Last Saturday was one of the few times in my life that I actually showed up early for a concert. The last time I tried to go see As Tall As Lions they had already performed by the time I showed up. I was trying to avoid having the same thing happen again. I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen MTB perform several times before. Every time they’ve been phenomenal and I wasn’t expecting any less from them this time.
From the outside The Note looks like a tiny neighborhood bar. This is deceiving, because once you get inside it seems to open up. It’s not a big venue, but a couple hundred people can easily fit in front of the stage and up on the balconies to watch the show. After the doors opened and the long line of early-birds filed in, Twin Tigers went up to perform first. Their music was a mild punkish kind of thing that didn’t build into anything special, but they were good enough to listen to while I got in my first few drinks. Several of the people I was with were marveling at the bassist’s white Rickenbacker. It just so happened that the bassist from ATAL was sitting at the bar nearby. “We were just discussing the same thing,” he told us.
When ATAL started setting up I went up into the balcony to get some wide angle shots. I ended up waiting up there for a half hour while the band went through the longest sound check I’ve ever had to witness. I did, however, get a kick out of the trumpet player busting out the horn melody to Outkast’s “Spottieottiedopalicious” while they checked the mic levels. In the end, it turned out that all the preparation was worth it. The sound system at this tiny venue in bumblefuck Pennsylvania was surprisingly good: loud, but not overpowering, crisp and balanced. I enjoyed watching Lions rock out onstage, delving into several improvised sections that were fantastic to watch. There’s a distinct jazz vibe to ATAL’s music. Their ability to flawlessly fuse this with modern prog rock is something that can’t be fully appreciated by listening to their records alone.
Everyone had been happy enough to see Lions, but when their performance was over and they announced that Minus the Bear would be coming on next, the crowd went nuts. It wasn’t long before they came out to the stage to the warmest of welcomes. With just a few tweaks of Dave Knudson and Jake Snider’s pedal boards they were ready to bring the house down. They kicked it off with some notable selections from their most recent album, Planet of Ice. Eventually Dave brought out a synthesizer/effects pad, and I was happy to hear the live performance of their newest single (and my new favorite MTB song), “Into the Mirror.” The crowd lost its mind when the opening high-pitched stabs of “The Fix” came through the speakers. I looked around and marveled at the hundreds of kids in the pit jumping up and down, waving their arms and mouthing the lyrics. There are few bands I’ve ever seen that can generate that kind of response. I would say MTB is one of five.
It wasn’t long before the energy level reached a critical peak. I was taking pictures from the stairs that led up to the balcony when a burly security guy swooped down behind me and into the crowd. I hadn’t noticed the fight, but I turned my head just in time to see a skinny guy with a drunken grin get scooped up by security and plowed backward all the way toward the front entrance.
About halfway through the set Jake announced that they would be playing another song from the new album. Much like the single, it was poppy but at the same time soulful and marvelous in its experimentation. I began to consider the possibility that this album might turn out to be the best thing they’ve ever recorded. I think everyone in the room was as excited for its release as I was.
Minus had damn near every one in the venue singing the chorus to “Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!” before they said goodbye. The crowd wouldn’t let them go that easily though, and they soon came back out to formally close the show with a performance of their signature song, “Pachuca Sunrise.” Everyone was beyond satisfied. It’s not often that you get a show from two artists of such high caliber for a mere 20 bucks.
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This is my Excerpt…