The members of Seattle-based Sunny Day Real Estate on Friday said they were thankful to play music after 30 years at The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee.
Starting in 1992, the band was regarded among the pioneers of American indie-emo and experienced a lot of turbulence in their earlier career. The band stopped talking to the media, discovered religion, broke up, recorded an orchestra pop album and reunited in 1997, according to the Pabst Theater Group site. The band reformed for the fourth time in 2022 and launched a tour across the continental U.S.
However, if there was leftover animosity between the members, it didn’t show on stage. It was quite the opposite as the band was overwhelmingly positive and shared their thanks in between songs. The crowd easily reciprocated their appreciation.
“We’re thankful to share this experience with you in this beautiful theater,” guitarist and singer Jeremy Enigk told the crowd.
They spent the night playing hits from albums such as “Diary,” their self-titled and more with as much gusto as they had in the ‘90’s. Their songs slowed tempo and adopted rippling grooves while Enigk crooned his high notes, before they dove into a pounding chorus which made the wait through the bridge more rewarding.
The band expelled the most energy with their hit “Circles,” which sparked the packed theater to sing along with the chorus. At the end of the set, each of the band members signed off one by one while jamming.
At a certain point Enigk was left with the bass player and drummer, where he savored the final moments of the show in front of the microphone.
The band was preceded by The Appleseed Cast from Lawrence, Kansas.