The members of indie-rock band Real Estate slouched in the chairs of their temporary dressing room in the Jabberwocky Caf. A buffet of pasta, bread and vending machine snacks littered the table across from them. Lead singer Martin Courtney chuckled as he spilled tea on his leg.

‘This is our first college press conference ever,’ said Courtney, referring to the four reporters across from him. ‘This feels much more serious, like the athletic press conferences where you have glasses of water, your logo on the wall behind you and a whole slew of mics in your face.’

The bandmates, longtime friends who grew up together in Bridgewood, N.J., joked around before the show. Bassist Alex Bleeker, dressed in flannel and a moss green hat, said they were friends with indie-punk group Titus Andronicus, the headliner for WERW’s Thursday show. Grinning, he added that they plotted to leave the band a prank.

As the concert approached, the band members, all dressed in plaid shirts and tight jeans, slapped hands with one another and walked through the door.

Real Estate headlined the second Bandersnatch Music Series concert of the spring semester, sponsored by University Union. Syracuse natives Half Sister opened the show.

The crowd of fewer than 100 got to their feet as the local opener took the stage. Sarah Aument, lead singer of Half Sister, belted the first note of ‘Long Road’ with a wide smile. Aument, a senior television, radio and film major, accomplished a rare feat during the set: Her lyrics were clearly audible in the Schine Underground. Singers’ voices are often lost in the low ceilings of the Schine Underground, but hers was crisp and recognizable.

Half Sister’s set felt much like a bar show, only missing the stench of spilt beer and the flickering lights of wall-mounted televisions. The crowd, although seemingly engaged as they tapped their feet, talked over the music. The band continued to play as a walking bass line led into ‘The River.’ Half Sister thanked fans for their continuous support and announced that they will release a new EP by the end of spring.

‘I’ve been listening to Sarah Aument’s band for three years, and I really like the direction they’ve gone in with Half Sister,’ said Paul Esposito, a first-year graduate student at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. ‘It’s a much more dynamic sound for a college band.’

Students continued trickling into the Schine Underground as Real Estate’s set approached. The crowd grew to nearly 200 fans. The band staggered onto the stage, sporting its button-down shirts and nerdy glasses. Several phones popped up from the masses to capture the first moments of Real Estate’s first-ever show at Syracuse University.

The first couple of notes rang from the amps, the tune immediately recognizable as ‘Easy’ from the band’s most recent release, ‘Days.’ The crowd cheered and bobbed their heads in rhythm with the guitar. As the song concluded, Bleeker looked into the crowd and asked, ‘So, how’s SU basketball doing?’

Fans let out noises of distress and disappointment. Appearing to sense it was too soon to talk about the team’s loss, Bleeker assured the crowd that he wanted SU to win. He then took the lead vocals for the next song, ‘Wonder Years.’

Real Estate stayed completely at ease during the show. Occasionally, the band members exchanged dazed stares until they broke out in laughter. They handled the Schine Underground like true college show veterans. They’ve played college shows every semester for the past two and a half years, so they remained unfazed by the shrill screech occasionally dispelled through the PA system.

Before the show, the band spoke about jam sessions that eventually developed into some of its new songs. Real Estate displayed its ability to improvise through its extended version of all-instrumental song ‘Kinder Blumen.’

Proud of their suburban roots, the members said they draw inspiration from their lives as typical, awkward teenagers in the suburbs of New Jersey.

‘We say we’re from the suburbs so people who listen to music similar to us could get into us and don’t think we’re some far off, non-relatable weird people,’ lead guitarist Matthew Mondanile said.

The crowd sighed in disappointment when the band announced its last song, but quickly recovered. Nearly everyone danced along to ‘Younger than Yesterday.’ It came to a close, and the band members placed their instruments gently on the floor, took a small bow and left the stage.

‘I thought they were phenomenal. I love the way they played,’ said Josh Bransky, freshman architecture major. ‘I’m very glad that the university is trying to bring smaller artists to campus.’

jtinfant@syr.edu

Published on March 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Joe: jtinfant@syr.edu | @joeinfantino