REVIEW: Sunny Day Real Estate @ Crystal Ballroom MFNW (Portland, OR – 9/18/09)
(photo: Rebecca Blissett, from Vancouver show)
I saw Sunny Day Real Estate in Oct 2000 on the Rising Tide Tour (Bogart’s in Cincinnati), which would ultimately be their last. I had a few chances to see Jeremy Enigk solo or The Fire Theft, but the shows never meshed with my schedule. Seeing as I count the 2000 SDRE show as one of my favorite shows of all -time (Top 25 at least), I was soooooo stoked when it was announced that they were getting back together for a tour.
This was only my second time at McMennamin’s Crystal Ballroom. The room was packed with tons of Music Fest Northwest (MFNW) people; so I’m hoping the hardcore SDRE fans got in. The venue was set-up like most Portland venues with the odd barrier between the drinkers and the youngins’. This was one of the rare shows of late where I don’t think I saw anyone younger than 25.
The opener, The Jealous Sound, were pretty good. I listened to them on MySpace before the show and they seemed like a pretty good power pop/rock band. At the show, the sound was a little muddled, but I could still get a good feel for their groove. Maybe like a slightly less hooky Heatmiser? I don’t know… they’re definitely worth checking out.
No cameras were supposed to be allowed in the venue last night (I asked). Yet, when I get in (without my camera), I see a few people with cameras. Damn me for asking. :( Anyway, Rebecca Blissett’s photos from Vancouver will suffice as my pictorial show of the reunited SDRE…
SDRE’s set went by blisteringly fast. They played a solid hour plus before leaving for a short break before their 3 song encore. Jeremy’s voice was on top of its game, yet as indecipherable as usual. I think he ranks up their with Karin Bergquist of Over the Rhine as misheard lyric contributor. :) The rest of the band seemed really tight. The “muddliness” of the opener’s set seemed to be cleared up. And while Sunny Day haven’t been a cohesive unit for 8-9 years, they sure seemed like one tonight. It seems like they didn’t miss a beat at all.
Setlist: 80+ mins
- Friday
- Seven *a fave of the night*
- Red Elephant
- Song About An Angel
- Grendel
- Shadows
- Inscarabaid
- 47
- Theo B
- 10 [new song]
- 48
- Sometimes
- Encore: In Circles *a fave of the night*
- Spade & Parade
- J’Nuh *a fave of the night*
They only played material from their first two discs at this show (they have played at least “Guitar & Video Games” off of How It Feels to Be Something On on this tour), which was kind of odd. And I know, this may be heresy, but I really love their last album the best (2000’s The Rising Tide). It’s probably just a factor of when I got into them as a band. So, as far as the only downside, that was it. But the fact that they wrote a new song as recent as a week or so ago… well, that bodes well for future album(s) & tour(s).
Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary & LP2 (aka Pink) have been remastered and re-released by Sub Pop in 2009 (click pictures for info). No word on a remaster of How It Feels to Be Something On, though… hmm…
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Sunny Day Real Estate‘s Official Site
- Sunny Day Real Estate on MySpace
- Jeremy Enigk on MySpace
- The Fire Theft on MySpace
- Spin‘s SDRE – Vancouver Review(2nd reunion show, 9/17)
- The Jealous Sound
- The Jealous Sound MySpace
- Crystal Ballroom
- Music Fest NW
SDRE on Jimmy Fallon (9/29/09)
~Dan – np: Pearl Jam – Backspacer
no free download or torrent available here
SDRE Reunion Tourdates
09-17 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom
09-18 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom (MusicFest NW)
09-20 Murray, UT – Murray Theater
09-21 Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
09-23 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
09-24 Chicago, IL – Metro
09-25 Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall
09-27 New York, NY – Terminal Five
09-28 Boston, MA – House of Blues
09-30 Washington, D.C. – 930 Club
10-01 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
10-03 Atlanta, GA – CW Center Stage
10-05 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
10-06 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live – Ballroom
10-07 Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa
10-09 Tempe, AZ – Marquee
10-10 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
10-11 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theater
10-13 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
10-15 Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
10-16 Seattle, WA – Paramount Theater
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they only played songs off of the first TWO albums and the reason is because they are the only two albums that every member wrote. Nate was not in the band for How it Feels and Rising Tide
Sorry, my bad. I think in another show (Seattle or Vancouver) they played something off of How It Feels To Be Something On. Like Guitar & Video Games or 100 Million…
Considering other bands with member swaps, they tend to play songs from other albums on tours. Oh well… it was a great show nonetheless.
PS- I fixed my “3 albums” brain fart in the review above. Thanks for the heads-up. :)
I’m bummed they’re only playing stuff from the first two albums but incredibly excited they are back. Can’t wait to check them out in SF.
Yeah, I’d dig something off of RT. Well, maybe next go around…
I’m pumped – heading to the Dallas show tonight. I looked in to the camera thing and it’s not looking so good (based on what I’m reading about your Porltand experience). I really wish labels (or bands?) would change their media policy.
Yeah, I’ve had some luck on known venues that are sticklers by contacting the band’s management and/or publicist. But usually that’s more of a pain than it ends up being worth. Anyway, good luck!
I love the Crystal Ball Room. I tell all new comers to go there. Thanks for the blog!