It all seemed so effortless for Real Estate.
Grateful that fans came out on a school night, impressed to be in such a cool town, and probably most of all, filled with the joy of playing such wonderful music.
The Brooklyn-based indie band sounded more like a West Coast psychedelic pop band in the mould of The Byrds or The Grateful Dead.
Despite their deliberately formal name and laidback approach the band was unfathomably tight, intricate melodies pin-prick sharp yet gently flailing up against each other.
Lead singer and guitarist Martin Courtney’s Fender Strat was baby blue and reverberated like Pacific surf.
Layer upon layer of chorus-drenched guitar licks were built up into a mesmerising cascades.
Recent singles like Talking Backwards were uncontainably happy, while 2011’s Its Real was sing-along anthemic.
Perhaps the only weak link was the vocal presence, which sometimes struggled against the jangling surge.
But Courtney’s geeky, slightly nasal yearnings fitted the DIY garage band approach nicely – and was bolstered by the choral harmonies from the rest of the band.
Ultimately it all seemed disarmingly simple, each three-minute gem apparently based around jammed hooks.
But each track had its own unexpected chord-change and block harmony that showed off the finely-hewn craft on display.
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