Sunny Day Real Estate
with Heroic Doses and 764-HERO
The Club at Firestone, Orlando, FL • November 13, 1998
Keith Mercer
Friday the 13th, I should’ve thought about this before the show started. I am not one for superstition, but something was bound to go wrong if a band I have been waiting five years to see live was playing on Friday the13th. I missed seeing Heroic Doses’ set, which I was bummed about. I saw them play with Euphone and Joan of Arc last summer, and they were great live. Strike one. I did make it just in time for 764-HERO to bore me into a lulling, coma-like state. Strike two. By the time Sunny Day Real Estate was ready to play, I had realized that the show was most likely oversold by several hundred people. I couldn’t move well. Hell, I was having trouble breathing… Finally, my girlfriend and I had secured an almost perfect vantage point. Full view of the stage and all. As soon as we were settled in, two frat boys walked in on cue. At 6’5” a piece, we got a good view of plaid work shirts for a good portion of the 1 1/2 hour show. For all I know, the beginning of the show was performed by preprogrammed androids. Halfway through the show, we broke through the fratboy wall. This is what we saw.
Sunny Day played very well. They opened with “In Circles,” which made me hope that 200-300 people had come to hear that song and would then promptly leave. No such luck. Other highlights included a noisy rendition of “The Blankets Were the Stairs” and an incredible version of “Song About An Angel,” as well as an extended version of “J’nuh” from the much maligned pink album. The band sounded like they were really into the show, which is always nice to hear. They even pulled out a few bonuses for the appreciative crowd. One of these was “Days Were Golden,” the final song from the new album, one of my personal favorites. Most of the songs from the new album were represented live, and the band went for a balance of older songs from both of the older discs. One musical disappointment was leaving off the intro to “The Prophet,” which always reminds me of Dead Can Dance.
All said and done, the show was very good musically. I could have done without the guy who sneezed all over my back, the guy who kept ashing his cigarette on my favorite shirt and the people who decided it would be a good idea to start, get this, a pit during “Song About An Angel.” For overall concert experience, I give the show a D-. However, I give Sunny Day an A- for a good show. ◼
