Minus the Bear rocked the house on the Shirts for a Cure Tour, which was at the State Theatre on May 17th.  For the packed house in attendance this was probably not much of a surprise, as we all know that Minus the Bear is one of the most radical bands alive right now.  What might not have been expected, were all the bells and whistles at the recently renovated and rejuvenated State Theatre.  I was concerned that the sound in the State Theatre might not have been able to do a band of Minus the Bear’s ilk justice.  As it turns out; I had nothing to worry about.  The sound was great (thanks in part to the newly installed sound system) and Minus the Bear’s sound was completely uncompromised.  My only complaint stemmed from the fact that they weren’t the headliners for this tour, meaning a shorter set, no encore and an insatiable hunger in the pit of my stomach for more Minus the Bear.  So in true groupie fashion, which is totally not my style, my cohort, PJ and I scoured the streets of downtown St. Petersburg in an effort to meet up with some of the guys from the band.  On this particular evening, lady luck smiled kindly upon us as we met up with Dave and Jake (from Minus the Bear) at the Emerald on Central Avenue, the very first place we checked.  After enjoying a refreshingly crisp draft with the guys, and several more by ourselves, we decided to call it a night.  Going in, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I ended up with a feeling that went beyond satisfying, I saw a great show from one of my favorite bands, witnessed an almost startling rebirth of my favorite childhood venue, and got to enjoy a beer with some really cool guys.