Real Estate, Family Portrait, City Folk Rocking Bulldog Alley

Saturday night WGTB brought you the first installment of our Spring Cleaning concert series, featuring New Jersey's beachy rockers Real Estate, DC locals Family Portrait, and Georgetown's own City Folk. Check out photos from the show below, let us know what you thought of the concert in the comments, and be sure to head to Spring Cleaning part II this Friday night as the Hood Internet mashup duo prepares to melt faces, with openers Rafter and Stout Cortez.



Photos courtesy Emily Simpson and Nico Dodd

Concert Review: Woods w/ Real Estate at Rock and Roll Hotel

Woods (and Real Estate) @ Rock n Roll Hotel

March 27, 2010

 

Music Director's Note: REAL ESTATE is playing on campus, in Bulldog Alley, THIS SATURDAY NIGHT now that they're done touring with Woods, and we are selling tickets all week in Red Square for only $3! Make sure you pick one up because this is a show you won't want to miss.

Woods is one of the few shows that remind you, Oh, so that’s what a concert is supposed to be like.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love disappearing into the earthy drones of Woods within my headphones, but if you haven’t seen them live, you still have half your heart to give.  Woods’ sound achieves a distinct texture, like toes digging into damp moss and crackling campfires and haunted houses…you can see how they’re losing themselves in the music and can’t help but feed off of that energy.

On March 27^th, Woods and Real Estate came together at the Rock ‘n Roll Hotel for the last show of their tour.  One of the greatest parts was the visible camaraderie they had; it was clearly a parting of sweet sorrow (also, I’m a sucker for bands who become buddies on tour, so damn cute).  I love both these bands individually, but note to disrespectful audience members: Woods was the headliner, and not without reason.   A little background: Woods is a psychedelic folk rock band from Brooklyn (Buschwick, not Williamsburg!) and a seasoned veteran of the lo-fi scene with five full albums since 2005.  In fact, their singer/guitarist Jeremy Earl founded the queen of all lo-fi labels, Woodsist.  So if you haven’t heard of them, it’s about time to give them a chance. (cont'd after the jump)

WGTB Brings You... Two Sweet Concerts in April

You heard it here first-- WGTB is hosting two kick-ass concerts ON CAMPUS this April, and you definitely do not want to miss out on either of them. Keep an eye out in the coming days for flyers and ticket sales, because these shows are gonna be huge! Some details below:

April 17:

Real Estate

Family Portrait

City Folk

April 23:

The Hood Internet

Rafter 

Stout Cortez 

BULLDOG ALLEY

$3 PER SHOW OR $5 FOR BOTH

TICKETS SOLD IN RED SQUARE NEXT WEEK

If you aren't familiar with the headlining bands yet, check out their websites, because we expect these will be sold-out shows. Real Estate, from Ridgewood NJ, make laid-back hazy psychedelic pop reminiscent of Grizzly Bear, Surfer Blood, and early Jefferson Airplane. Listen to "Beachcomber" below:

	Real Estate - Beach Comber .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

The Hood Internet is a Chicago-based DJ duo whose remixes and mash-ups of contemporary indie rock and classic hip-hop have earned them rave reviews. Download their previous mixtapes at thehoodinternet.com (for free!) and listen to "Keep it Remixing Louder (R. Kelly vs Major Lazer)" below.

	The Hood Internet - Ignition (Keep It Remixing Lou .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Review: Real Estate, Real Estate

Artist: Real Estate
Album: Real Estate
Released: Nov. 17, 2009 on Woodsist Records 
Rating: A- 

The debut album from New Jersey band Real Estate has established them, amongst fellow lo-fi beach rockers like Girls, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and Rainbow Bridge, as a promising band within this burgeoning genre of indie rock. Just as the leaves are changing color and the weather is getting colder, and the arrival of winter is creeping closer, Real Estate is here to remind you of those hours spent with friends soaking up the sun and having a good time. And whether you do this by kickin back some Budweiser and Sprite on the Jersey Shore, or with some other combination of substances that will make you feel alright, the album will undoubtedly make you nostalgic for those nights in the warm summer air.

Musically, the songs are comprised largely of sweeping arpeggio guitar riffs and hazy vocals, and they wash over you like the summer itself. Although the songs all sound quite similar, one can listen to the album numerous times without it feeling repetitive or worn out. The opener, Beach Comber, is one of the album’s more upbeat songs, and its catchy guitar riff and powerful vocals make it one of the album’s stand out tracks. For similar reasons, track 6, Fake Blues is also one of the album’s best songs. Perhaps the most intriguing though, is the albums’ longest song, Suburban Beverage. Although it only repeats one lyric for the entire six minutes, the tempo changes propel the song forward, and capture the excitement of a long summer night. So, when the snow days of winter have you down, holiday shopping has you stressed out, and those cold nights have you longing for the freedom of summer, put on Real Estate’s album and, at the very least, you’ll feel warm on the inside.

-- Jared Iversen 
"Jive Talkin'," Thursdays 12-2 p.m. 

Listen to "Beach Comber" by Real Estate: