Show of the weekend? Real Estate at St. James Church

Got an email yesterday from the folks at Less Artists More Condos announcing a pretty nice show this friday at in Chinatown at St. James Church (directions).

The 5 band lineup will kick off at 8, with Total Slacker, Beach Fossils, Tony Castle, the Beets, and Real Estate going all night. The cost is 10 bucks, but that includes an open bar from 8 to 9, so I guess you can make that worth it. It'll probably be the last chance to catch Real Estate before a European tour. Check it.

mp3 Real Estate Green River

Real Estate: Real Estate (LP)

1)This is a band that I have talked about already, seen live and generally liked.
2)I am not sure if I have ever done a negative review on this blog.
3)Here it comes

Real Estate's new LP (Nov. 17th on Woodsist)has nothing to say. In fact, the lyrics and the larger band take away from the band's real strength, which is Mondanile's ear for melody. The whole project is much more rewarding in its incarnation as Mondanile's other band, Ducktails. There, guitars are free to wander, lyrics are generally nowhere to be found, and the songs aren't forced into pop formulas.

All that being said, these guys are talented and are giving it their best, so you could do far worse with your money than buying their mediocre LP at Insound.

mp3 Real Estate Fake Blues (So much potential with that guitar sound!)

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

"Stuff" to do this weekend

Unfortunately I can't make it to this showcase that has many awesome bands including Real Estate and Duck Tails. It also has Andrew Cedermark who went to the same University as me. I didn't know him but holla anyway.

Info:
Underwater People's Showcase
Saturday, August 22, 4 PM, $5 (WORTH IT) @Market Hotel (1142 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn)

Total weekend highlight-guaranteed

mp3: Real Estate Green River