4 STARS
Talking to the band’s frontmen after the show, they exclaimed: ‘[the show] was hot, sexy and fun. Nottingham was a riot!’
Eliza and the Bear – an upcoming Indie folk band from London – rocked Nottingham’s Bodega on Monday night, bringing an electric vibe to the intimate gig setting with their catchy, feel-good tunes.
Support acts Michael Cassidy and Into the Ark provided the perfect opener for the evening, making the girls in the crowd swoon with their romantic lyrics and their excellent harmonies. Into the Ark, a quirky, modest duo from South Wales incorporated several witty one-liners into their set, making the audience laugh in between the crying sessions triggered by their heart-wrenching ballads.
Eliza and the Bear opened their set with ‘Lion’s Heart’, a crowd-pleaser which got the show rolling. The band is formed of lead vocalist and guitarist James Kellegher, vocalist and guitarist Martin Dukelow, vocalist and keyboard-player Callie Noakes, bassist Chris Brand and Paul Kevin Jackson on the drums. Managing to keep the energy high throughout, Eliza and the Bear seemed to never stop, with musical interludes between each song. The band’s growing fan base revelled in the eccentricity of the set, with the band’s constant head-banging accentuated by Dukelow and Noakes’ rock-star hair.
A girl in the crowd (who I happened to be with!) created the band’s mantra, chanting ‘I LIKE YERR HAIRRR!!’ in between each song, which was followed by a huge cheer from the crowd and laughter from the stage.
Before their penultimate song, the band stopped: ‘Now this is where we walk off the stage and pretend that we’re finished so you can cheer until we come back on.’ And giving the crowd a phrase to shout ‘F*ck yeah!’ intertwined with ‘I LIKE YERR HAIRRR!!’, the band walked off momentarily before running back onto the stage in a sarcastic manner.
I managed to get a pic with some of the band members backstage, just before James Kellegher accidentally opened the fire door!
The highlight of the night was most definitely Eliza and the Bear’s top songs (in my opinion!): ‘Light it Up’, ‘Lion’s Heart’, ‘Friends’ and ‘It Gets Cold’, but the night was ultimately made by the band’s overall friendliness, willingness to interact with the crowd and appreciation for their growing fan base.
Leaving the crowd with their new album, which is released on April 8th, Eliza and the Bear made a lasting impression on Nottingham’s Bodega and I’m sure it’s not the last we’ll see of them. I wonder how long their hair will be next time…
For more information on Eliza and the Bear, visit their website: http://www.elizaandthebear.com/
Edited by Georgina Varley
Sources:
http://www.bodeganottingham.com/gigs/1353/eliza-the-bear
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/07/new-band-eliza-and-the-bear
http://www.elizaandthebear.com/
Image Sources:
http://whenthegramophonerings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/elizaandthebear2.jpg
Seond photo author’s own.