Despite the hype of the evening’s New Orleans Saints game at the Superdome, fans still packed the House of Blues Sunday night to celebrate a solid decade of two great bands: The Velvet Teen and Minus the Bear. As the lights dimmed and televisions switched to the instruments on stage, The Velvet Teen slowly emerged. The alt-rock quarter played from a variety of material, including their extensive collection of singles and EPs. Slight level issues in the middle of the set proved to be no bother to the band. Lush, harmonious guitars locked in with crashing drums and earnest vocals of frontman Judah Nagler, as the three-quarters full venue rocked out to “Stay With Me” and “Caspian Can Wait.”

The Velvet Teen weren’t just a mess of two guitars, a drummer, and a bassist: synth and iPad played a key role towards the end of their set, as their backing lights moved ever-faster with the fervor of the band. Set changes were swift, as Sundays meant a mandatory shut-down around 1am or so. The Velvet Teen started promptly and ended around the 45 minute mark, just enough time to sneak out and grab some reasonably-priced drinks before Minus the Bear took the stage.

Taking the stage right at 11:15pm as the “Golden Girls” theme blared over the speakers, Minus the Bear soon launched into the cheeky “Hey, Wanna Throw Up? Get Me Naked” off their first album, Highly Refined Pirates. Fans were in for a treat, as the band was set to play their debut in its entirety, as well as everything they could think of in between, including the single “My Time” from their latest endeavor, Omni.

It would be a strange compliment to say that the band doesn’t sound as if they’ve aged since hitting the scene in 2001 but in many ways, they haven’t. Though the music’s continued to evolve from the lovelorn anthems seen on Highly Refined Pirates, the band’s energy has stayed consistent, along with its playful spirit. With a refined maturity to their live performance, as seen throughout this tour and especially at the House of Blues, Minus the Bear could easily do another decade and do it damn well.

Bassist Cory Murchy continued to give a thumbs-up to the audience throughout the band’s performance as the venue filled to capacity. Looking around the barely-standing-room-only floor, maybe three or four in attendance weren’t right along with Minus the Bear belting out the lyrics to “Throwin’ Shapes” and “Potato Juice and Liquid Bread” as the band closed out the evening with an encore that ended with their hit “Pachuca Sunrise.”

Ryan Harris – Ryan is a New Orleans’ based artist and film-maker. He is originally from West Virginia; home of Don Knotts, Breece D’J Pancake, and Jesco White. He has a BFA Film from the University of Texas at Arlington and will complete his MFA at the University of New Orleans in 2011.