Minus the Bear live October 8

Whoever said kids don’t dance at shows anymore is just hanging out with the wrong crowd. Seattle, Wash. progressive dance rock act Minus the Bear infected hundreds with a dance epidemic Oct. 8 at the TLA, with support from experimental hip-hop group Subtle and indie rockers ELA. The dance moves were as eclectic as the music, with the audience utilizing enthusiastic bodily movements to express glee quite thoroughly.

ELA haphazardly started the show. Serving up straightforward indie rock, the group’s set wasn’t particularly mind-blowing, or even memorable. But ELA still kicked the night off adequately, providing herky-jerky rhythms and atmospheric guitars for the growing collection of people.

If ELA proved to be too vanilla for concertgoers, then Subtle was the polar opposite. I’m not sure what the exact opposite of vanilla would be per say, but let’s go with “agro-wasabi-ginger-curry.” A mishmash of electronic and live drums, guitar, keyboards, cello, samples and the rhymes of rapper Adam “Doseone” Drucker, the ironically titled Subtle revved up the crowd almost instantaneously. As Drucker twirled around stage pieces and instruments, jumping from anecdotes to songs and back, a big chunk of the audience couldn’t help but dance and shout along. I was not one of those people, however.

Drucker’s nasally, insect-like delivery ground my gears just a tad bit. While Subtle’s instrumentalists are clearly talented, one couldn’t help but be hurt by the inanity of the arrangements. While these guys are clearly trying to push the boundaries of hip-hop, they’re quickly becoming slaves to their new model.

But while I couldn’t get behind Subtle’s noise-core raps, a solid percentage of the crowd could, going so far as to ask Drucker for an encore. I’m getting too old for this. Oh, and minus five cred points from the crowd for never having heard of Central High.

Regardless, though, Drucker was a solid hype man for Minus the Bear, even going so far as to bring out MtB drummer Erin Tate for a song. By the time the members of Minus the Bear took to the stage, they were greeted with fiery hot applause and eager faces.

The band opened its set with “Burying Luck,” the first track off of its thrilling 2007 release Planet of Ice. Frontman Jake Snider’s voice sounded even more shredded in person as he called out, “Will he take her love?” on the song’s gorgeously dramatic bridge. This was a band in love with its music, and the crowd shared those sentiments.

From there, the group delved into older material like “Drilling” and “Spritz!!! Spritz!!!” to provide more quality jams. Despite the high level of musical proficiency demanded by these songs, the band’s energy and execution never flagged.

Meanwhile, dance pits broke out in front of the stage, spinning, churning and boiling. There was no violence on the floor, though, just people enraptured by the music. As corny as it sounds, these folks really needed to dance.

The band’s new material blended in seamlessly with its back catalogue, which is a good thing since seven of Planet of Ice’s 10 tracks showed up on the set list. Songs like “Throwin’ Shapes,” “Double Vision Quest,” “Knight,” and “Dr. L’Ling” went over just as well as older tunes like “Fine + 2 Pts,” “Hooray,” “Get Me Naked 2: Electric Boogaloo” and “This Ain’t a Surfin’ Movie.” Lead guitarist Dave Knudson and synth-man/programmer Alex Rose alternately provided ambiance and squalls while the rhythm section of Tate and bassist Cory Murchy kept everything groovily in time.

After closing the set with “Lotus,” the epic concluding track of Planet of Ice, Minus the Bear bowed out, only to promptly return for a three song encore. “Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse,” off of Highly Refined Pirates, was greeted with a swell of applause that would be outdone two songs later with show-ender “Pachuca Sunrise.” A song about missing someone while on the road, “Pachuca Sunrise” would have ended the night bittersweetly had it not been for the band’s infectious melodies and rhythms.

During the set, Snider and Rose commented on how intimidating Philadelphia has been to play each tour, simply because the fans have always been so humblingly great. Tonight was no exception, as the sold-out audience put just as much energy into the event as the bands did.