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| Eliza and the Bear Thekla, Bristol 14/04/2016 Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding |
Seeing Eliza and the
Bear has been on my “INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO DO LIST” since we criminally
missed their set at Glasgow’s Hydro Arena last year. Since the London quintet just
released their debut, self-titled, album I decided enough was enough, the time
had come. I would see Eliza and The Bear at Bristol’s Thekla on April 14th
2016. The timing, as it turned out, was
perfect.
At Louder Now we are no strangers to impromptu and slightly lengthy
(yet never excessive) road trips. Whilst our jaunt to Bristol was by no means
the most extravagant of these journey’s it might just have been the most
bizarre.
Somewhere between castles that were actually train stations,
closed roads that were actually open and boats that were actually gig venues I
lost my mind and fell in love with the place.
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| Chris Brand - Bass Thekla, Bristol 14/04/2016 Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding |
One of my favourite things about Bristol is that my very
talented friend, Miss Lauren-Alice Golding,
lives just up the road, a situation
that I took full advantage of. Lauren grabbed her 3-tonne camera and met me at
the castle/train station for our first ever (and first of many please)
collaboration!
And it’s just as well she did because the emotional
rollercoaster that Eliza and the Bear were about to take me on was definitely
not a ride to take solo.
My new favourite song, “Light It Up”, originally released on
the 2014 EP of the same name and now sitting mid-way through the new album,
kicked off the party. It’s the most upbeat, positive and encouraging track I
have heard in a long time, the ultimate summer anthem and the perfect opener.
I adore that optimistic inclination that saturates
everything that Eliza and the Bear do but it’s how they twist, variate and distort
(key) which makes them special. “Make It On My Own” is a paramount example of
this, a backdrop teetering on the verge of morose but still maintaining an affirmative
energy and tempo to reduce you to tears. If you’re crying by song number two
then you know the set’s magic.
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| Martin Dukelow - Guitar Thekla, Bristol 14/04/2016 Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding |
Crowd participation is what takes a show from being great to
being absolutely unbelievable, and we weren’t short of it tonight. Nevertheless
the band challenged the audience with song “Where Have You Been” instructing
them that it was their chance to prove that they had the album. It’s fair to
say the audience passed the test.
Aside from the fact that it’s a blinding song with a
parade-esque marching band beat, I have a huge appreciation for “Brother’s Boat”
because live it was dynamite and also…we were on a mother flipping boat!
And just in case you doubted the bands determination (which
I don’t think a single member of the crowd did for one second of this entire
set) it’s worth remembering that vocalist James Kellegher asked his doting
audience if they were “going to sink this ship or what?”
Whilst the tempo setting drum track from Paul Jackson maintains
that addictive energy and Callie Noake’s keys add the optimistic tingles it’s
the scratching guitars from Martin Dukelow that adds depth and sets Eliza and
the Bear apart from the indie crowd.
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| James Kellegher - Guitar/Vocals Thekla, Bristol 14/04/2016 Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding |
Live “Oxygen” was the best display of all of those
attributes as well as a relentlessness where you could be sure that you’re
being set up for a tempo drop that never, ever, comes.
Just as I was ready to declare that this performance could
not possible get any more emotionally
charged Eliza and the Bear went and
nailed a spine-tingling, tear-inducing, mobiles-and-lighters-up acoustic track
that near enough broke my heart. For me, “Cruel” has been filed away in the
playlist entitled “Beautiful songs that I must never listen to”.
After an equally beautiful chant of “YOU DIRTY SOUTHERN
BASTARDS” the boys came back to play their defining tracks “It Gets Cold” and “Friends”
to all the love, support and participation that a crowd can possibly give.
It was a remarkable set that, despite my months of waiting,
really took me by surprise. If I ever get a chance to see Eliza and the Bear at
a summer festival I will grab it with both hands because I honestly cannot
think of anything that would be better.
But they are not just that summer band that you adore for
festival season and then forget about. Eliza and the Bear are producing deeply
meaningful and inspirational work and their live shows are nothing short of
electric.
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| Martin Dukelow - Guitars Thekla, Bristol 14/04/2016 Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding |
Eliza and the Bear are a band that you need in your life.
When the stresses of work, dreams, friends, family and life have dimmed your
internal lights you’ll be thankful that Eliza and the Bear are there to do what
they do best and light it up.
Thankfully I can tell you that Eliza and the Bear did not
sink Bristol’s Thekla. But my word did they try.
