Real Estate opened its set with instrumental–only “Blue Lebaron” at the Rotunda on Friday, the same day the band posted a demo of the track on its blog. Named after the Chrysler LeBaron — a name the company slapped on convertibles and station wagons alike from the 1970s through the 90s — the song is quintessentially Real Estate, with floaty, clean guitar riffs straight from the beach.
“Blue Lebaron,” however, has no vocals, which automatically relegates the somewhat drowsy song to background status. That much was apparent Friday at the Rotunda, when most everyone there looked like he or she was trying to figure out if the band was made up of escaped Capogiro baristas instead of following along with the chord changes in “Blue Lebaron.”
To be sure, the song is a great opener. It is mysterious — why aren’t they singing? — and with the more energetic “Fake Blues” and “Beach Comber” on the way, the song was a well–placed change of pace from Cymbals Eat Guitars’ racket. But it’s not much more than that: the slow tempo and sleepy feel ensure that it’ll forever be an interlude of sorts. “Blue Lebaron,” in sum, serves as a great Track 1 but would be out of place pretty much anywhere else.
