Vampire Weekend and Mumford & Sons

This weekend was one of those times that I will remember for the rest if my life! We got to enjoy live performances by Vampire Weekend and Mumford & Sons. I am so so glad we got our tickets when we did (three months ago) because 60,000 other screaming fans joined us for this sold out festival.

The festival was titled Summer Stampede and the group of bands was called the Gentlemen of the Road. There was one stage and concerts began at 2pm, lasting until 10:30pm. The location: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the site of the 2012 Olympic Games. The whole park is getting renovated to be used for various events. 

Luke and I didn't arrive until about 6pm, as we only cared about two bands. Plus, it was really hot out (80 degrees) and Luke wanted to avoid the bald burn as much as possible! We met our friends Emily and Tyler who live in Stavanger, Norway at the front of the crowd just before Vampire Weekend hopped on stage.

All four of us were really excited to see Vampire Weekend. I don't feel like the band get the hype they deserve... they are a terrific, fun band that you should definitely check out if you haven't already. Great music!! I had bouncy man and annoying girl in front of me so I had no view of the stage. At least I got to see the band play on the TV screens that were set up! Great performance!! The bass guitarist likes to shake his hips - so so funny!!

Mumford & Sons were last to play, after VW. As soon as VW weekend finished, we were being pushed toward the stage whether we liked it or not. We decided that it would not be fun to deal with that the whole show, so we stepped out of the crowd to go to more open space. So glad we did that! We were able to dance, sing, not get our feet stepped on, and most of all, keep calm. Mumford & Sons  were every bit as good as I expected them to be. If you ever get the chance to see Mumford & Sons in concert, you MUST jump on that! You will not regret it.

This first video shows how excited the crowd was... and it stayed that way the whole show!

Video of the finale song:

I have to pinch myself sometimes because it feel like I'm dreaming. We are so blessed to be given the chance to experience times like this. Expat life isn't all rainbows and butterflies, but times like these even it all out. 

RANDOM FACT:

Vampire Weekend formed in New York City in 2006. They were the first band to ever be on the cover of Spin magazine before their debut album was released.