In Circles

I've gone to a lot of concerts lately, and to a one they've been fantastic, euphoric experiences. Still, only very rarely can I say that a show has been a special, legendary, once-in-a-lifetime event - the kind of show that Sunny Day Real Estate put on at the Paramount Theater in Seattle back on October 16. The Paramount concert was the last of a relatively short reunion tour, and setting it in their hometown made for something really special, for both the band and their fans.

The reunion coincides with the re-release of Sunny Day's first two albums, both recorded by the original lineup of Jeremy Enigk, William Goldsmith, Dan Hoerner, and Nate Mendel. The last and only time I had seen Sunny Day live was in Pittsburgh back in 2000 during the Rising Tide tour, after Nate had already left the band, so I was extremely excited to see the original crew all together. I picked up one of every shirt at the merch booth, most of which were reprints of the original tour gear, and pushed my way to the front of the crowd.

There isn't much I can say about the actual performance that could possibly convey the kind of emotion and energy pervading every inch of that place for the next two hours. Sunny Day soared and plummeted through nearly every song from their first two albums, veering away only momentarily for a welcome rendition of "Guitar and Video Games" about halfway through the set, and then an entirely new song shortly before the break. "New Song" definitely has the spirit of the early material, but with some of the sentimentality of the later stuff. This is the best recording I could find:

During the break I resolved to record video for whatever song they began the encore with, figuring that I had at least a gig or two left on my card; and really, how much could a little video take up anyway? It was really hard to suppress the urge to jump around during "In Circles", one of my favorite songs, but I managed to record the whole thing. And that little video? Turns out my itsy bitsy camera records in 720p =):

See? How great was that? Besides the video, eight of the best still shots from the night are below and up on Flickr, all of them great memories from an amazing show.

Sunny Day Real Estate // Seattle, WA // October 16, 2009

1. Friday
2. 7
3. Shadows
4. Song About An Angel
5. Grendel
6. Guitar And Video Games
7. Iscarabaid
8. Theo B
9. 47
10. 5/4
11. New Song
12. Spade
13. Sometimes
14. In Circles
15. 48
16. J'Nuh