Here’s the tracklist from tonight’s show, and you can listen in here at this LINK:

1. YACHT – I’m In Love With A Ripper
2. Royksopp – Tricky Tricky (Horror Shower Remix)
3. Models – I Hear Motion
4. Don Diablo – I am not from France (Cagedbaby’s Rollerdisco Lcross Campaign Mix)
5. Sleigh Bells – Infinity Guitars
6. Baron Ft. Black Mountain – The End of the Beginning
7. LR Rockets – Cameron Is Connected
8. Freeform Five – Break Me (Jackson and his computer band remix)
9. Dexplicit – The Alien
10. Cut Off Your Hands – Oh Girl
11. The Avengers – We Are The One
12. Minus the Bear – Broken China
13. We Are Enfant Terrible – Eagles Don’t Sparkle
14. Yes – Owner Of A Lonely Heart

When I got this disc in the mail, I had never heard As Cities Burn.  I was expecting something heavier, given their name and the stereotype (not to mention the cover art), but was pleasantly surprised when I listened to the album.  It was exactly what I was needing at the time and I continue to enjoy it.  I would recommend this album to fans of Minus The Bear, Manchester Orchestra or Brand New (their later stuff like “…Devil and God…” or “Daisy”).

“Errand Rum” from Hell Or High Water

Olá, a vitrola mágica voltou para incrementar aquela Compilação Mágica no seu final de semana e te deixar ocupando procurando, baxando e ouvindo as possíveis bandas que venham a gostar – tomara! rs. Em um leve lapso de memória, eu esqueci qual era a playlist de hoje, mas deus perdoa e registro de conversas não! Ainda bem que eu havia comentado com um amigo e pude verificar quais eram as doze bandas sorteadas dessa semana. Bem, hoje tou trazendo do rock dos Cymbals Eat Guitars até o que eu nem sei que som é esse, do Shh… This Is a Library.

Aqui para download a IV Compilação Mágica      Download

Playlist:

TK Webb and the Visions – The Teen Is Still Shaking
Free Loan Investments – Rush Hour
Minus the Bear – Ice Monster
Shh… This Is a Library – Is This a Crush
Models Inc. – Hey
Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons – I’m Not the Man I Thought You’d Meet
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Cold Spring
Magic Wands – Kiss Me Dead
Fastball – The Malcontent
Clock Hands Strangle – Morning Rumors
Viking Moses – Passed Through the Bones
Golden Ghost – If You Are In Love Then Why Are You Asleep

buon giorno luamada: buon giorno luamada - more blissful blossoming lotuses of lovely dream noise from perdizes dream, brazils answer to not not fun. if yr familiar with babe, terror’s warm analogue burblings then yr on safe ground here. does that sleepy dusk/dawn sensation home-taping thing that the likesof ducktails and their various bastard children do. y’know hazy backround fizz in a hot bath-full of guitar fuzz and clean strummery. it’s hard to imagine all this stuff not coming from some sunny dreamland of cold beer and tropical weather and girls with darkdark hair tucked behind their ears swaying in the perfect breeze of postsummer somnambulism. think if it was made here this record would sound like pissing rain, malfunctioning machinery and the garrulous nonsense of shouting drunks. occasionally it bums you out for a few minutes with the found sound atonal hush lastbest heard on mogwai’s come on die young. and sometimes wanders into creaky david (rather then julian) lynch soundscape territory. and randomly batters a cheap distorto guitar. but it’s all good. exceptionally so.

minus the bear: into the mirror – only a fool don’t like minus the bear. if only all indie pop rock prog post-something quirky tuneful funk noise buggers sounded this fucking good. anyway in advance of next years new record, there’s a single available from the usual places (and at shows). this is the b-side. it’s better than the a-side. whatever. fact is knudson’s a goddam geetar genius. this reminds me in all the right ways of the dismemberment plan. you could even dance to the beast should you wish to. i did. hell i’m jigging like a complete arse in front of my type-thing just now. fact is if tv on the radio can hang with bowie and get their mugs in broadsheets and on the cover of rolling stone* then so can, nay should, this lot. beats.  tunes.  energy.  you can’t exactly go wrong. *they may already have i dunno…

marc broude: rites of zen – finally into this rum mix i’m gonna chuck in this seventy two minute ghostly death rattle. is anybody in portland oregan not making little bombs of musical orgasm? beginning to think the whole population’s in a goddam band. no doubt this fella when not jiggering about with oscillators and low frequency military weapons, he’s shooting pool with smegma at liz harris’ house. anyway this shit does the same thing lustmord does at his unsettling quietest; manages to be somehow almost not there, yet at the same time make noise like gravity pressing down on every atom in yr misshapen flesh sack. it’s the sound of deep space loneliness or the blackest ocean floor. it’s the sound of ghost towns and a breeze blowing through abandoned factories. y’dig my lazy metaphors? hmmm. influenced by david lynch.  and i suppose there is someting of the background tension drone and the industrial hum of eraserhead here. anyway it’s likely to divide. me?  i love it.  but then zoetrope is one of my favourite things.  listen yrself.  download here.

Minus the Bear put on a phenomenal show at the Westcott Tuesday night

PREVIEW: STREAM Minus the Bear’s “Into the Mirror”
VIEW: PHOTOS Under the Cut

As Tall As Lions, Twin Tigers, and Minus the Bear ravaged the Westcott Theater Tuesday night with a show that only large carnivorous mammals could deliver.

It takes a hell of a band to get a crowd jumping on a Tuesday night, and Minus the Bear brought Saturday night energy to the Westcott.

Just when the crowd seemed to be calling it quits after luke-warm performances from the openers, Minus the Bear delivered a show worth rocking out to.

This Seattle-based band came to Syracuse in the middle of their U.S. tour.  They just released a new single for the song “Into the Mirror,” a 7” that’s being sold at shows and digitally at online retailers such as iTunes and eMusic.

The indie rock veterans knew just how to engage the flannel-clad audience, getting them to peek out over their black, thick-frame glasses and jump around until their wool beanies were hanging on for dear life.  Opening the show with “Knights” from 2007 Planet of Ice, the energy was palpable.  In true rock n’ roll tradition, the band took time in between songs to drink casually.

Guitarist Dave Knudson was clearly absorbed in the beats, jumping wildly around, lost in the atmosphere.  At one point he even spun his guitar like a baton.  Air from fans downstage tousled the guitarists’ hair, further adding to the drama of the band’s performance.  Not to mention, frontman Jake Snider’s dramatic and melodic screams from behind a grizzly mask of hair.

Bassist Cory Murchy stood out from the sweaty bunch, jamming from his stool in a trance-like state, snapping out of it for the occasional thumbs-up to the audience.

The real marvel was keyboardist Alex Rose. Without Rose, Minus the Bear would blend into the fuzz of the indie rock universe.  The keyboardist’s ambient sounds were eclectic and fitting, quilting together beautifully to create MTB’s authentic and distinct brand of rock.

An intense rendition of “Ice Monster” sent fans into a frenzy.  Soft purple lighting jumped to intense white and blue lights, matching the sudden tempo change and dynamic leaps in the song.  The intimate venue was bursting with cries of “She’s gone, gone across the border!”

MTB even treated us to their brand new B-side “Broken China,” which they’re making it available to anybody for download.

Spirits continued to soar until the very end, when the crowd was treated to a double encore.  “Spritz!!! Spritz!!!” and “Pachuca Sunrise” sent Minus the Bear zealots home with words like “fucking amazing” on the tips of their tongues and tunes spinning through their heads.

It’s no surprise this band has a cult following of youngsters.  Performances like this only boost the hype for Minus the Bear’s new album, due out in 2010.

– Jen Littman
– Photos by Alyssa Greenberg

Visqueen is coming to Seattle University!

Get excited. This local Seattle band is about to blow up. I cannot wait to see them perform live tomorrow at the hearth – 8PM. Their lead singer Rachel Flotard recently did an interview on KSUB – Seattle University’s radio station and I am pumped. She seems like such an amazing woman who is so sure of herself and lives a truly inspiring life.

She recently was featured in Minus the Bear’s new song “Into The Mirror,” which I posted about… last month. Now she’ll actually be here. Just to jog your memory:

SEAC presents Visqueen tomorrow night at 8 PM in the hearth of the student center.

Opening Act: Chris Ballew from the Presidents of the USA is doing a solo act to open for Visqueen. He will be playing tracks from Presidents of the USA as well as his side project Caspar Babypants.

We will be having a raffle for a free show at Neumos and a $50 gift card to the Showbox.

Do we have your attention now?!

looks like we’ve got the b-side to minus the bear’s “into the mirror” single. for a b-side, this is a really strong track. then again, i wouldn’t expect anything less from these guys. i can only imagine the chorus sounding absolutely massive in a live setting. the band’s follow up to planet of ice is set to drop in the first part of 2010. can’t wait.

minus the bear on myspace.

download:

minus the bear – broken china.

- panda

Today will be the first of a new column specifically for music. Check back every day for a new “Song of the Day”.

We start with a new song from Minus The Bear called “Into The Mirror”. This track comes from their currently untitled 4th studio album and features guest vocals by Rachel Flotard of Visqueen. Enjoy!

Road tripping it with a good friend to Fort Worth, Texas for Minus the Bear’s Fall 2009 Tour.

When in good company a road trip in never a bad idea, even if it is to the small town of Fort Worth. This marked the beginning to one of the best weekends I have had in a while. With clear skies, barely any traffic and a mood setting playlist, the drive went by fairly quickly and was very familiar from a previous road trip made with friends. Minus the Bear’s Fall Tour 2009 was a tour I had been eagerly anticipating, since having seen them previously at the 2008 Fun Fun Fun Fest held in Austin, Texas. For of those of you who don’t know Minus the Bear, get informed and soak ‘em up! Minus the Bear is an Indie Rock band from Seattle, Washington. This year Minus the Bear decided to do things a little differently and go forth with a low key tour. This Tour consisted of Minus the Bear (MTB), Twin Tigers, and The Antlers, and focused on playing in cities MTB had never been to before, straying away from the more popular cities. Band Member and lead vocalist, Jake Snider, mentioned they were not even going to be playing in New York or L.A., and he then went on to say  they were next headed to McAllen, Texas, “I don’t even know what that is.” I know many fans, including me, were a little disappointed that they were not playing in their cities and shocked at where they were playing, but after  the drive, hearing them play, and getting a chance to meet and talk with them I had no objections to their choice on doing the tour in this fashion. At any other city I probably would have not been given the opportunity or chance.

road trip playlist:

RD to FW(Road to Foward)

1. “Bad News” – Owen
2. “Fall On My Knees” – Samamidon
3. “Title and Registration” – Death Cab For Cutie
4.  ”Mission 44″ – Fhloston Paradigm
5. “A Genuine Display” (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix) – Midwest Product
6. “Into the Mirror” – Minus the Bear
7. “Pachuca Sunrise” – Minus the Bear
8. “Broken China” – Minus the Bear
9. “Hasir” – Modeselektor
10. “Hyper Hyper” – Modeselektor
11. ” Everyone is Golden” – Portugal, the Man
12.  ”Mirando” – Ratatat
13.  ”The Lord God Bird” – Sufjan Stevens
14. ” Leather Wings” – This Will Destroy You
15. “Grandfather Clock”- This Will Destroy You
16. “Knights” – Crystal Castles
17. “Presidents Day” – Balance Problems

The Twin Tigers

The Antlers

Minus the Bear

Minus the Bear’s new album is rumored to be released some time February.

Photos brought to you by me and Aaron.

The work ethic of the supposed “mad genius” can certainly be admired. You know the type: they hide in their studio,  meticulously crafting their latest endeavor that must outdo anything they’ve ever done, and yet, will never be good enough for their own taste. The three guys from Russian Circles, a Chicago-based instrumental and otherwise unclassifiable band, apply this attitude to their songwriting through precise layering, looping and obsessive tweaking. They work and rework one song for days, sometimes months, on end until it eventually leads full (Russian) circle back to the original idea.

Opening for the likes of Tool, Minus the Bear, and Coheed and Cambria, they’ve managed to convert fans of any taste through the mesmerizing intensity with which they play. Before they hit The Casbah on Thursday, I spoke to drummer Dave Turncrantz (above, far right) about how substituting Brian Cook for former member Colin DeKuiper changed the entire songwriting process, how they avoid being pigeonholed in today’s label-ridden music scene, and where they plan to go compositionally from their most recent (and most acclaimed) album, Geneva. 

CityBeat: Everyone knows the best way to reflect upon important benchmarks in someone’s life is have them slip into a coma on a cheesy soap opera and see what moments they flash back too. So,  if your band slipped into a coma on Days of Our General Passions, what would those important moments be that lead up to where the band is now, and what would be the fondest, most important memory that ultimately juts you guys awake?

Dave Turncrantz: [Laughs] Wow. That’s a good question. I’m used to “what does your band name mean” and standard, stock answers. Major points were definitely when Brian got in the band when we asked him to play on [2008's] Station. He said yes to play on the record, but the big moment was when he said he would join the band as a full time member. Very big moment. Playing with Tool in Europe was something that put our name on the board here in the states and overseas. It’s funny how many Tool fans look at message boards, and they all kind of freak out about who Tool takes out and if they like them or not. That was definitely a big step for the band. Let’s see… we bought a van! That was a pretty big moment. [Laughs]

CB: How did the dynamic of the band change with the addition of Brian Cook, and departure of Colin?

DT: The major change was the addition of a really good musician that we really, really trust, that could sit back and listen and then contribute something. When all three of us are together it’s a good, soothing writing process because none of us are trying to take the lead or be too loud. We all listen to each other which is very essential for a band. We always joke around that if we had another guitar player, everything will crumble down. It would be awful if we had another guitar player because a lot our stuff is just loops by Mike and then we play on top of it. So we layer and layer on the loop, and if a guitar player had to play that loop for five minutes straight, I mean I don’t blame him, I’d want to kill myself too. So it’d probably for the best that we don’t have another guitar player. The main thing is, is that we all get along, and we all really enjoy playing music together. Writing is such a big part of being in a band and if you just can’t do it, it makes things extremely difficult, let’s just say that. We’ve definitely had our share of bad practices [before Brian], so it’s nice to have good practices. Let’s just say that.

CB: Did you decide from the start that you would forgo vocalists?

DT: No. When we first started, pretty much everything was up in the air. I lived in St. Louis at the time when the band just started, and Mike drove down to St. Louis to help me move to Chicago. We actually had a practice at my old apartment in St. Louis. We wrote “Carpe” that night, or at least structures here and there for the song “Carpe,” and when we did that we thought maybe we’d have another guitar player. Maybe we’d have a singer. We thought about who would sing and then the more and more we started practicing, the more and more we realized that a singer’s just going to make everything really weird. Especially if we’d get someone that screams. We could definitely be an Alternative Press band in no time, like snap of the fingers we’d be another… I don’t know any crappy, shitty screaming bands. I’m bad with examples of bad bands because I try not to listen to them. How about, uhh… God, what the… Come on, help me out here, what’s a bad band?

CB: Just take your pick, any of any of the ones you hear too many times on the radio.

DT: [Laughs] Yeah, yeah. Exactly. From the get-go it’s really hard to get a vocalist that is unique that does something new and beings something new to the table. Especially when we play heavy parts, if we’ve got a guy screaming then all of a sudden we’d be categorized as a hardcore band or a metal band. If we had someone singing—I don’t know. [Laughs] I can’t even imagine someone like really singing over some of these songs. Because then we’d be placed in another hilarious genre of music that we don’t want to be placed in. So we’re actually kind of happy that no one can really define us. Everybody puts “post-rock.” The one term we hate the most is “Instrumetal,” which is really clever—just take away the “n” and then all of a sudden it just all works. But “post-rock” is always slapped on us. It’s just funny to us because we feel like we could write a folk album the next time around—which, we’re not going to say we wouldn’t [laughs]—but we could totally write a folk album and we’d be fine. That’s something I’m very proud of because we like heavy stuff, but we also like the most depressing, wrist-slashing stuff out there. It could go from Will Oldham to a black metal band from Sweden. I like that there’s nothing really holding us back musically. We can kind of do whatever we want.

CB: I suppose your band is filed under “post-rock,” but it’s a grey area. Is there anything you try to incorporate into your songwriting to ensure you can’t be cleanly categorized?

DT: It’s just going to happen, unfortunately. The first thing someone does is try to categorize it. Like any band. TV on the Radio could write a noise record that ends with funk basses behind it and they’re all automatically going to say it’s funk, but it’s not really funk, man. That doesn’t even make sense. It doesn’t matter. Even if we write a folk record, someone’s going to say it’s post-rock just because there’s no vocals. We think its kind of funny, to be honest with you. It’s just what people do. And I do it too. I’m guilty of it. If  someone asks me to describe something I always categorize it in something it probably shouldn’t be in. So, I can’t be that mad if I do it myself.

CB: How has your band’s sound evolved from Station to Geneva?

DT: I definitely feel Brian, when he became a full band member [after recording with them on Station], became a huge part of the writing process so the bass is a huge deal on the new record [Geneva]. I think it’s pretty evident from listening to it that the bass is really up front. On Station, me and Mike wrote all the songs, and Brian had input on a lot of them, but they were mainly just given to him a couple weeks before we recorded. So he really didn’t have a lot of time to sit down and voice his opinion on certain things here and there. So with Geneva we all got together, we all wrote. Me and Mike got structures, but very, very little into them and we all sat down and played along with it and all voiced our opinions and I feel it shows on the record that all three of us put our brains to it. that’s the main thing. And we weren’t afraid to experiment a little more in he studio because we had more time. So, you know, we got the string section to come in, and Brandon [Curtis] from Secret Machines produced the record. He’s a lot smarter than us when it comes to music. That definitely helps when you have someone that tells you these things and you have no idea what he’s talking about, and then he shows you and you’re like, “Yes, you’re smarter than me.”

CB: You guys are known to be extremely meticulous when crafting a song. How long does it, on average, take you to write a song, and how do you know when it is complete, if ever?

DT: That’s hilarious. We are—we’re kind of crazy. It could take one week to five months. We always try to use the philosophy “keep it simple, stupid,” kind of thing. The “K.I.S.S.” philosophy. But then we always dissect it, and every time we dissect it we just ruin it. Always. I can’t even tell you how many times we wrote a song that was really good and we kept trying to change it and change it, and then six weeks later we’d realize and say, “Hey, let’s start playing it like the first time we recorded it. Let’s just start by playing it.” We’d play it like that and we’re like, that’s amazing—why did we change it? We can be kind of hilarious when it comes to that. But it’s always for the best because you always wonder, you know, what if we did do that? And we try it, and we keep trying it, and if it doesn’t work in the end, it wasn’t meant to be. So yeah, it varies. A song like, for example, “Melee,” the third song on the new record, we wrote it like it was and then spent so much time trying to change it, and it really didn’t need to be changed. We had an idea that we wanted strings on it, and we almost scrapped it a week before we recorded, but luckily we didn’t because now that’s one of my favorite songs on the record. It’s funny though, my mom wanted to hear the demos so I played them for her and she hated that song. She’s like, “I don’t like that song at all. I don’t like it.” Thanks, mom. Awesome. Thank you very much. And then, of course, when the record comes out that’s her favorite song. Even our parents voice opinions, but no one knows what they’re doing. [Laughs] It’s one of those things where you think you’re fixing it, but you’re really just making it worse. So we’re glad that we kept it kind of the same as when we first started and it came out really awesome.

CB: Is there a difference between “simple” and “minimal” to you?

DT: I put them in the same category. When we first started, we didn’t know what kind of band we were. On the drums I was trying to do—not crazy stuff, but stuff that was a little harder to pull off. Looking back at that record [Enter], I can’t even get through it all the way. I mean, I like it and I’m glad that we put it out, but the older I get the more I want things to be more of a hook. Something to grab on to. I would say minimalist stuff is just something we can write and loop for three or four minutes and slowly layer and layer and layer on top of it, and that’s something that grabs my ear more than someone doing some crazy drum solos and some crazy guitar riffs here and there. So “simple” and “minimal” to me are kind of the same because “simple” is just keeping the back beat on the drums, and not really trying to take the lead or be in the spotlight. Just making the song speaks for itself.

CB: Cellist Allison Chesley and violinist Susan Voe are featured on Geneva. Do you plan on incorporating more strings into your songs?

DT: Yeah! I think so. We really enjoyed it. Like I said, Brandon was an awesome producer and knew his stuff, but those two came in the studio with sheet music. They asked us crazy stuff like in line 2 on the second chorus—and we were like, what are you talking about? It’s “the heavy part.” We have the dumbest names for parts of our songs. So these people, professional musicians, are mind-blowing to us because a lot of us are self-taught, or we took lessons but for us to come into a studio with sheet music and to play directly off the sheet music is totally out of our realm. So it was awesome to have them down there. I’m a huge sucker for cello. Cello and grand piano are two of my favorite instruments. Just like Brian Eno stuff, minimalist composer stuff is something that I really, really like. I can definitely see a lot of violin, cello, and grand piano on the next record for sure.

CB: You’ve played with Minus the Bear and Tool, among a handful of other great bands. Is there a certain genre of bands you prefer to play with that you think complements your performance best?

DT: It’s funny because we get shows with Minus the Bear and we’ve play a lot with bands like Clutch, and we get a good response either way. It’s really awesome. I really like to play with bands that you wouldn’t normally see us with because we’ve got a lot of great fans in a certain niche of instrumental—I said “instrumental,” not “instrumental” [laughs]—and we grab a lot of those audiences from playing because there’s not a lot of bands like us out there besides, like, Pelican, so it’s always nice to play with a band you wouldn’t really expect us to be with. Us playing with Mono is kind of expected, but with a Clutch, or when we did a Coheed and Cambria tour, it worked out in the end too. Playing for audiences who wouldn’t normally see you just offers more opportunities for more fans.

CB: I want to hear about your relationship with the band Pelican, and the kinship (if any) of the Chicago music scene.

DT: Pelican, they’re good friends of ours. We actually share a practice space with them in Chicago. They definitely helped us out in the beginning when no one know who we were. they’re just great guys. two of the brothers live in LA right now, Larry and Brian, the bass player and drummer, but Laurent—Mike, our guitar player, works with Laurent at a tutoring program at local schools. So we see them quite often. Chicago has a great music scene. It’s something that’s very inspiring for a musician. For example, Tortoise and Shellac—the list goes on and on and on, there’s great musicians all around. A lot of guys from Tortoise do improve stuff at bars in the Chicago area so you can see them play and get mad because they’re really great players [laughs]. Get your mind blown. I’m really proud that we come from a great music scene in a great music city because the bands in Chicago are a little different than other cities. They’re more about unity and helping each other out more so than trying to one-up someone else or be better than someone else. You know the music industry can definitely be kind of nasty at times with people trying to be bigger than their friends’ band just because. In Chicago it’s more like here, we’ll put you on a show and hopefully you’ll gain some fans out of it. It’s something that definitely helped us out in the beginning because if we started in LA it would have been us trying to fight for an opening spot on who knows what kind of bill.

CB: Heard you had some bad luck starting this tour off, did Mike find his guitar yet?

DT: He did not find his guitar yet. It’s pretty frustrating because we know who the guy is who took it. We know his name, we have pictures of him, we just don’t know where he lives! The one good, shining moment out of that is that he did have it insured. So he can buy another one, but the problem is it’s such a rare guitar it’s going to take awhile for him to find one. there were very, very little made. I think there were 100-200 made. So it’s a bummer. And the guy who did it is an asshole. But it was just hilarious because it was the worst first show ever. Everything fell apart, and then we get a guitar stolen. That is the best way to start a six-week tour, let me tell you.

CB: Well, you get it all out of the way at the beginning.

DT: Yeah! I guess you’re right. It’s funny, I got sick the second day and then everybody started to get kind of sick. I got my brother [the tour manager] sick, Brian’s kind of sick. So we’re getting all the sickness and guitar stealing out of the way right at the get-go, and then hopefully by the time we get to the west coast everything will be great. Or we might all be dead. There’s only one of two routes for us right now.

CB: What can you tell San Diego about your live show to adequately prepare us for such an experience?

DT: Ok. We’re an acoustic rock band. We kind of sound like Dashboard [Confessional] [chuckles]. This is weird, I hate talking about ourselves.

CB: Sorry, I have to do it. I have to ask the hard-hitting questions.

DT: Yeah, it’s going to be soul-crushing. No, we just try to recreate what we put on record and it’s definitely something you can’t get off a CD player or record player, it’s something you have to experience live. We have a great time doing it and I think it shows. Um, we play with our shirts off which is a definite plus.

CB: Ooooooh.

DT: You don’t want to see that, actually. We have a good time and it should be a lot of fun. It’s going to be a very loud show.

Russian Circles plays with Red Sparowes, Young Widows and Helms Alee on Thursday, Nov. 12 at The Casbah. 

Quite the weekend. My friday was spent with the Sharyland Rattlers, watching them win their 10th straight game and becoming the second program in all of Sharyland history to finish an undefeated season. Good group of kids, hoping to see them advance a few rounds in the playoffs. Shouts to Scottie Meyer, Ricky Mata, Chris Zuniga, Erik Martinez, and Bobby Moran.

Saturday I held the Minus the Bear show in McAllen. Amazing is an understatement, they completely blew me and everyone else away. Afterwards, I allowed my friends Katie and Vic co-host their own private birthday party at the house, so a nice bunch of us had some of the most amazing times in the vegas-themed fiesta. It wasn’t my party, so if you weren’t invited, don’t get all butt hurt. Kudos to Katie and Vic for the decorations.

Thanks for being there…

10-0

Minus the Bear

roulette madness

blackjack

birthday girl katie vegas!

birthday girl victoria w/ adrian!

A very, very full DTB

I went down to the DTB the other night to see a show. This was a show featuring a band called Minus the Bear, who appear to be far more well-known than I had previously realized. The Brew was packed to the brim, definitely a very sold out show. And for good reason.

The show was opened by Twin Tigers and The Antlers. I hadn’t heard of either band before that night, and to be honest was a bit disappointed. They had some common ground with Minus the Bear, but unfortunately the ground they shared was not the ground that attracts me to the headliner.

Both the opening bands lacked any meaningful sense of space and when I see or hear bands like this I just find myself lost in a sea of trebley distortion, residual cymbals, keyboards, and whatever else a band can find to contribute to what ends up being an overpowering flood of white noise.

The crowd, on the other hand, seemed very much on board with what the bands were doing on stage, so perhaps I am too picky.

The first opener was a band called Twin Tigers. They claimed repeatedly to be from Athens, GA.

When Twin Tigers hit the stage, there were already a very substantial number of people in the building. To get that picture I had to zoom waaaaaay in and shoot over a shoulder and between a number of heads. It took a few tries.

I’ll admit that I was kind of jealous of the bassist’s Rickenbacker. Those instruments just look so damn classy.

Also, it appeared that there may be some kind of romantic relationship between the female bassist and the front man. They shared some telling forehead contact in the middle of a song. I imagine that makes for some interesting band politics. I wish them the best.

The Antlers front man, Peter Silberman.

The Antlers were, in their live show at least, pretty inaccessible to me. They are a three piece. None of those pieces are a bass guitar. This always irks me and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m biased in this case.

As I mentioned before, I get overwhelmed by bands who don’t allow for any space. The Antlers really did me in with that. Keyboards, cymbals, and distortion going the whole time and I was down for the count. As a result of this, the songs all ended up sounding the same, which is another huge turnoff for me as a listener.

However, I felt that these guys deserved more than this bum review. They’re touring with Minus the Bear, which is a group I respect, so The Antlers must have something going for them

I have now listened to the album versions of their music. The recorded songs are chock full of space and contrast. They write good music. It’s just that their live performance did not do them justice. It’s possible that the issues were exacerbated by DTB’s small space. I don’t know. I’ve only seen the band once so I can’t make any sweeping conclusions. I just wasn’t satisfied.

And get a bassist. (sorry)

Minus the Bear really rocked it. It's no surprise they packed the house. They deserve the support.

Let me first apologize for the above photo. The preposterous size of the crowd forced me to take refuge in an unreserved booth in the 21+ area. I was stuck in a position where there was literally no way for me to get an unobstructed shot of/including the front man. In fact, I could barely see the guy. Nonetheless, he sounded on point. It should be noted that he was sick enough to have cancelled a number of dates (thankfully not ours) and was STILL on point. Props.

Minus the Bear was high energy and very sound on the musicianship. They are able to very faithfully recreate their songs live with only minimal use of sampling and some very artful use of effects.

The guys are good.

To anyone who gets a chance, definitely go see these guys. They put on a show that is very worth seeing. If you’re not a fan, you will be.

Coming soon:

• Steve Key and what he does for our community
• Exclusive interview with Chase McBride
• Local Band Night
• Another Cal Poly Fanfest (not this coming weekend, but the one after)
• Seeds of Hope Benefit (not this coming weekend but the one after)

Thanks to Old Flame Records for keeping me on point as to the whereabouts of Twin Tigers.

20 Watts talks to Minus the Bear's Erin Tate

Minus the Bear have a message for aspiring musicians everywhere: please, guys, try not to suck.

It’s obvious wisdom, perhaps, but wisdom that has certainly worked for the Seattle-based indie rockers.  Minus the Bear’s most recent album, Planet of Ice, not only garnered critical acclaim, but also hit No. 74 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.  In anticipation of the band’s upcoming single and new album, as well as a concert at the Westcott Theatre on November 17, 20 Watts took some time to ask drummer Erin Tate about musical evolution, self-censorship and the constant struggle “not to suck.”

20 Watts: You guys are releasing a new single on October 27th, and a new album is coming shortly after. Can you tell me about that?
Erin Tate: The single is kind of something small, I mean, we don’t really have a record label and so we’re trying to get something out, you know. We finished our record a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully that’ll be out by March of next year.

20W: Do you think your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
Tate: Oh, for sure. Every record has a new kind of feel. We try to purposely make it totally different from the last one. Every show you play together with the same musicians, you kind of grow as a musician. Also, the group can kind of grow apart a little bit, which is definitely a factor with how long we’ve all known each other and have been playing together.

20W: What has been your biggest challenge as a band?
Tate: Trying to make things different for each record is kind of hard, you know? Sometimes we record and still have to take out a few things because it sounds too much like something else. It’s kind of challenging, but it’s a compromise you have to make. Also being around each other all the time is challenging. I mean, when we’re home we rehearse five days a week.

20W: What do you want to communicate to people through your music?
Tate: When I write, I don’t really think about what other people are going to think about it. We just kind of do stuff and do it the way we want to do it. Never once have I thought, ‘oh, we should or shouldn’t do this based on how people are going to react to it,’ just on how we feel about it. I feel like that’s why people write music — obviously we’re not going to offend people with our music, but it’s important not to censor what you want to say.

20W: Do you have any advice for people who are trying to break into the music scene?
Tate: It’s a lot of work, and you just have to keep going and keep trying at it. I mean, I’ve lost a lot of things from going on tour. I’ve lost so many jobs and so many relationships. But if it’s something you want to do, you just have to do it, and buckle down.  And try not sucking. That’s really important when you’re in a band, not to suck. Some originality is a good idea too, not the run of the mill, crappy bands that sound like someone else. I’m not saying that we’re not crap, I’m sure that there are some people that think we sound like crap or just like everyone else, but you just have to go with it, I guess.

– Casey Rosen

Haven’t been getting enough of Minus the Bear lately. Solid on the guitar riffs! Lots of melody plus very aaaaand truly good vibe to their songs. Perfect to listen to on those cold rainy windy days when you just want to lay back and do nothing. Lazy bums!

If you like this band, then I also suggest you guys check out The Reign of Kindo.

Good times!

Last Thursday, I went to see Minus the Bear at Blender at Gramercy. It was my first time seeing them live, and I was extremely impressed by every aspect of their performance. Not only was each member of the band evidently skilled and seemingly more familiar with their instruments than many other musicians, but their set list truly made it a fantastic experience. They played songs off of nearly every album/EP they’ve ever released; something many bands refuse to do, for fear of not pleasing their newer fans. I was also amazed that they played songs off of Planet of Ice that were never as popular as others – my favorites off the album, as well.

Some of the set included: Dr. L’Ling, Memphis and 53rd, Throwin’ Shapes, Into the Mirror, White Mystery, Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!, Ice Monster, Let’s Play Clowns, Hooray, The Fix, Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse, Pachuca Sunrise, as well as a few others.
-Dr. L’Ling and Memphis and 53rd, two of my favorite MTB songs, were better live than I ever could have imagined.
-Not a single person wasn’t singing along during Throwin’ Shapes and The Fix.
-Into the Mirror proved to be the highlight of the set for me – absolutely flawless. Heather Duby came on stage to sing, as she does on the album – she has a great voice (She also opened for MTB).

The crowd was so much more fun than I had expected it to be. In every video I had watched of them live, people seemed to be standing still, but where I was in the crowd (2nd/3rd row in the center), everyone was dancing and singing.

The venue was also one of my favorites of all I’ve been to. It used to be an old movie theatre, so there’s a descending seated section, as well as a pit smaller than that of Irving Plaza, but a little bit bigger than the one at Highline Ballroom. The lights were spectacular and made the show even better.

My love for Minus the Bear is greater than it ever has been after such a wonderful night. I hope to go see them again as soon as possible.

On a similar note, I just heard their second single off of their upcoming album – “Broken China.” It’s a good song, without a doubt, but it doesn’t seem to compare to “Into the Mirror,” the other new song. Based on these songs, I’m fairly confident that I will love the new album.

Minus the Bear – Broken China

minus the bear @ soundwave 2009.

the latest offering from math-rock/experimental/indie legends, minus the bear, is a thrilling 5 minutes of guitar sampling and over-dubbing, coupled with jake snider’s trademark vocals, and the added surprise of guest female vocalist rachel flotard (of visqueen). ‘into the mirror’ is the first indication of what the new record will sound like, which will drop sometime in early 2010. ‘into the mirror’ will sound familiar to those of you that have seen the band’s promo video for the australian soundwave festival last february (or the keyboard cat’s cover!). the band will be releasing the single on vinyl and digitally on october 27, and it will come with the spacey brill b-side ‘broken china‘.

listen:

minus the bear – into the mirror

When I first heard them, I really didn’t like Minus The Bear. I found their music to be confusing and thus, ‘lame crap’.

Then, several months later, I unknowingly began listening to their debut album, Highly Refined Pirates, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

They have since come to release two more full-lengths and have a fourth coming soon called Into The Mirror.

One song from the album has made it’s way to the internet, the title track. Have a listen to it below. It’s slowly growing on me. I also have a feeling that the female vocalist on the track (new for the band) is Heather Duby

Website
MySpace

Yeah, that’s right. This is now a classical music blog! And we’re going to start this new era of blogging by celebrating the life, music, and all-around awesomeness of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the greatest child prodigies ever known to man. The guy had such a good ear for music that by the time he was, like, five years old he could listen to someone play a piece on the harpsichord and then sit down and play it himself note for note. That’s pretty remarkable talent, man.

Plus, you know a classical composer is awesome when he’s got movies, ’80s one-hit wonders, and Simpsons parodies of said ’80s one-hit wonders inspired by his greatness.

I LOVE YOU, DOCTOR ZAIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, so I’m not actually going to start writing about classical music on this blog. It’s still the same rock/indie/metal/etc. blog as always. I’m just in a goofy mood at the moment. Not that you’d know this from looking at me, because I am sitting alone in my apartment on a Saturday night typing all this while the rest of the world is having fun without me. I’m 23 years old and I’ve already apparently forgotten what it’s like to be young… or maybe I just don’t feel like cramming into bars that are already so stuffed with people that I can’t get from point A to point B without taking a detour through points C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z, not necessarily in that order and also allowing for possible repeats.

And yes, I only named all the letters between C and Z for additional effect. Just be glad I didn’t start getting into the Greek alphabet, or all those letters Dr. Seuss made up in On Beyond Zebra.

Not pictured: Spazz, Floob, Zatz, Jogg, Flunn, Itch, Yekk, Vroo, Hi!, and that one that combines all 26 "normal" letters.

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten my little mini-rant about the College Park bar scene off my chest, it’s time for my not-so-weekly Picks Of The Week! You can find them all after the jump.

Phoenix, “1901″

Not too long ago I picked up a copy of Phoenix’s album It’s Never Been Like That. I got it on the strength of songs like “1901,” which isn’t even on that album — it’s on their new one, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. That’s how good this song is — it’s made me check out albums from this band that didn’t feature this song before picking up the one it’s actually on!

In all seriousness, though, “1901″ is pretty much a perfect indie-pop song, and it comes courtesy of a band that specializes in creating really good indie-pop songs. It’s so freaking catchy that it will burrow into your brain like –  to borrow a phrase from U2 — a MOLE digging in a HOLE, digging in your SOUL. Or something like that. Easily one of my favorite singles of the year so far.

Hopefully Cadillac won’t ruin this song for me the way they almost ruined Led Zeppelin’s “Rock And Roll.” And don’t even get me started on how sick I still am of John Mellencamp’s “Our Country.” I was damn near ready to boycott everything that guy’s ever done because of one really annoying Chevy ad campaign. Over the course of one football game, you’d hear that freaking song enough to last you two years. Now lather, rinse, and repeat that for every football game and any other sporting event you may have watched.

Grizzly Bear, “While You Wait For The Others”

Speaking of bands who have developed a knack for crafting perfect indie-pop singles, here’s Grizzly Bear, whose “Two Weeks” was featured in my last Picks Of The Week post. “While You Wait For The Others” is more guitar-driven and features a change in lead vocalists than Veckatimest’s other single (“Two Weeks” had Ed Droste on lead vocals, while Daniel Rossen handles them here). It still showcases their Beach-Boys-esque flair for vocal harmony arrangements and also features highly hummable hooks (oh, the alliteration!), especially in the verses.

The Fall Of Troy, “Single”

This song has a pretty well-chosen title for a number of reasons. First, as singer/guitar virtuoso Thomas Erak explains, “Single” is a song about… well, being single. He also says it’s the first single from their new album In The Unlikely Event. It’s probably one of their catchiest and most instantly accessible songs to date, though my favorite part of this song is that muted guitar line Erak plays during the verses.

Another early favorite from this album is “Nobody’s Perfect,” which also features a memorable verse guitar melody and accessible vocal hooks. Then it suddenly morphs into a dark and angry breakdown-filled scream-a-thon.

Interpol, “Rest My Chemistry”

Our Love To Admire is generally considered Interpol’s weakest album by a pretty considerable margin, but it’s still got plenty of quality songs that make it worth a listen. “Rest My Chemistry” is probably my favorite of the bunch, primarily due to its simple yet incredibly infectious guitar work. I really like that jangly, shimmering guitar sound that Interpol gets in just about all their songs, but for some reason it sticks out to me even more with this one. It’s even more likely to stick in my head than the vocal melody in the verse, which I like a lot as well. Also recommended from Interpol is “C’Mere,” a single from Antics that gets stuck in my head whenever I hear it, though I haven’t listened to it in a while.

Minus The Bear, “Into The Mirror”

Cue the Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing”: I want my… I want my… I want my MTB! NEW MINUS THE BEAR! WOO-HOO!

“Into The Mirror” wasn’t actually supposed to be released until the end of this month, but then the song popped up on Imeem a week or two ago. It’s like an extension of their Planet Of Ice sound, which is good news if you’re like me and you LOVE Planet Of Ice. The new MTB album comes out in early 2010 and frankly it can’t get here soon enough.

And as if that wasn’t awesome enough, they’ll be playing a show in West Chester, Pennsylvania on November 14. Why is this awesome, you ask? Because that’s where I’m from — the city that gave you Bam Margera, Viva La Bam, CKY (Bam Margera’s brother’s band), and… um… other things that may or may not be associated with Bam Margera. Oh, and guess who owns the venue MTB will be playing at in West Chester? That’s right… Bam Margera. The place is, like, ten minutes down the road from where I live.

So that about covers all my Picks Of The Week for this week. See you the next time I feel like picking some more songs, because given the history of this feature, it sure as hell won’t be next week.

Minus the Bear has posted their Fall Tour Schedule on their website, as well as a new track on Imeem. Pretty fun sound.

Also, for those nearby, they’re playing at the Glass House in Pomona on November 4th.

HT: cma.
File Under: I too love it when you yell “Yaaaar!” at me.