Over seven years, three albums and countless songs, Bear’s Den have crafted pain, heartbreak and sorrow into an utterly compelling catalogue of tracks. To bring that pain to life on stage and transform it into ecstatic joy on stage is why Bear’s Den are arguably on their way to becoming one of the finest live performers of their generation.
Returning home for a two-date stretch at Shepherd’s Bush Empire - ably supported the enchanting Tusks - core members Andrew Davie and Kevin Jones have grown to a six-piece for their current run of dates, all the better for building that unmistakable swell of noise that seems to sweep through every track. This was clearly special for the bandmates who lived in the area, while one worked behind the bar at another venue just a stone’s throw away. Indeed, Davie appeared almost overwhelmed in declaring the gig “one of the best nights of our lives” as he toasted a shot as the set came to a close.
What really stands out is the sheer fluidity of the set-up, with the six-piece occasionally dropping to two for certain acoustic tracks, only for the band to reform wielding brass instruments for the next song before those are traded for banjos and keys in the next instance.
With album number three So That You Might Hear Me out on April 26, there was an understandable commitment to working through a lot of the new material in the first half of the show, each underscored by simple but striking and effective use of the lighting as the band’s powerful, driving instrumentation came to the fore. There are definite standouts there, with ‘Crow’ and ‘Laurel Wreath’ going down well, but they haven’t yet earned that instant familiarity and warmth of some of the classics from their previous two records. Those, naturally received the loudest reception, with ‘Agape’ a stunning choice of closing track for the show.
While ‘Elysium’ was thrown in early, the band teased out many of the big numbers throughout the set, to the point it felt like, a) they could play forever and not cover all their material and b) not one person in the audience would have minded that. There were, however, two utterly unforgettable moments as the band opted to shun the pedalboards and amps at two points of the gig and somehow drew complete silence from the crowd. Plenty of bands have done similar things before, but reducing the 2,000-capacity Empire to absolute silence not once but twice for the entire duration of the song speaks volumes.
First up, the unplugged rendition of ‘Sophie’ from the stage at the midway point of the set was spine-tingling but ‘Blankets of Sorrow’, the penultimate song of the encore, three of the band went further and took their place in the centre of the crowd.It’s an old trick, but when you do it as well as Bear’s Den it is stunningly effective.
