Show Review

Bear Hands Date: August 11th 2007 Venue: Death by Audio (Brooklyn, NY) “This is the last Bear Hands show ever.” That’s how the set started, and it got me a little nervous for a moment.  After all, I really enjoyed the Bear Hands’ music and I had come all the way down to this out of the way club holed up in Brooklyn to see them.  “Just Kidding,”  interrupted my neurosis from the stage and I quickly realized something:  I wasn’t seeing something coming to an end – I was seeming something just getting started. If their webpage is telling the truth, they formed in August 2006; which is impressive.  I kept feeling as if various music styles and influences were colliding for a few minutes at a time and getting captured by these four energetic guys on stage.  I’ll avoid using sub-genres, since everyone hates that (right?), but there are lots of different sounds at work here.  It’s fantastic to hear a band that not only conjures up so much energy in their music, but also manages to interweave several different ideas and sounds in a single song and not have it sound ramshackle. The various detours all feel like the most natural thing for the song to do and it never feels forced or out of place.  But maybe I’m getting way too heady for music that doesn’t need to be dug into to be enjoyed. Simply put, the Bear Hands make great rock music.  It’s undeniably modern but with a variety of elements that have made music interesting over the last who-knows-how-many years.  Songs like “Long Lean Queen” and “Golden” best exhibit their ability create something different than the standard, yawn-inducing rock formula.  Tracks like these churn forward with an urgent intensity, only to take break for a moment and then charge forward again better than before.  One of my personal favorites “Sickly Brunette” starts with an almost surf-rock guitar line before adding some crunchy riffs, interesting percussion and ultimately building into a swirling mix of interesting sounds all buoyed by leadman Dylan’s commanding voice. The sound in some of the Brooklyn clubs I’m frequenting these days is a bit eye-roll-inducing, but I’m also starting to think it’s a fantastic testing ground.  No one left this show talking about the shitty sound – they left talking about the band that put on a strong, engaging set despite all that.  Music this exciting obviously doesn’t need a huge system to engage anyone. They have a new EP out, Golden, which is a great sample of the various styles at play for the Bear Hands.  It’s available on iTunes, but why not seek out their next show and buy it there?  You’ll be blatantly happy later that you were into them “back when”, trust me. Check out Bear Hands on MySpace More photos of the show availible HERE PHOTOS Author: Will Joines Photography: Will Joines [ Back to Shows Index ]