Minus the Bear at Metro
- aaroncynic
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
“You know, they’re dad rock now,” my brother joked to me as we walked down Clark Street on Saturday, November 15th. The air was brisk but I still had a little bit of sweat dripping down my face after spending the last few hours crammed shoulder to shoulder inside the Metro for Minus the Bear’s first of two sold out shows that weekend. I felt old – my nephew was turning 13 later in the week – and a little cold, but light, the way you feel after spending a long night reminiscing with friends you’ve known for a few decades.
After a seven-year retirement, Minus the Bear hit the road again to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their seminal album Menos el Oso. While the last two decades have felt like a dozen or more lifetimes, they took the stage with the joy and energy as if they were still touring as 20somethings.
There are little moments over the years, core memories, as my brother reminded me on Saturday night after the show, that Minus the Bear has sprinkled throughout almost the last half of my life: A mutual friend in college made a mix tape for us that had a few tracks from Highly Refined Pirates and various EPs that we dubbed again so we each had a copy and managed to wear out both over the years. Listening to the warm waves of Pachuca Sunrise wash over me with little slivers of sunlight peeking through the curtains while nursing a hangover. Dancing in a shower that fit half a dozen people to My Time. Singing Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse at the top of my lungs while driving through endless rural roads on a tour.
Since they said farewell in 2018, I didn’t know when or even if I’d get the chance to unlock any of those core memories again, but I got most and more from the moment Minus the Bear hit the stage. The crowd beamed smiles at the band that were beamed right back as they launched into a full, flawless and heartfelt playthrough of Menos el Oso. This wasn’t simply a reunion tour or anniversary celebration, but a reunion of chosen family celebrating songs interwoven through their lives like perfectly played notes tapped into a guitar neck.
All photos by Aaron Cynic
While full album playthroughs are pretty common these days, the band wasn’t content with just giving us that record and maybe an encore or two. We were treated to a menagerie of tracks from the length of the band’s storied carrier for almost as long as their playthrough of Menos, including some deeper cuts like Lemurs, Man, and Lemurs and Spritz!!! Spritz!!!.
We’ve all aged quite a bit in the last couple decades, but both Menos el Oso and Minus the Bear have aged like a very fine wine. One I hope we’ll get to drink more of again eventually.
