Real Estate at Music Hall of Williamsburg (December 18, 2014)

I saw Real Estate a lot this year. They toured almost all year in support of Atlas, which included a warm up show early in the year at Baby’s All Right, as well as performances near the record’s release at Music Hall of Williamsburg and Webster Hall. Then there was their biggest headlining show to date at Terminal 5, which was only a few months ago. I figured that would be the last time we would we see them this year, but then Converse Rubber Tracks announced that Real Estate would be playing one of their free shows at MHOW on December 18.

New York four-piece Shorts opened up the show with a highly enjoyable set of “bratty pop” (as described on their facebook page). They were appropriate pairs for Real Estate, warming us up with delightfully played indie rock. You can head to their bandcamp page to check out their Berlin 1971 EP, which they released earlier in the year via our friends at Aloe Music.

By now, Real Estate need to introduction. But they got one anyone, and from none other that SNL’s Kyle Mooney. He served as a comedic hype man of shorts, comically introducing the band. If that doesn’t tell you how far that the Ridgewood, New Jersey band have come, then what will?

The sweet familiar opening of “Had To Hear” started things off, and the fantastic single “Talking Backwards” would follow soon after. But in between all that they turned back the clocks to “Green River,” an old favorite from their debut. Although most of the night would be tracks from Atlas and 2012’s Days, they still tipped their cap to their roots, still finding room for “Fake Blues” and “Snow Days.”

Real Estate always deliver tight and clean performances, but never before have they seemed so locked in with the crowd, who were cheering at every moment that they weren’t singing along. Real Estate have found their audience, and are running away with it. They had yet another fantastic year. I’m excited to see everything that follows.

Real Estate Setlist:

1. Had To Hear
2. Green River
3. Talking Backwards
4. How Might I Live
5. Crime
6. Younger Than Yesterday
7. In My Car
8. Easy
9. Kinder Blumen
10. Fake Blues
11. Horizon
12. All The Same
13. It’s Real
14. Snow Days

Encore:

15. April’s Song
16. The Bend

Shorts: