Live Review: Real Estate and Girls @ Maxwell's

I mean what was I ever going to write about this show featuring two of my favorite bands?

Real Estate was great. Some of those guys have sort of equine features, but whatever the music is there. The vocals were pushed more toward the front of the mix during the show. I am not sure if this was good or bad because the instrumental sections definitely stand out with that band.

Then...Girls. This was the first show of the "Album" tour, and there were some jitters from both the band or the audience. Would the new guitarist Ryan Lynch know the songs? (not really). Would the sell-out crowd know the words? Would they get it? (yes!) There was a moment when the gaunt Christopher Owens thanked the crowd after playing "Lauren Marie." "Thanks, we were terrified of playing that song." Owens, pale and skinny, wearing a Nosferatu T-shirt looked like he may have had an encounter with a vampire or two over Halloween, but musically was none the worse for wear.

For all the uncertainty of a new band and new tour, the good far outweighed the bad. Everyone at least knew "Lust for Life." The glorious "Hellhole Ratrace" got really heavy and fun at the end, and transitioned straight into super heavyloud "Morning Light." I was disappointed not to hear "Big Bad Mean Motherfucker" and maybe a B-side like "Life in San Francisco" or "Solitude." But there were two new songs; one was called "Heartbreaker." I didn't catch the name of the second one, but it was really well written.

Owens responded to rapturous applause at the end by strumming Holy Shit's gem "My Whole Life Story" as an encore. I hope the band continues to get more confident as they tour. Don't miss this one! Rest of the tour can be found at Girls' myspace

mp3 Holy Shit My Whole Life Story
Owens said before he played that this was a song that made him want to write music in the first place. I had forgotten about "Stranded at Two Harbors" (which is sadly totally unavailable) for a bit, but it sounds ultra-relevant now. Gotta hand it to Matt Fishbeck. More discussion in an interview here