Minus the Bear is touring right now and I had the pleasure of seeing them the other night. They were playing live down the block from me at Bimbos 365 Club. It was my first time seeing Minus the Bear live and I was very pleased with the performance.
I cannot tell you much about the openers, as my girlfriend got pretty wasted beforehand so we only listened to the openers from the bar in the other room. To my recollection, they were not anything that I cared to write down. Anyways, Minus the Bear was a great band to see live and in person. As one of the pioneers in indie rock, having been around for quite a few years, they are very important to the genre. If you have yet to listen to them check out one of Minus the Bear albums.
It was my first show at Bimbos 365. A popular venue decades ago, Bimbos has kept the out-dated decor and motif. It is quite amusing to see a bunch of scene-sters in a venue like such sucking down Budweisers and cheap cocktails. I’m sure the regulars back then did not fathom the idea.
I’ll actually be heading back to Bimbos on Friday to see Yeasayer. I’m sooo pumped as they are one of my favorite bands right now.
Filed under: Indie Rock Bands | concert review, minus the bear|2 Comments
Just the other day I was going through my CD collection and came across an album I hadn’t played in about a year – Planet of Ice by Minus the Bear. I am quite certain it grabbed my attention for two simple reasons: for one, it has a sweet album cover of snowy mountains. I think I’ve started missing this time of year back east when the snow begins to fall in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Second, Minus the Bear is playing in a few days down the block from me at Bimbos 365 Club on November 19, 2008.
The Seattle band released the album in August of 2007. In my opinion Planet of Ice is stronger and simply better than the indie band’s previous album, Menos el Oso. This is apparent through the maturity and depth the band is able to achieve. I was very impressed with the unique and distinguishable melodies of “White Mystery” and “Ice Monster”. “White Mystery”, my favorite song on Planet of Ice is a slower track, and easily assumed as a sex jam of sorts. I encourage you to listen.
Minus the Bear album Planet of Ice
For those of you who did not know, this was Minus the Bear’s first album with keyboardist Alex Rose. Rose replaced Matt Bayles, and did so brilliantly, giving the keyboard a much stronger and effective presence.
If you don’t own a copy of Planet of Ice I highly suggest you buy the CD (where do you get CDs anymore?) or download it off iTunes or some other music download site.
| Download or buy Planet of Ice album or tracks at Amazon.com |
Filed under: Indie Rock Bands | album review, minus the bear, planet of ice|1 Comment
