Concert in your area for Rock, Indie & Alt, and Metal.
Comprised of Jake Snider (vocals/guitar), Dave Knudson (guitar), Matt Bayles (keys), Cory Murchy (bass) and Erin Tate (drums), Minus the Bear released their debut EP “This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic” under Suicide Squeeze Records in 2001. The EP demonstrated their early mathcore and experimental rock elements whilst displaying their witty song titles with tracks like “Hey, Wanna Throw Up? Get Me Naked”, “Lemurs, Man, Lemurs” and “Just Kickin’ It Like a Wild Donkey”.
Despite appearing as a novelty band, Minus the Bear proved themselves to be incredibly smart musicians as they continuously shaped their songcraft incorporating elements of pop, indie and post-hardcore inspired by artists such as Incubus and Deftones. After several EP releases, the departure of Bayles coupled with Alex Rose’s arrival and hopping between labels like Arena Rock and Polyvinyl, the band signed with Dangerbird Records in 2010.
The first release later that year under the new label “Omni” produced by Grammy Award winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (White Stripes, Counting Crows, Manchester Orchestra) had more of a live feel led by the continuous play instead of recording the separate track components. As their craft developed, the band have found themselves less concerned with regimenting song lengths as they did in early stages of their career and instead going with their flow.
With an incredible amount of tenacity, passion and talent, Minus the Bear have built strong relationship with their diverse and adoring fan base. Relentlessly touring worldwide having shared the stage with the likes of Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World and Soundgarden and a string of sold out shows under their belt, Minus the Bear are all round entertainers with the incredible ability to produce catchy melodies. Bound by friendship and the common goal of producing music that they are passionate about, Minus the Bear continue to take the world by storm.
Minus The Bear are among those indie rock bands that surfaced during the 00’s that use odd time signatures along with twanging, sometimes interlocking electric guitar riffs. I personally haven’t followed their trajectory all that much, but certainly their more hardcore fans seemed pleased when their set, at the Regency Ballroom, San Francisco. They drew more from 'Planet Of Ice' and their earlier albums than the generally less-well received 'Omni.' And well, they like to give their fans what they want, which also includes lots of guitar, lots of drums, and pounding dance-pop/indie prog delivered with pinpoint precision. A particular highlight of the night was a guest appearance by vocalist Jennae Quisenberry for the song "Into The Mirror." And just as you were thinking you might have had enough of the in-your-face rocking out they did two acoustic numbers, "Absinthe Party" and "Riddles." They then launched back into their full blown assault with "Steel And Blood" (the song that is…) before being called back for an encore. Minus The Bear seem to be the sort of band whose fans are totally committed if not diehard, their enthusiasm was evident when they finished the encore with a jammed out version of their crowd-pleaser "Pachuca Sunrise."