Vampire Weekend performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on June 15, 2024. Matt Pang/STAFF.

BERKELEY — As the sun dipped behind the columns of the Greek on the first of the band’s two-day stand in the East Bay, Vampire Weekend took to the stage with a finesse that has defined not only its current tour but its ever-evolving career. Known for stellar live performances, the New York band didn’t disappoint, delivering a captivating evening of toe-tapping music.

From the opening of “Hold You Now” to the encore, the band effortlessly commanded the stage. Ezra Koenig’s vocals resonated with clarity and playfulness, backed by bassist Chris Baio, drummer Chris Tomson and four touring musicians. The chemistry among band members was evident, each song a testament to a 17-year history of honing their craft and evolving their sound. About a third of the crowd was probably old enough to remember when Vampire Weekend first arrived. See the band in rare form decades later – Koenig just turned 40, after all – was quite a treat.

The vocalist-guitarist shifted effortlessly between the band’s hits. Near the beginning of the set, he crooned “I Stand Corrected,” looking the part of a Broadway version of a college hype-man. By the time he got to the verbal jumble of “Worship You,” the crowd looked fully bought in.

Vampire Weekend performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on June 15, 2024.

Peppered throughout the set were tracks from the new album, Only God Was Above Us, which translated beautifully to the stage, sounding grander than on the on the tightly produced studio recording.

Songs like “Connect” and “Gen X Cops” were really able to breathe, punctuated by the band’s ability to isolate and draw attention to a single instrumental layer. It’s easy for your mind to wander during the recorded version of “The Surfer,” but live, it was a gorgeously sexy ditty. “Prep School Gangsters” felt like it came out of the oven fully formed and evoked warm nostalgia.

Not all songs landed. Despite a sax solo and an inexplicable dancer on a raised platform at the center of the stage, the band struggled on new tune “Classical,” while on “Symphony,” the arrangement included a lengthy violin part that didn’t feel like it belonged in the song despite its name.

Vampire Weekend performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on June 15, 2024.

As the show drew to a close after crossing two hours of runtime, it became clear that one of Vampire Weekend’s superpowers is its ability to make ambling ballads completely jammable. Koenig and company write some of the catchiest beats in the business, enticing listeners to lose themselves in the music without even needing to go through typical rock band theatrics. This more mature version of the band, five albums in, has fully earned the confidence it displays onstage, replacing the anxious youthful swagger that permeated its earliest music.

It’s with this confidence that it orchestrated wonderful closer “Hope,” gently stripping back the lush instrumentation layer by layer as each member put down his instrument and walked offstage.

The band did an admirable job seamlessly transitioning between old favorites and newer tunes. As a final musical flex, the band came back to take requests from the audience for the encore. But—get this—only covers of other artists were considered.

Mike Gordon performs at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on June 15, 2024.

“Is this the best part of the show or the worst?” Koenig quipped after the band solidly tackled The Talking Heads, The Cure, Bruce Springsteen, Weezer, Led Zeppelin, UB40, Green Day and others. The band then brought down the house with one final song: fan favorite “The Walcott.”

Opener Mike Gordon (Phish) delivered a versatile performance for early arrivers before the sun had set, one that blended intricate bass lines with rich, multilayered compositions that drew from rock, funk and jam band influences. Gordon’s stage presence and chemistry with his band created an engaging set even for those unfamiliar with his solo work.

Follow writer Jane Hu at Instagram.com/plainjane. Follow photographer Matt Pang at Twitter.com/mattpangs.