First there was Jimi Hendrix. Then Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder and Dave Grohl followed suit proving that the wild and cold winds that blow into Seattle off the northern Pacific Ocean foster the growth of intense and intelligent musicians. So tonight I anticipated greatness in hearing the much hyped, loved and praised band Minus The Bear at The Fillmore in San Francisco.
Oh, and The Fillmore is the quintessential music venue in San Francisco. If you haven't been there before, you owe it to yourself to attend a concert there. Even my 78 year old mother has been there; I took her there 10 years ago to see Nancy Sinatra. The coolest thing about The Fillmore is the old guy at the door that greets you when you come in. He "welcomes" every single person that comes in that door. And the free apples! The place reminds me of the old days at Winterland.
So I got nervous tonight when five men walked out on stage; three of them carrying acoustic guitars, another carrying a tambourine while yet another wore a harmonica brace around his neck. I got more nervous when these guys started to croon, hum and whistle harmonies that made it sound like the Beach Boys had come to town. I had listened to Minus The Bear's newest album, Planet of Ice, several times over the past two days and knew the energy would have to pick up. And boy, did it ever. Openers Grand Archives did manage to keep the attention of the first fairly large section of the crowd that appeared tonight, however.
It was a generally polite audience; preppily dressed for the most part – mainly under-30's looking college kids I'd say. At one point I figured I was the oldest dude in the place, but later I did see someone that looked quite a bit older than me. In my last review I alluded the concert feel at The Independent to see High On Fire to be like that of a church gathering. If that church was the Church of Satan, then tonight I sort of felt like I was actually back at an authentic Christian summer camp. The complacent expressions on the innocent faces of the crowd during Grand Archives' set made me anticipate seeing hands raised above heads in the audience while people started to chant "Kumbaya." Thankfully, that didn't happen, and a very punctual seven or eight song set ended promptly. Later, Minus The Bear's lead singer Jake Snider asked the audience what they thought of Grand Archives. There was a soft murmur but no one shouted out what they really thought. Jake then said that they, "were good friends and that they loved those guys." Then everyone murmured a little louder. All-in-all, they were a good opener for this night's show. Their set was tight and you could tell they truly loved performing the songs they sang.
Helio Sequence took our sound and emotional experience this night to new and welcome levels. A two man band (drummer & guitarist/vocalist) from Portland, Oregon, they create a deep and penetrating chasm of sound based in the methods of progressive rock and electronica. The audience was caught by surprise that two men could create this captivating and entrancing sound field—they were so good. Granted, there were recorded drum machine and keyboard synth backgrounds that they made use of to create this rich texture of experimental and borderline psychedelic melodies. Not having heard Helio Sequence before, I was quite impressed and would be tempted to listen to more of their music. As the lead-in band for Minus The Bear, these guys did a splendid job in raising the level of concentration and anticipation of the crowd. They may have earned many new converts this night.
Like the fine working clockwork of a German timepiece, Minus The Bear came on stage at precisely 10pm. And the crowd was really ready for them. The band was primed with energy and the thrill in the crowd seemed to electrify them even more when they opened with the track "Knights" from Planet Of Ice. It amazes me how sharply practiced a band can appear when they do the same show night after night and still seem fresh and in love with what they do. These guys play complex music too! Surely they are one of the finest representations of new music that is being generated in the northwest. Jake Snider really does have a Dave Grohl look and personality that keeps the dynamics of their performance very exciting. Men and women in the audience seemed enchanted by his sex appeal. I was impressed by the methodical precision with which the three guitarists moved—between the rousing guitar-led choruses to the use of their electronic devices on the floor when certain songs moved into more experimental riffs and complex improvisations. This was one of the tightest performances I've ever seen. This audience knew the repertoire so well and there were many songs, like "Throwin' Shapes," "Dr. L'Ling," and "Pachuca Sunrise" where people giggled and gleefully sang along.
Now I'm not sure I'm going to report this part correctly, but there was a guy named Marty whose birthday it was this night. He may have been the stage hand that kept bringing out freshly tuned guitars to the guys after every three to four songs. Anyway, Jake told us all that it was his birthday and sheepishly suggested we sing him "Happy Birthday" if we felt like it. There was no hesitancy in the crowd and a roaring version of the beloved melody rocked the place. Then Marty joined in on the next (and final) song with a saxophone that brought the richness of MTB's vibrant sounds to a whole other level. Let that guy play more, ok guys? They were back within a few short minutes, though, and leaped into a three-song encore with a rousing sing-along version of an obvious crowd favorite, "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse." Absinthe had been filtered into the air through the melodies of the night and we were all abuzz like flies in a true honey warehouse…
For more information, visit:
Minus The Bear: myspace.com/minusthebear or www.minusthebear.com
Helio Sequence: www.theheliosequence.com or myspace.com/theheliosequence
Grand Archives: myspace.com/grandarchives
