Minus the Bear/Annuals/27: One Concert Goer's Experience 11/13

Assignments like this are always tough. I knew Vince would be writing the review for this show, so I made it my mission to put myself into the mindset of an actual fan and music enthusiast in an effort to tell your story, which too often goes untold.

I began the night by scanning the crowd. Previous to arriving at the Marquee, I spent some time pondering on the type of crowd I might find at a Minus the Bear show but I came up with no ideas. I knew the night was going to completely blow me away with surprise.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't that shocking of an evening, but I'll run down the list of mildly interesting (or at least mentionable) people I encountered on Thursday night.

• A girl in a Pokemon shirt wearing denim short shorts
• A man in an Arizona Cardinals shirt
• A man cheering for Minus the Bear while Annuals were playing until he realized that they weren't Minus the Bear. He did however look relieved once he figured out why he didn't know any of the words
• Lastly, was the shirtless guy sagging his boardshorts. And as the night went on, at least three others appeared, and when Minus the Bear came on, man, they went nuts.

In fact, these guys deserve an entire paragraph. Not to berate anyone, but this group did not seem (to me) to be the type of hardcore Minus the Bear fans I would expect. But they knew every word, and they really wanted everyone around them to know this. Even though it's not really mosh pit music, they managed to get a small circle pit going to the right (that's stage left) of the stage. and as they sweat all over me and everyone else around them a revolving cast of friends(??) and couples came to makeout or dance briefly in the middle of everything. Any of these things on their own might not seem so strange, and as I'm writing this, it sounds like a fairly normal occurrence at any concert, but trust me, it was strange.

Fans love talking to people in bands! But the headliner is rarely out at their merch booth, so in true fan fashion, that is, without an audio recorder, I chatted up Ms. Christopher of the opening band, 27 for a few brief moments before Minus the Bear went on. When asked about the tour, she told me that this was their last night. She said that they got along great like family with Annuals and Minus the Bear and that leaving was going to be very difficult. She also told me that they are working on another album and that it may be available sometime after the snow melts in Cambridge, their home town. Check for updates from 27 here and here.

After speaking with 27 I remembered the girl selling cigarettes by the patio, and in an effort to really delve deep into the psyche of the Minus the Bear crowd I wanted to see how much they smoke. "About half as much as at Mudvayne," is the response I got.

Finally, no fan night would be complete without a blurry cell phone photo of the headliner (included above). So there you have it, in full and living color, my night as a fan.

Mission Accomplished.