I'm not exactly sure when it happened. For all I know, it's always been true but New Jersey's own, Real Estate have become one of the best live bands in indie-rock today. I knew their latest LP, Days was really great but to hear the band perform live was one of the most impressive sets I've seen in a long time. Last night at the Mohawk, Real Estate proved that they have serious musical-chops. Their sound may be chill but it takes some serious precision. They way the guitar lines inter-weave and the rhythm is always so perfectly in the pocket takes skill. If some shitty garage band tried to cover a song like, Easy it could turn into a complete mess in a hurry. This was not the case last night. Whoever was running the soundboard deserves a rock 'n roll Emmy because the mix was superb. The vocals were audible without being too far up front. The bass was present without being overwhelming and the crack of the snare drum was pure perfection.
Real Estate - Out of Tune video via YouTube
Real Estate played a blend of older songs with most of the new album as well. They sounded well-rehearsed and you could hear that they have been on the road with these songs steadily for several months. The crowd was attentive, even the people talking through the set were MOSTLY talking about the show itself, which is a sign of a good performance. The band did comment on the crowd's lack of movement. I'm not sure if they are used to people doing the pony or what but I, for one, was completely rapt and simply paying attention. One of my favorite moments of the show was the breakdown for their song, Out of Tune which continues to get slower. I noticed that when they play at about one quarter the speed that they usually play, Real Estate starts to sound like Pink Floyd.
Real Estate are still on tour so, if you're reading this from somewhere other than Austin be sure to click that tour link and see them in your nearest metro-region.
