BROOKLYN Mexican Summer Indie ‘REAL ESTATE’ @ 11:45pm with ‘The Babies’ @ 10:30pm - The shows are coming fast and furious and its time to check off another off the list!
On a cold and snowy night in Toronto, the Babies and Real Estate play Lee's Palace in Toronto, a sold out show that is pretty much a must see as Real Estate have yet to confirm their appearance at SXSW.
Babies are the side project of Cassie Ramone (of Vivian Girls) and Woods bassist Kevin Morby. They have this Melodies/Anti-Melodies style similar to Thurston and Kim of Sonic Youth. As a sweet melodies fan, this meant that for about 25% of their show, I would simply appreciate the musicianship. but for 75% of the show, the melodies and sonic/no wave sound really came through to draw me in.
These guys are a really solid band and a great way to warm up for Real Estate. A lot of Vivian Girls shirts in the crowd so that would explain why the crowd are so responsive to the band and they put on a great show.
Real Estate had toured fairly recently as openers for Kurt Vile but this was their show and there was very little they could do that was wrong with this crowd. Their polyester shirts and youthful smiles greet the sold out crowd with some beautiful guitar picking and some stunning melodies...these guys work really well together. For fans of their self titled debut, they were rewarded with a couple of songs from there but for most, they were waiting for songs from "Days”. Another top of the year album for me!
Lead guitarist/Singer Martin Courtney is a very talented lead and he does command attention though it’s very subtle! With a lo-fi style and a whispering voice. its easy to spend the whole show watching him but the whole band is fun to watch. They are true to the sound on their album and its clear the crowd have their favourite songs.
About mid way through the set they jump into a great version of "Its Real" which really sparks a response from the sold out crowd and there is no letting up with classic tracks like "Out of Tune" and "Municipality". It’s only now that singer Martin smiles and he can tell there will be very few leaving the show disappointed. If you like a show with lots of noise and in your face singing, this is not one for you but if you enjoy their sound on their releases, the live shows adds to that a new element that makes the trip out on this snowy cold night even more worthwhile.
Jim
