Set to release their highly anticipated third studio album next month, Vampire Weekend have announced that they’re teaming up with renowned actor Steve Buscemi for a live concert stream on April 28th.
In partnership with YouTube, VEVO and American Express, the event will be directed by fellow New Yorker, the bug-eyed Buscemi, famous for his roles in Boardwalk Empire and Reservoir Dogs – to name just a few – and stream live on the last night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
The award-winning actor is looking forward to the pairing saying, “I am really excited to collaborate with Vampire Weekend to bring their vision to life for this live streaming event.”
The NYC indie rockers are equally as excited, with frontman Ezra Koenig saying, “We are thrilled to be working with Steve Buscemi, a wonderful actor, an NYC legend and a great director. We couldn’t have picked a better guy to man the cameras for our April 28th event.”
The event will be the 12th instalment of ‘American Express Unstaged’, a series of live concert streams that has already produced a number of creative collaborations between artists and directors. Previous duos include The Killers and Werner Herzog, Kenny Chesney and Jonathan Demme, and Jack White and Gary Oldman. “We are thrilled to be working with Steve Buscemi, a wonderful actor, an NYC legend and a great director. We couldn’t have picked a better guy…” – Ezra Koenig, Vampire Weekend
The odd pairing have also been getting to know each other ahead of the April 28th event. As reported by The AV Club, they were spotted joining in the festivities of the Easter Bonnet parade in their native New York City. Together they marched in the parade and handed out Easter eggs, with Buscemi even treating the crowd to a strange impromptu performance of the bands new single ‘Diane Young’.
All this comes ahead of the release of the band’s new album, Modern Vampires Of The City which is expected to be released in Australia on May 10th. Fans have already been treated to not one, but two new tracks from the upcoming record. The hyperactive, drum-driven ‘Diane Young’ and the subdued but sassy ‘Step’ – each regarded as a step away from the New Yorkers’ previous work, with the quartet exploring more electronic impulses for their third and latest LP.
As for their Buscemi directed event, the ‘American Express Unstaged’ performances hope to bring “the in-concert and at-home viewing experiences to new heights,” according to a press release.
The series “showcases some of the music industry’s most breakthrough artists playing at landmark venues across the country, while tapping some of today’s most influential filmmakers to direct the live streams and using digital and social media to connect the online audience to the live shows in unexpected ways.”
The unexpected ways that the event will hope to connect with viewers will include a series of surprise videos leading up to the event. Fans will also be able to choose their own viewing experience during the concert itself. There’ll be options for viewers to flick between director Buscemi’s main stream and alternate vantage points throughout the show.
Fans wanting to catch the unique performance will need to head to www.amexunstaged.com on April 28th, with the streams also available on YouTube’s mobile website, VEVO’s iPhone and iPad app and the American Express Channel. You can view a teaser for the Steve Buscemi directed stream in the banner above.
