Chicagoans packed a nearly sold out House of Blues last Friday (5/4) to witness Minus the Bear perform their album Planet of Ice in its entirety, along with support from opening act The Coathangers. Spanning a nearly 15 year musical career, Minus the Bear has developed a sound entirely their own that falls outside of a single genre classification—merging indie, math, prog, and experimental rock.
The first leg of their tour was accompanied by label mates and punk rock queens, Atlanta’s The Coathangers. When is comes to opening up a show and pumping up a crowd, these ladies truly provided. Apparently singer and guitarist Julia Kugel had been battling a cold for a couple of days but still managed to show up and kick ass, proving that nothing can get in the way of these ladies performing a truly spectacular set.
Minus the Bear is currently celebrating 10 years since the release of Planet of Ice (Suicide Squeeze Records, 2007) by performing the LP in its entirety. The crowd was a diverse mix of true blue MTB fans who sang each word of every song throughout the entire show. MTB finished their set with an encore of “Pachuca Sunrise” off of their Menos el Oso album (2005) as well as crowd favorite “Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse” (Highly Refined Pirates, 2002).
Catch MTB on the second leg of their tour with The New Trust. It’s a show not to be missed—trust us.
THE COATHANGERS
