You know what my idea of a perfect birthday is? A sushi dinner with a small group and then a fun show with great music and a light show. And that's just what I had last week.

We had dinner at the fabulous(ly expensive) Sushi Kaito, where they receive unique fish that no one else seems to have on the menu. I tried a couple different mackerals and amberjack for the first time. I took a few photos, but they're not really up to par with my usual food photos, so I'm not going to show them. The sake and friends made it the most of I've had at a dinner out in a long time. Definitely come here if you're into a unique sushi adventure- and someone else is paying.

For the bigger shows, the Belly Up doesn't just let you waltz in with a camera, so I had to find a publication that would be willing to put me on assignment. Luckily, I've shot for Sezio before, so you should be seeing some of my photos up on their site soon. It's funny how the free weekly papers say they support local music, but they don't ever send photographers to shoot live shows. When they do, they're more interested in taking photos of the crowd than the performers.

I missed the first opening act, but Zack at Sezio really likes The Antlers and told me not to miss them. They walked out on stage just as I made my way to the front.







It seems like the kind of band that I'd need to hear the album for me to enjoy them. Not being familiar with the music, it just sounded a bit shoegazy and unfocused. This is a common feeling I get from a bass-less band, I guess I just lose interest quickly. I've heard great things about their Hospice album, so I might just pick it up at some point.



The crowd wasn't all that into them either, but that's to be expected when you're opening up for a band like Minus the Bear.



We've seen these guys four times now, in fact the first time I shot from a photo pit was their Soma show last year. There's no pit at the Bellu Up, so once again I was stuck in one spot for the whole show, getting pretty annoyed with the Bro's to my left who kept pushing into me with their hands up while I was trying to shoot. On the bright side, no pit meant no security to tell me to put my camera away after the first three songs, so I just shot the whole show. I'm such a rule-breaker.







Last year, the bass player kept throwing up double thumbs-up, but only after I finished shooting. He must be camera shy, because he didn't throw up his thumbs almost the entire show.



Dave Knudson, the lead guitarist, is a phenomenal player. He's got an arsenal of pedals, but he uses them to serve the music instead of just piling the sounds on. His two hand tapping and melodic sense give the music an emotional, yearning quality without taking the attention away from the vocals. I think he's one of this generation's guitar heros.



The drummer and I share a birthday, so just like last time we saw them on 11/2, they had the crows sing Happy Birthday to him. Just like last time, Heather stood behind me and sang it too, but to me. Aww she's sweet.



I hope to see you guys next year at the Belly Up. It's so much better than an all ages show!



There they are!