 54-year-old, Armardo Lopez, said he had read a review of the band and was eager to hear them. With a dollar bill in the jukebox, Lopez had his first taste of Vampire Weekend.

"It's nice," he said, bopping his head to the song, "Cousins." "It does have some punk, but it's more rock — a bit of gypsy, even."