While I would’ve loved, loved, loved to have been at the Wilco show last night (especially after reading Zwickel’s review, sounds like the concert was amazing), I was instead at the Pacific Science Center to see Minus the Bear’s new album Planet of Ice get the laser treatment.

Minus the Bear’s music has always had a really cinematic quality to me and Planet of Ice is no different. It’s the perfect record for something like this—dynamic and spacey with a lot of room for visual interpretation. There were mostly random designs, not a whole lot of images specific to the record (they did show a planet every so often, I assume because the record is called Planet of Ice), but the thing that really struck me as I just sat back and let my eyes fall just slightly out of focus and really listen to the music, is that I really don’t “just listen” enough.

Usually when music’s on, I’m doing something else too—riding the bus, writing, washing dishes, walking, trying to think about what I’m hearing and what I could say about it. But last night, as lasers shot across the air above my head, spots of color exploded on the ceiling, and a fog machine filled the room with smoke, I finally got to really enjoy Planet of Ice without having to think about it. There’s not a whole lot to think about during a laser show, after all. You just sit there in the dark and try not to get too dizzy when the giant spiral on the ceiling keeps turning and turning, faster and faster.

The place wasn’t sold out, I don’t think, but it had to be close. Hundreds of people enthusiastically applauded after each song, and during the really exciting parts of the show when the lasers got really crazy during the climax of the songs, they’d holler and clap for more. Some even yelled for an encore when it was over.

After last night, the songs that I really like on Planet, “Burying Luck,” “Ice Monster,” and “Dr. L’Ling,” I now like even more. Love, even. And that closing song, “Lotus,” with all of it’s otherworldly noises and that guitar riff… if I smoked pot, man… I dunno. It was the perfect way for Minus the Bear to mark the release of this anticipated album.

I hope it’s the start of a new trend because not every local band would be able to pull off a successful laser show, but more of them should try. Really. Make it happen, Seattle. It brings a new opportunity for appreciation.

(Also, I know a post about a laser show isn’t all that exciting without visual accompaniment, and I tried to take video, but the camera batteries were dead three minutes after I turned the thing on. Dammit.)