A Monday night following a gig on a Sunday needs some determination, particularly at the start of a working week but, the chance to catch these two bands in a small venue on our doorstep was too great an opportunity to pass up.

Alvvays from Toronto are a bright, sparky, fun indie band. One album released this year meant the 30 minute set was just fine, Lead singer Molly Rankin had a good between song patter and  they just blasted though the album. Molly at one stage commenting how they usually play in beer soaked noisy venues. She got quite a culture shock at the Junction 2 then! A great band and a festival favourite to come.

Real Estate hail from New Jersey and are three albums into their career. An incredibly tight 5 piece outfit, their 90 minutes on stage was very rewarding on the ears. There is a Steely Dan proficiency to the songs and a West Coast smoothness to the overall sound.

All albums are covered as well as an EP released sometime in the past (which seems difficult to track down). The current tour follows some summer festival shows and the venue was pretty much full.

No lengthy conversation with the crowd (they did experience Nandos for the first time that evening apparently) meant that the music just flowed.

The tour continues and a show headlining at the Shepherds Bush Empire next week indicates just how far the band have come already.

A really great show!

Pete

Alvvays

Ones Who Love You
Next Of Kin
The Agency Group
Atop A Cake
Dives
Your Type
Party Police
Adult Diversion
Archie, Marry Me

Real Estate

Green River
Had To Hear
Municipality
Past Lives
Horizon
Green Aisles
Talking Backwards
Fake Blues
Beneath The Dunes
April's Song
The Bend
How Might I Live
Crime

Encore:

Basement
It's Real
All The Same