Minus the Bear

FUN FUN FUN FEST

• FFFF Sunday Live Reviews

  Auditorium Shores, November 4, 2012

• Pallbearer

  BY ADAM SCHRAGIN

• Cult of Youth

  BY GREG BEETS

• Baauer

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• A Place To Bury Strangers

  BY MARC SAVLOV

• Giant Giant Sand

  BY ADAM SCHRAGIN

• Japandroids

  BY MICHAEL TOLAND

• Deerhoof

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Titus Andronicus

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• De La Soul

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• Fucked Up

  BY KEVIN CURTIN

• Turbonegro

  BY MICHAEL TOLAND

• FFFF Saturday Live Reviews

  Auditorium Shores, November 3, 2012

• The Golden Boys

  BY KEVIN CURTIN

• Saul Williams, Wyatt Cenac, David Cross

  BY RICHARD WHITTAKER

• Kreayshawn

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• OFF!

  BY RAOUL HERNANDEZ

• Real Estate

  BY MICHAEL TOLAND

• Danny Brown

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Wavves

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Public Image Ltd.

  BY GREG BEETS

• A$AP Rocky

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Refused

  BY KEVIN CURTIN

• FFFF Friday Live Reviews

• Dum Dum Girls

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Napalm Death

  BY ADAM SCHRAGIN

• Bob Mould

  BY MICHAEL TOLAND

• Hannibal Buress

  BY RICHARD WHITTAKER

• Astronautalis

  BY MARC SAVLOV

• Converge

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Superchunk

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Against Me!

  BY KEVIN CURTIN

• Santigold

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• X

  BY GREG BEETS

• Bun B

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• Run-DMC

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• This Is PiL

  Sex Pistol and PiL frontman John Lydon, by God.

  BY RICHARD WHITTAKER

• Fun Fun Fun Fest Preview

  Saving the best for last

• Twin Sister

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• X

  BY JIM CALIGIURI

• Superchunk

  BY GREG BEETS

• Sharon Van Etten

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Rakim

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• Nomeansno

  BY GREG BEETS

• Explosions in the Sky

  BY AUSTIN POWELL

• Beatbox

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Headbanging & Horns: The Black Stage

  BY MICHAEL TOLAND

• Austin in the House

  BY KEVIN CURTIN

• Comedy: The Yellow Stage

  BY ADAM SCHRAGIN

• Black Stage Punks

  BY KEVIN CURTIN

• Electrified: The Blue Stage

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Fun Fun Fun Fest Friday Reviews

• Santigold

  BY THOMAS FAWCETT

• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Bob Mould

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• Torche

  BY RAOUL HERNANDEZ

• Dum Dum Girls

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Burning Love

  BY GREG BEETS

• Minus the Bear

  BY MICHAEL TOLAND

• Municipal Waste

  BY GREG BEETS

• Diamond Rings

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Cursive

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• Fun Fun Fun Fest Saturday Reviews

• Paul Banks

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• OFF!

  BY KEVIN CURTIN

• Kreayshawn

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Daughn Gibson

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Diamond Rugs

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• The Head and the Heart

  BY ABBY JOHNSTON

• Why?

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• The Helio Sequence

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• Fun Fun Fun Fest Sunday Reviews

• Titus Andronicus

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Japandroids

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Giant Giant Sand

  BY MICHAEL TOLAND

• Cult of Youth

  BY GREG BEETS

• Pallbearer

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Black Moth Super Rainbow

  BY KEVIN CURTIN

• De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present: First Serve

  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Deerhoof

  BY KEVIN CURTIN

• Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

  BY DOUG FREEMAN

• Nite Jewel

  BY ADAM SCHRAGIN

• Cheap Girls

  BY GREG BEETS

Minus the Bear

Minus the Bear: emo, indie, prog? Eighties revivalists? As with polymaths, there's no straight answer from this Seattle quintet. Jake Snider and his gang alchemize angular guitar riffs, Reagan-era synth, nonstandard tempos, arena-ready melodies, and a heart-on-sleeve libretto into a mélange that feels familiar but unique. "Steel and Blood" and "Zeroes" will rock technique nerds and air musicians, while "Diamond Lightning" and "Heaven Is a Ghost Town" should please lighter-waving couples. "Lonely Gun" dances out its melancholy mood, "Empty Party Rooms" mashes heartbreak into slow-jam seduction, and "Listing" jumps into sing-a-long pop. The band threatens to be as precious as a teddy bear, especially during ballads, and often feels too eager to show off its many mastered styles, but consistency and sincerity keep Minus the Bear from descending into showboating dilettantism. (Fri., Orange stage, 6pm)