Real Estate & Frankie Cosmos @ Union Transfer
WRITTEN BY JESS MIHALCZO
After 3 years of waiting, Real Estate finally delivered a new album with a tour to go with it. Its new album, In Mind dropped on March 17. Touring with the band is rising indie artist, Frankie Cosmos.
Friday, May 19 at Union Transfer the event was sold out, but remained a calm and intimate show. The crowd stood in front of the stage with no barricade. The bands capitalized on the intimacy of the show by responding to shouts in the crowd and making funny comments.
Greta Kline, better known as Frankie Cosmos, was the first to step on stage, sporting a buzz cut and high waisted shorts, followed by her bandmates, Lauren Martin, Gabrielle Smith and Luke Pyenson. The band started off with songs from its most recent album Next Thing such as “Floated In” and “Is It Possible/ Sleep Song.” The crowd danced and cheered despite Greta’s remarks about how bad they are compared to Real Estate, and how lucky the band is to be touring with the headliner. Real Estate popped on stage to sing along to “Fool,” and then the band invited a friend named Alex on stage to play a new, unreleased song.
Around 10 p.m., Real Estate came on and kept the good times rolling. Band members Martin Courtney, Alex Bleeker, Matt Kallman, Jackson Pollis, and Julian Lynch stepped to the stage and were greeted with great excitement. The Ridgewood, New Jersey natives gave a shout out to fans who took the hike down from New Jersey and began playing.
The room was suddenly surrounded by a storm of trippy lights on all the walls which fit the vibe of the music perfectly. You could even see the band members gazing at the back wall of the venue when the lights looked like stars in the night sky.
The band performed a perfect mix of new and old songs to excite both new and old fans. A big hit was the song “Stained Glass” from its 2017 album, In Mind. Then, the band went on to play a couple older songs such as “Hard to Hear” from its 2014 album Atlas, and its hit song, “It’s Real” from its 2011 album, Days. The night progressed nicely as the band ended the song “Municipality” with a 15-minute-long jam session. This was no shock to the crowd as the band is known for its intricate instrumentals. The crowd was excited again by the sounds of synth fading into Real Estate’s hit song “Darling.” Ending on a high note, Real Estate came back on for an encore and performed “Crime.” Real Estate wowed the crowd once more with an another jam session to accompany its encore.
As a newer Real Estate fan, I came to realize what people mean when they said they prefer Real Estate’s older music. While I definitely enjoy its new album, In Mind, I appreciate its older rock-like sound, especially songs from its 2014 album, Days. On top of this, the intimacy of this show was unmatchable and truly made it an unforgettable night. If you do not attend small shows I highly recommend it because it is an experience unlike any other.
Be sure to listen to Real Estate’s new album In Mind available on Apple Music and Spotify now.
