Real Estate - Pianos 04.11.09

Etienne totally pulls off the white Wayfarers

Escapism is the continuing theme here at Look at me, I made a blog, as I daydream of a different life, preferably one that includes a tropical vacation and an apartment with built-in closets. Another week has gone by, along with multiple failed attempts to find a new place to call home. As bummed as I may sound, I realized that I was making things worse by not making the time to see some bands. Maybe live music is an addiction for me, but it's one that I don't think I'll ever want to shake. So, for the sake of my well-being, I braved the LES on a Saturday night (aka Douchebag Central) to catch the beach-inspired Real Estate at Pianos with my friend Music for Moodies.

Highly recommended by Chocolate Bobka and featured by Stereogum and My Old Kentucky Blog, Real Estate has been on my list to check out. Hailing from the great New Jersey, Real Estate is a fairly new project of Martin Courtney, Alex Bleeker, Etienne Duguay (Predator Vision), and Matt Mondanile (Ducktails). According to them, they've only been playing together for about a year now, but they could have easily fooled me into thinking that they'd been a band for ages. Either I'd forgotten the potential of live performance, or the members of Real Estate are just really excellent musicians. They played a flawless set and completely blew me away. They breathed warmth and life into their lo-fi recordings, the same songs that didn't necessarily stick so much at first. Honestly, this is a band that is meant to be enjoyed live. While I felt myself getting lost in Real Estate's soothing vocals and infectious guitar riffs, I could almost smell the ocean and feel the cool salt-scented breeze. Like the line in "Beach Comber," vacation's all I want, but the sounds of Real Estate will do for now. Trust me, their transportive music makes up for their unGoogleable band name.

Real Estate plays Cake Shop this Friday and The Shank on Saturday. Be sure to grab their 7" which also comes with an endearingly homemade CD-R. You can order it here or pick it up at one of their shows. Can't wait for the full-length.

Beach Comber - Real Estate | Alternative Link

Old Folks - Real Estate | Alternative Link

Read More...

Summary only...