Seattle indie rock outfit Minus the Bear will split after 17 years following a farewell tour this fall and a new EP, Fair Enough, out October 19th via Suicide Squeeze.
In a note on Facebook, the band said, “What started as a silly inside joke inside the dingy confines of Seattle’s original Cha Cha Lounge back in 2001 quickly snowballed into years of adventures, creativity, and friendship. We could have never predicted the wild journey about to begin. We’ve accomplished so much over the past 17 years, and we are grateful for the experience.”
The group shared the title track from Fair Enough via Stereogum. The song was one of the first the band wrote for what is now their last album, 2017’s Voids, and builds from a dreamy melange of synths, skittering drums and prickly guitars into potent alt-rock power ballad.
Minus the Bear’s farewell tour will be split into two legs. The first launches October 9th at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, Tennessee and wraps October 28th at Irving Plaza in New York City. The second begins November 27th at the Ritz Ybor in Tampa, Florida and concludes December 14th with a homecoming gig at the Showbox in Seattle.
Ticket information will be available on the group’s website. On Facebook, Minus the Bear said their final shows would be “a celebration for the community of fans who gave us so much through years of dedication. We’ll be digging deep in the MTB catalogue and we are honored for the opportunity to play our hearts out for you one last time.”
Over the course of their career, Minus the Bear released six albums and a smattering of EPs. The group’s mix of math rock, alternative, prog and emo made them Pacific Northwest mainstays, and eventually indie darlings with albums such as Menos el Oso, Planet of Ice and Infinity Overhead, the latter of which even managed to debut at Number 31 on the Billboard albums chart.
Minus the Bear Tour Dates
October 9 – Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley
October 10 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
October 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
October 12 – St. Louis, MO @ Ready Room
October 13 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
October 14 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
October 15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
October 17 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
October 18 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
October 19 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
October 20 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
October 21 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
October 23 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
October 24 – Silver Springs, MD @ The Fillmore
October 25 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
October 26 – Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony
October 27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
October 28 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
November 27 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
November 29 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
November 30 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
December 1 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
December 3 – Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey Theatre
December 4 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
December 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex Grand
December 7 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
December 8 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
December 9 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
December 11 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
December 12 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
December 13 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
December 14 -Seattle, WA @ The Showbox