Minus the Bear: Ten Year Anniversary Tour

2011-11-09T02:49:11Z

With the cover art pattern used on their seminal debut LP, "Highly Refined Pirates," as their backdrop, and a light show on acid, Seattle's Minus the Bear thrilled a packed house at Ace of Spades on Monday night.

The band is wrapping up their 10 Year Anniversary Tour, celebrating a decade of music and performing “Pirates,” released in 2002, in its entirety.

The popular math-rockers put on a tremendous performance for a very jazzed audience. Featuring guitarist Dave Knudson's signature complex finger-tapping guitar work - used on every song on “Pirates,” the band combined powerhouse indie band swagger with down-to-earth Northwestern charm.

Songs like "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse" and "Thanks for the Killer Game of Crisco Twister," which sound good and maybe even a little quirky when recorded, gained heft and intensity when played live. During "'Absinthe," a flashing light sequence kicked in when the verses turned into the more up-tempo choruses. This complemented the music perfectly, although for much of the show, three thin light panels backlighting the band were a bit much and a bit distracting.

"We've been playing our first album across the country," said Snider. "This is the third to last show of the tour. It's been a fucking awesome ten years and thank you Sacramento for being a part of it!"

Opening for Minus the Bear was Santa Rosa's, The Velvet Teen.

Photos by Steven Chea

Yoga and Meditation: Its Time to Sit Still

2008-10-14T02:36:09Z

Take a deep breath. Now another, and even a third. If you’re like most people, this may be the first time all day that you’ve thought about your breathing – a sign that in our culture, stress runs rampant and even a thirty-second reprieve from your busy day is a rare treat. But some individuals in the Sacramento community have tuned in to ancient techniques that yogis, monks and spiritual individuals have been practicing for centuries – yoga and meditation. With studios throughout the Sacramento area, it is not difficult to find an amazing teacher eager to share his or her knowledge.

So, you may be asking: some deep stretching, some breathing and sitting cross-legged while staring at a blank wall for a couple of hours – what in the world could this do for me, and why would I possibly want to devote my precious time to doing, well, nothing?

Yoga

If you've watched someone else practice yoga and thought, there’s no way that all that stretching does anything for your body – think again. The benefits of yoga are both mental and physical, improving everything from digestion to circulation and helping with depression, anxiety and insomnia, to name a few. On a fitness level, the more gentle forms of yoga are great for improving flexibility and can even be utilized by the elderly or people recovering from an injury, when done correctly and carefully. More difficult types of yoga help to stretch and tone the muscles, and can even burn calories to help you lose weight. And, of course, a major purpose of yoga is to prepare the body for meditation.

Meditation

Like yoga, meditation has many benefits and can be used for many purposes, depending on your goal. Whether you consider yourself religious or not, virtually anybody can use meditation as a stress-relief technique. Meditation isn’t a religion in itself, so it can be useful for people who already follow a particular religious doctrine and are looking to deepen their practice, or by someone who has no interest in religion whatsoever. Going beyond relaxation, meditation can also be a powerful and transformational tool for someone looking for a spiritual path -- it's really up to you, and your particular goals.

Creating a Community

Like any other activity – from jogging to dining – yoga and mediation become more powerful when practiced with others, at least occasionally. So, what are your experiences with yoga and/or meditation? Where in the Sacramento community have you learned either of these techniques, and would you recommend these locations to others? Are there reasons that prevent you from trying either of these techniques? Would you like to create a community where you could share what you’ve learned with others, perhaps in your own neighborhood?

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Minus the Bear: Ten Year Anniversary Tour

Yoga and Meditation: Its Time to Sit Still