0 Sunny Day Real Estate Comes Home

Oct. 16th, 2009 - Sunny Day Real Estate @ Paramount Theater

On my way to the Paramount Theatre last Friday, as I walked through a typical fall deluge of rain, I was greeted with a glowing marquee that Seattle had been waiting for 15 long years to see. It read in big black lettering: Sunny Day Real Estate. We were finally getting our day of nostalgia with the incredibly influential local band that fizzled out way too early in their promising career. I have to admit that even though I was as stoked as anyone in the Paramount that night, I had already experienced the original reunited lineup in all their glory back on Sept. 18th as part of Portland’s MFNW (read my review here). When the early tour announcements were officially made, Portland was the only city on the schedule, so I quickly jumped on some tickets and scheduled a mini PDX road trip. With that said, I had a pretty good idea of what kind of show it was going to be, though nothing could match the excitement of seeing the band on their home turf.

With all the hoopla surrounding the original lineup’s reunion, as well as Sub Pop’s reissuing of the two records they released together, this particular tour focused almost entirely on “Diary” and “LP2.” So it was no surprise that Jeremy Enigk, Dan Hoerner, Nate Mendel, and William Goldsmith’s homecoming and final show of a successful 21 city reunion tour started with “Friday,” the opening track off “LP2,” and then an early one-two “Diary” punch with fan favorites, “Seven” and “Shadows.” Guitarist Dan Hoerner told the crowd, "I've been waiting for this the whole tour,” while seeming to have the time of his life, sporting his signature ear to ear grin all night. As amazingly tight as the band sounded, and as strong as Jeremy Enigk’s voice was last Friday, my only complaint of the evening was the Paramount Theater’s tendency to swallow up any soft or whispered vocals. I have seen many great vocalists try and fail in that building, and on this night it was no different. Besides the muffled parts, Sunny Day’s leader was at the top of his game, and amazingly hit all the most strained and heartfelt notes on “Song For An Angel” and “Grendel” like it was 1994.


The big surprise of the night came six songs into the set, as they surprisingly and briefly strayed away from the first two records, something they did not do in Portland, playing “Guitars and Video Games from 1998’s “How It Feels To Be Something On.” This brought a big crowd reaction, of course, because no one expected them to play anything from their non-Nate Mendel material on this tour. Nate by the way was the least animated of the four, swaying side to side and concentrating more on his bass playing than the audience.

While the well balanced setlist was split evenly between “LP2” and “Diary,” the songs of “Diary” were definitely the strongest and most well received. Only diehards in the audience could actually remember the lyrics to tunes like Iscarabaid, and Theo B, like the few next to me that shouted them at the top of their lungs. It was as if they had been waiting their whole lives for this moment to come around again. The influential SDRE sound was so sweet on “47,” which was sandwiched between a short lull of “LP2” songs and brought the packed floor back into a frenzy.


The big talk of the tour after the kick-off date in Vancouver was the debut of the “New Song.” Yes, SDRE played the $5 secret gig in Tacoma before the Vancouver show, but “New Song,” though listed on the setlist, was nixed during the show. I heard the song in Portland first, it’s good and features a looping guitar part that brings to mind The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” Enigk introduced the song by saying simply, “We wrote a new song, and we’re gonna play it for you now.” This “New Song” certainly gives a glimmer of hope for some more new Sunny Day material in the future, which I’m sure would make fans extremely happy.

The Paramount was electric during the first song of the encore “In Circles.” Everyone, and I mean everyone, was screaming the “I’m Ruuuning Down” chorus while the band rocked one of its biggest hits. The night wound down with the emotional ballad “48,” and was capped with William Goldsmith showing off some of his very metal chops on the rocker “J’Nuh” from “LP2.” He is a much underrated drummer in my eyes, and showed everyone his talent by pounding the skins like a Neanderthal all night long. For a split second it looked like we might get a second encore, but somebody played a nasty little trick prolonging the darkness before flipping on the house lights.

Sunny Day Real Estate’s triumphant return to Seattle did not disappoint as I found myself periodically closing my eyes, and basking in the glorious sounds of a band that I never thought I’d get the opportunity to see live, let alone twice in a months time. Sunny Day Real Estate holds a place in many people hearts. They are surely one of the best and influential bands to ever call Seattle home, and it sure was great to have them back in the city, at least for one night. Check out my slideshow and video of "In Circles". Cheers!

Setlist:

1. Friday
2. Seven
3. Shadows
4. Song About An Angel
5. Grendel
6. Guitar and Video Games
7. Iscarabaid
8. Theo B
9. 47
10. 5/4
11. "New Song"
12. Spade & Parade
13. Sometimes

Encore

14. In Circles
15. 48
16. J'Nuh