All photos by Anthony Bauer
You always want to see a band make it, and do it on their own terms in their own pace. In a short period of time Real Estate have done just that, building up their fanbase with every new release, and keeping their hometown roots in Ridgewood, New Jersey while doing so. With their recent success, they’re now stretching out to much larger audiences in New York City, as well as around the globe. As a resident of Rockland County, Ridgewood is just a stones throw away, making them the closest thing that we have to successful local band around these parts.
It was just last summer where I had seen them play for the first time at a free benefit show in Ridgewood which ended up being rescheduled to play inside a nearby middle school. It was a surreal experience to see Real Estate play a concert in a middle school auditorium in their hometown with all of their friends, family and fans watching on. They had played fan favorites along with unfinished versions of songs that now appear on the very polished and very impressive record Atlas, which they put out earlier this year via Domino Records.
Fast forward a year and they’ve elevated to the status of playing Terminal 5. If you told me last year in that auditorium that they’d be playing Terminal 5 next year, I wouldn’t believe you. I don’t mean that in a harsh way, I mean it in the nicest way possible. Real Estate are one of those bands that are perfectly suited for the smaller, more intimate sized venues. After playing a handful of gigs this past year at smaller venus such as Webster, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Baby’s All Right, and Maxwells, it only made sense that they played T5 next. I can happily report that they did not disappoint and lived up to the hype, and then some. But, more on that later…
First to take the stage was based Regal Degal. The trio of Jamen Whitelock, Josh da Costa and Josiah Wolfson was a perfect choice for the opener of the night for sure. They had a very similar sound to Real Estate, yet completely their own. Echoey & dreamy guitar work, fun baselines and exemplary drum work was all that I could have asked for to set the night off.
Between sets, funny man Tom Schrapling DJ’d the night away and was even giving away free buttons to people who he thought deserved them. If you’re wondering why he was there, well… just watch Real Estates video for “Crime” and the pieces of the puzzle will fall together from there. Schrapling directed the video, making his presence and support at the show a welcome sight.
Next up was fellow Domino label mates, Peaking Lights: the husband & wife duo of Aaron Coyes & Indra Dunis. Jumping right into their set, they played a lot of material off of their forthcoming new album, Cosmic Logic that is out this coming Tuesday, October 7th. Along with the new material which sounded fantastic, they played other fan favorites which got everybody in T5 movin’ and groovin’ to everything they played.
As soon as Peaking Lights wrapped up their set, Schapling got back on the 1’s and 2’s and was back to giving free buttons out. At one point, he even gave away a free patch to one lucky fan. In the middle of his antics he simply mentioned “Real Estate is now in the building” and everybody cheered as if they took the stage. It was great to see that reaction and a few short minutes later, the lights got dim, and away we went…
Real Estate walked on stage in epic fashion, to the tune of Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose.” I mean, what says pure swagger like coming out to “Kiss From a Rose?” Absolutely nothing. It was easily one of the best band entrances I’ve seen in a while.
Knowing that this was Real Estate’s biggest headlining venue/show ever, there were high expectations, and boy did they deliver. The setlist alone was one of the most diverse I’ve seen from them recently, with a brilliant mix of old and new. The band seemed to be in high spirits and great moods, with Alex Bleeker and Matt Mondanile fighting for who had the cooler side of fans in front of them. Bleeker was in typical form though, cracking jokes the whole night, keeping the mood free and light. In the middle of it all, Martin Courtney got as comfortable as possible by going shoe-less almost as soon as they took the stage.
It was a big moment for them all, and they played and performed like they’ve been playing there for years, filling out Terminal 5 in impressive fashion. One of the personal highlights for me was finally getting to hear “Kinder Blueman” played live – it was absolute perfection. They ended the show with an extended and much jammier version of “Primitive,” which was so good it made me wonder why they cut it short on the recorded album version.
See below for the setlist, as well as photos (all which were taken by Anthony Bauer). There will be an additional photo set shared by Will coming shortly.
Real Estate setlist:
1. Green River
2. Had to Hear
3. Fake Blues
4. Horizon
5. Talking Backwords
6. Kinder Bluemen
7. Beneath the Dunes
8. Past Lives
9. Wonder Years
10. The Bend
11. Green Aisles
12. Easy
13. Younger Than Yesterday
14. Its Real
Encore:
15. Chancelor
16. Basement
17. Primitive
Regal Degal:
Peaking Lights:
Real Estate:
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