Minus the Bear at the Gramercy Theatre

Minus the Bear
The Gramercy Theatre
New York City
October 17, 2014

A warm fall night welcomed Minus the Bear into the Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan. The five man band from Seattle earned a "Sold Out" sign on the marquee outside, on this the third show of their fall tour in support of a new release as well as the 10 year anniversary of another.

The Gramercy Theatre has morphed through a long history of serving from every sort of venue from its inception in 1937. It was a home for art house films, a dollar theater for 3rd run films in the 1970s, first run films in the early 1980s, a showcase for Hollywood classics, a stage exclusively for featured films made in India, an off-Broadway house, an anti-drug agency home, the place where the Fugees shot the video for "Killing Me Softly" and finally, an intimate concert hall owned by Live Nation.

The 499 person capacity venue was approximately half full for opening act O'Brother, who's brief but workable set served to warm up the fans. By the time Minus the Bear hit the stage at 9:45, the seats that fill the back third of the venue were full, with fans lined up and down the stairs, creating a log jam for those trying to navigate the area. The general admission portion in front of the stage was packed, with concert goers standing shoulder to shoulder from the bar to the far wall.

Prolific is the perfect word to describe Minus the Bear. Formed in Seattle in 2001, the band has been churning out releases, Eps and remixes of their material, not to mention hitting the road in support of these projects annually at the very least. You could easily see Minus the Bear more often than you do out of state relatives...as long as you buy a ticket early because sold out shows are not an anomaly for them.

Jake Snider, front man for the band, always sports a relaxed vibe and this night was no exception. A wizard on the guitar, his vocals were smooth and controlled, sweet with an edge when needed. A chameleon at the front of the stage, his wavy hair now is mid-length and the facial hair is back. Cory Murchy, all energy on the bass, also sported longer hair, often flying in his face. Murchy was all over the stage, never still for more than a few moments or to give a thumbs up to the crowd at the end of a song. Dave Knudson, guitar extraordinaire, claimed his normal stage position to the right of Snider. Knudson also never stands still for more than a few moments, with his head whipping forwards and back, trancelike. To his right stood Alex Rose, the man behind the keyboards, steady and solid. You could say the band is currently minus a bear, with drummer Erin Tate stepping aside from this tour due to a personal matter. In his stead was the capable Kiefer Matthias, handling percussion for this show without missing a beat.

Snider's chat with the audience was minimal. It was about the music and the band was visibly in good spirits, happy to be playing songs from both their new release Lost Loves (Dangerbird, 2014), a collection of rare and unreleased songs that span the entire career of the band as well as celebrating the 10th anniversary of They Make Beer Commercials Like This (Arena Rock Recording Company, 2004), one of the band's very early EPs and a crowd favorite.

Opening with some hits from Beer Commercials, fans were treated to "Fine +2 Pts," "Let's Play Clowns," and "Dog Park." They didn't stick to only those albums, going beyond the entirety of that EP to bring out favorites like "Hold Me Down," "Pachucha Sunrise," "Dr. L'Ling," "My Time," and "Monkey! Knife! Fight!" The crowd pulsed like a living organism, pulling cell phones out to grab video and to high five at the starting notes of a song they wanted to hear. The encore contained three songs, "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse," "Houston, We Have an Uh-Oh," and "Knights." As the house lights came up, the exhausted crowd filed out, dodging plastic cups strewn on the floor and singing to the songs that would live in their heads until next year. Or sooner.

Photo Credit: Christine Connallon
Additional article contributions by Mike Perciaccante

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