Show Review

This wasn’t the first time, and wouldn’t be the last time I would see Minus The Bear. These unbelievable musicians have been rocking for a considerably long time now, and I figured it was about time people started catching on to them. With an opening spot on this tour, Minus The Bear were finally exposing themselves to a scene who had yet to discover them—and for that I was excited.

My biggest gripe with Minus The Bear at the El Rey was the fact that their volume, overall, had been turned down. As expected, their guitarist was brilliant, tapping away jams spanning their last three releases. By the end of their set, Minus The Bear had played the first five tracks from “Menos El Oso,” the opening track (Fine + 2 Pts) from their splendid (and underrated) EP, “They Make Beer Commercials Like This,” and even a few tracks from “Highly Refined Pirates.” Though the band didn’t play my personal favorite, “Absinthe Party At The Fly Honey Warehouse,” they did play a spectrum of diverse jams. Their fresh keyboardist seemed to be on board with their sound, playing the technical songs without fault. Once again, Minus The Bear revealed they are quite possibly the most underrated band, and while it seems only a select few in the crowd were really familiar with their songs, I’m quite certain (like many shows on this tour) a multitude of brand new fans were made at this show that night.

As Thursday took the stage, the beautiful artwork display behind them was revealed—and it was quite impressive. The three-panel display exposed a silhouette with an umbrella in what looked like a war zone, and it looked vaguely like some of art expert Rob Dobi’s work. The last time I saw Thursday, I was sweating and the faint memory I have is that singer Geoff Rickley got sick and threw up on stage from heat exhaustion (Coachella 2003). As expected, this was an entirely new experience for me.

“Understanding (In A Car Crash)” immediately blasted the crowd into a sort of combat-induced frenzy, with fists and feet respectively thrusting and kicking to every tempo change and verse. This chaotic reflux only continued to increase with the set’s duration, as songs spanning mostly their latest two releases were played with uniform energy across the stage, and at perhaps the best moment, the band played some new songs including their latest single, “Counting 5-4-3-2-1.” Though Geoff had trouble at moments hitting and striving to hit every note, his stage charisma was unrivaled, as he pitched the mic to the crowd and stormed the stage.

Perhaps the best moment of this set was hearing a new song at the end of their set (well, the encore of “Jet Black New Year” was insane...) that sounded unreal. Imagine Thursday, but with some of Muse’s “Absolution” thrown in there: an epic, ear-splitting sound mixing resonating keyboards with squealing guitars.

Needless to say, Thursday have and will always be an incredibly talented band. Their songwriting literally pioneered this thrusting scene of screamy, melodic bands, and, also needless to say, I’m completely on the edge of my seat with anticipation for their upcoming full-length, “A City By The Light Divided.” If you still have the ability, get your ass to this tour.

review by Andrew Martin