On Friday night Real Estate played their first NYC show since the release of their new album, Atlas. You got the sense that this would be the last time you would be able to catch them at an intimate venue such as Music Hall of Williamsburg. This looks to be true as they have already booked a show at the much larger Terminal 5 coming up this October.
Austin, Texas group Pure X opened up the show, fresh off the release of new album Angel (out via Fat Possum). It was my first time seeing them live, and their performance was very impressive. Every song was as calm and cool as the next, perfectly suited for soundtracking a nice long road trip. Just based off their performance I can tell that Angel is going to be one of my favorite albums this year. Be sure to check it out.
Last year I saw Real Estate play a few warm-up shows during the summer and winter that acted as a preview to the songs that would make up Atlas. The songs sounded good but they definitely could have use a bit of polishing up. Well here we are, many months later, and that’s exactly what they did. All the songs off Atlas sounded crisp and clear, with “Had To Hear” and “Past Lives” opening to show setting to prove that point.
They effortlessly threw in tracks from their growing discography which included “It’s Real”, “Fake Blues”, “Out Of Tune”, and “Beach Comber.” They also played “Talking Backwards” b-side “Beneath The Dunes.” The band sounded as good as I’ve ever heard them, fully fleshed out and confident. I’ve seen them quite a few times now, but I’m positive that this performance was their best yet. A lot of this has to do with the permanent addition of drummer Jackson Pollis and keyboardist Matt Kallman who give the band a well-rounded group of players.
Real Estate have really come into their own as a band over these years. I can only see them getting better and better, if that’s even possible.
Below you’ll find the setlist, as well as some photos from both Real Estate & Pure X.
Setlist:
1. Had To Hear
2. Past Lives
3. Fake Blues
4. Green Aisles
5. Horizon
6. Talking Backwards
7. Beneath The Dunes
8. Primitive
9. It’s Real
10. Crime
11. How Might I Live
12. Municipality
13. Out Of Tune
14. The Bend
15. All The Same
Encore:
16. Atlantic City
17. Beach Comber
Real Estate:
Pure X:
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