NYC Battle of the Bands

The first of many tough choices. Friday at 2:30 pm, Jakob Dylan and the Gold Mountain Rebels take the AT&T stage, while newcomers Vampire Weekend take the AMD stage.

How do you choose between the “whitest band” in America (as chosen by the website Stuff White People Like), and the son of American poet laureate Bob Dylan who has just released his most mature album to date?

As much as Jakob Dylan’s Seeing Things is an excellent, understated (read: acoustic) album, Vampire Weekend’s debut remains infectious, and could be more thoroughly enjoyed in a festival setting, especially in the middle of a potentially hot day. Frankly, I thought I’d be sick of the single “A-Punk” by now, and it’s hard to believe anyone will care about Vampire Weekend at next year’s festival, but for the time being…