The Icelandic Bon Iver, Basically

Monday, March 10th, 9:54am:

Received text message from esteemed colleague and roommate Chris reading, "Whoa dude.  Asgeir - Torrent.  Check it out."

9:55am:

Opened Spotify and listened to "Torrent" by Asgeir.

9:57am:

Auditory arousal achieved.  Listened to rest of album.  More arousal.

Tuesday, March 11th, around 7:30pm:

Discussed Asgeir album with roommate and concluded that the band is the Icelandic Bon Iver.  Freaking spot on.

7:45pm:

Searched future tour dates on Do512.com and discovered that Asgeir would be performing at a free show on Rainey Street the next night for SXSW.  No freaking way.

Wednesday, March 12th, around 9:00pm:

Showed up by myself to Blackheart on Rainey Street for the show.

10:00pm:

Asgeir show began.

10:27pm:

Had slightly embarrassing emotional experience induced by beauteous music.

10:53pm:

Shook lead singer's hand.  Whoa.  Those were soft hands.  Does he moisturize?  Probably.  So cool.

Booyah Achieved

I bought my reasonably priced $15 ticket at the door because I procrastinated and didn’t utilize the Internet, and arrived at the venue about 25 minutes before the show. Tonight, I’m riding solo because I procrastinated and didn’t attempt a coordination effort with my friends in Austin. Ten years in the making brought me here…ok, my piece of shit truck literally brought me here, but I was not going to miss this show for anything. My excitement grew as the masses piled into the bar per usual, however, this time was different. I’ve seen this group of musicians gather numerous times, however, this time was different. This was the night I saw Minus the Bear celebrate their 10^th year anniversary of ‘Highly Refined Pirates.’ A celebration capped by performing the entire album from start to finish.

I love this band. This is not a blanket statement, like “I love cashews!!1” This group opened my eyes to the intricacies of music. Don’t let the eccentric song titles deter you, frontman Jake Snider (much cooler than Schneider) knew how to capture the feeling of a single memory in time. Their sound has grown over their long musical tenure, but their vivid song-writing, unique rhythm-guitar tapping and swirling synths style can always be found. Listening to “Hooray” you can feel the warm of whiskey in your belly on a snowy night back in your hometown for Christmas break. It just takes you there. 

This is music. This is feeling. This is Minus the Bear.