As I stood there tonight towards the back of this sweltering venue, it was hard not to feel that you were witnessing a band that seem to be on the cusp of something really big. The four-piece from Croydon, South London, a kind of mecca for retail therapy shared their own brand of healing with this five hundred strong sold out frenzied audience. The last time I witnessed an event like this was a few years ago when I went to see Frank Turner for the first time, I didn`t know any of the songs and thought WTF as the crowd went bonkers .The difference tonight however is that i know most of the tracks that they share in this hour long set.
Bears In Trees bring their own intoxicating brand of indie / folk chaos to this countries second city this evening, towards the latter end of this nine day road trip around the UK prior to their invasion of The USA in March. The boys head straight into the introspective and thoughtful `Cut Corners On Short Walks` from their debut album `and everybody else smiled back` before heading into `Ibuprofen` which is a sort of metaphor for asking friends to become the cure for the pain you`re going through and the line of “keep me safe” I guarantee, will get inside you head and have you singing it for days after.
`Heaven Sent Is A Coffee Cup` follows before the fellas indulge in a little “call and response” with this receptive audience on `Fly Out To Alaska` where they even share a few words in German in which the crowd duly responded and we get the first sight of a ukulele this evening. `I`m Doing Push Ups` and ` Sun Machine` are shared before I think it`s `Mossy Cobblestone` where the crowd just take over and sing the song as the guys just provide musical backing.
The pace slows down with `Ramblings Of A Lunatic`, `Little Cellist` and `Confidant` before the faithful are led into an odd floppy wrist, hand, and arm waving dance on `Keep It Easy`. The show closes out with `Good Rhymes For Bad Times` And `Reverberate` but it doesn`t take long before they return with the bouncy `Great Heights` before leaving us with `Fresh Concrete`.
An hour in the company of Bears In Trees may seem a little short but my god they pack so much into it. A BIT gig isn`t just a musical gathering but something to be a part of, a kind of atmosphere or sense of belonging. Their fan base really buy into and get out what they put in. It was relentless in a really enjoyable way and it has a positive vibe all of its own.
How can you describe Bears In Trees?? Infectious ukulele indie punk blended with a little emo-pop might do it but it`s the sort of thing that has to be physically experienced in the flesh so to speak, either as an observer or a participant. I think the next chance you`ll get after they return from the States is at the Summer festivals where I imagine they`ll go down a storm.
Do you need any more encouragement?
