Sunny Day Real Estate + The Jealous Sound - Paramount Theatre (Seattle, WA; Oct. 16, 2009)

Although grunge rock may have put Seattle on the music map back in the 90s, it was also, arguably, the birthplace of emo. Signed to Sub Pop Records, Sunny Day Real Estate was clearly influenced by their grunge label-mates—but their sound was something new. They took this distinctly Seattle sound and blended it with the post-hardcore, or emocore, vocals from the Washington D.C. scene. Sunny Day’s unique “emo” style was not only well received, but has continued to influence a plethora of bands from Mineral to The Get Up Kids. They can even be linked to several of today’s chart-toppers such as Fall Out Boy and Dashboard Confessional (who have, in fact, co-written with Sunny Day guitarist Dan Hoerner).

The history of Sunny Day Real Estate reads much like that of any other rock band: after a couple of mildly commercially successful releases, members parted ways to try their hand at other musical endeavors. Nate Mendel (bass) and William Goldsmith (drums) joined up with former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl in his new project: Foo Fighters. Goldsmith would end up leaving Foo Fighters while recording their second album, The Colour and The Shape. This created the perfect opportunity for him to reunite with Hoerner and vocalist Jeremy Enigk to record new Sunny Day Real Estate material. Although they would release two more studio albums and another live one, more internal conflict—as well as label conflict—caused the band to dissolve once again in 2001.

It was during this time period that I, and many others, discovered the emo sub-genre through more accessible bands such as Jimmy Eat World. Wanting to know more about this genre’s origin, my newly made college friends turned me on to Sunny Day Real Estate. Yearning for more of Enigk’s uniquely delightful strained vocals, I had been sustaining myself with the more polished sounds of The Fire Theft (all SDRE members minus Hoerner). But I could hardly contain my excitement when I learned over the summer that Sunny Day Real Estate had reunited for a tour.

Watching a band perform in the city that gave them their start is an entirely unique experience: one that I highly recommend. But to see a band come together for the first time in nearly 10 years—in their hometown—is something extraordinary.

Standing in the typical Seattle rain outside of The Paramount Theatre, I got my first taste of this monumental homecoming, observing the band’s parents and siblings greeting one another at the will call window. Their excitement shone through beaming smiles and hugs was contagious!

Once inside, the first thing that struck me was the maturity of the audience. Not only was the crowd a bit older than most shows I have attended, but everyone was discussing the music with one another—as opposed to pushing and shoving. In fact, security never bothered to put up a barricade between the stage and audience, which certainly added to the intimacy.

As one might hope for such an important reunion show, there was only one opening act. The Jealous Sound was an appropriate match, having pioneering emo roots (frontman Blair Shehan was previously of Knapsack, a Sunny Day contemporary). They also had something else in common: The Jealous Sound actually broke up in 2005. They reunited earlier this year to write new material and go back on tour. I would best describe their sound as a mid-tempo Alkaline Trio, with just enough yearning in the vocals to still fall under the “emo” category.

Sunny Day Real Estate took the stage without any gimmicks, and immediately got in to the music. They started the set off with “Friday.” You could sense that they were excited, even grateful, to be sharing the stage together once again. Hoerner could barely contain his enthusiasm—only during moments of peak concentration did he ever stop smiling.

The set list primarily stuck to those first two albums the original lineup created: LP2 (“The Pink Album”) and almost all of Diary. The only exceptions were “Guitar and Video Games” from the later How It Feels to be Something On, and obscure LP2 B-side gem “Spade and Parade.” The exclusion of any material from The Rising Tide may have disappointed some fans, but helped focus the show on that original sound these four men created in the mid-nineties. One pleasant surprise came in the middle of the set when they unveiled a brand new song written during tour. This song charged up the audience, who got progressively more and more enthusiastic, leading up through the encore.

When the band re-emerged from the darkness to play “In Circles,” Enigk was overcome by this moment of being surrounded by their original, local fan base: “Is this really happening right now?” The guys really fed off each other’s energy throughout the last three songs, ending the night with “J’Nuh.”

Sunny Day Real Estate has a reputation for being enigmatic. Was this tour their heartfelt goodbye?  Was it just the beginning of a new era for the band? Either way, Seattle enjoyed having their hometown heroes back for one night when it was truly about the music.

DOWNLOAD: Sunny Day Real Estate - Seven (MP3) or Follow us for more Sunny Day Real Estate MP3s (Twitter)

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