There’s a Big Bear on the loose in Liverpool. It roars. It rampages. It makes a hell of a noise. It is untamed, feral. I unexpectedly find myself face to face with roaring Big Bear duo, Connor Di Leo (drums) and Joshua Pulleyn on vocals/guitar. Momentarily tamed before their headline gig at the Arts Club in Liverpool, they wax lyrical and melodical on everything from Black Keys to bears, and genuinity to Jeremy Corbyn.

Why Big Bear? Sitting in an upper room at the venue,  the band outline for me the characteristics of a big bear with which they most identify. At that exact moment a timely  bass drum kicks in from one of the other bands on the floor below. “Noise. Charging,” they exclaim, going on to explain how they would love to be travelling in the desert and meet a human big bear.  Or to smell the musk of a real bear, on heat, post-hibernation, so in your face, that you know your end is imminent.  Connor shows me a photo of the duo at the point they decide on the name for the band. “We don’t look happy!” Former 15 year old, curtain-haired Emo’s, and fans of Avenged Sevenfold, they have read about that band recording in the city of Big Bear, California, and it seems to sum up what they feel the band represents: the scale of an untamed, up close and personal, wild release of animal energy. “Enough connotations of epicness, noise and terror.”

What do you get from a Big Bear gig? How would a superfan describe them to the uninitiated. “I think if you’re a Big Bear super fan, you want to see some up-front-and-close truth and genuinity (Is that a word?) Look like you’re enjoying it, put effort in.” There is some confusion about whether the word genuinity actually exists, but I love made up words anyway, and get exactly what they mean. Do they practice what they preach? Of course. Let me explain: this show is more than just two talented, energetic musicians,  running slickly through a bunch of songs, the practised, polished perfection of a Joe Bonamassa gig (“so reliably good…same tricks”) This gig is all about interaction, from the first song (“How are we all?”) to the last. It’s a disappointingly small audience for such a spectacle, and makes the sound tech’s job more difficult, but it has all the feel of a Big Bear community. At one point a spontaneous hugscrum (another invented word!) erupts, like the reverse of a crop circle, in their cover of Bob Marley’s Is This Love? At the end Joshua, moved, says, “Fuck me…Thank you so much. You make me so happy.” The chants of “Big Bear, Big Bear” echo out again, as they did earlier in the set. From simple introductions: telling us that the song Cortina is about their favourite car, to singing Happy Birthday to friend, Reece Carter, to inviting a friend up to play guitar on the last song. From howling back at a howling audience, to climbing up on the barrier, it’s all there. The audience responds readily in kind. Looking  around at one point I don’t see a single person who is not dancing, headbanging or moving in some way. These people are not running scared, but rocking with the dancing bear.

What about the music? Well it would be simplistic to label it just blues or blues rock. The duo certainly draw heavily on those influences but when you throw in some bluesified reggae in Bob Marley song Is This Love, a Big Bear reworking of Portishead’s/ John Martyn’s Glory Box, a bit of Ray Charles, not to mention some hip hop phrasing, you get closer to who they are. There are definite heavy grunge overtones too,  some Nirvanaesque riffs, and a hint of the Yorkshire twang of a certain Sheffield band on some of the lyrics (in Southern Discomfort, for example) You get a definite sense that this is one band that will not remain static, but will be continually evolving. Their recordings are mood or theme driven, or inspired by the works of others, but with their own stamp on it. Maybe a Pixies vibe for their next EP.  Or a Black Keys styled one. The latter are cited as a major influence, and Joshua and Connor would love to do recordings in the same vein as Chulahoma: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough, an album that has changed their life. (“We gotta do this!”) It is interesting for me to hear their strict policy of not launching an EP until the next one is ready. They have previously released Wretch and play three songs from it in their set, but also play Whiskey and My Revolver’s Made of Salad from the already recorded second one.  In their press release Wretch is described as setting “the tone and colour of the band. A base on which to build.”  The second will be released shortly after recording for the third has taken place. It’s basically like the continually revolving EP conveyor belt of a continually evolving band! The boys currently listen to a seemingly endless playlist of local, national and international artists, living and dead, from Queens of the Stoneage, to mississippi delta blues artists, to Tom Waits, Bon Iver, Chris Cornell, and a plethora of up and coming north west bands. I won’t even attempt to hasard a guess at where they will be in a few years’ time, nor what their sound will be like.

There is an honesty and openness about the songs. They freely admit to making mistakes: the EP is not perfect but that is what they want, for it to be raw and genuine. Big Bear is their release from studying and work. It’s a way to expel pent up frustrations and emotions, to say what you wouldn’t say in person to someone. The playing mirrors this too, the drumming at times ferocious, like a rampaging, grizzly bear, the growling riffs harmonising with the rasping vocals.  It’s the essence of the blues, a mix of expression, honesty and bared soul. Dare I say, “genuinity.”

And how do they see the immediate future? Just going with the flow, pacing themselves, dealing with the stresses of handling all your own merch and organisation. With Connor doing a Music Management course and Joshua acting, both at LIPA, they bring their unique and different talents to the band.  There will be more recording (8th/9th June) and more gigs, both in Liverpool and further afield. They plan to do gigs in York, Joshua’s home town, and have recently played Blossoms pub in Stockport.

Their politics? All I will say here is that I don’t ask a question but say two brief words: Theresa and May. I am treated to a riled bear’s  outburst of expletives and negatives.  It only comes to a close when Caitlin Hare from support band, Mad Alice, walks in to ask a vital question about beer supplies, whilst wholeheartedly agreeing with their views. This exchange of views further corroborates my opinion of them as intelligent young men, who have carefully considered views, not just on music, but on life and the world too. Incidently, both support bands are great too, and lay the foundations for Big Bear’s set. Particularly impressive is Mirrors by Mad Alice, along with their whole look and vibe, and the explosion of sound created by Rival Bones.  A night where two duos and a trio create as much sound as bands with four or five members.

How would I sum up Big Bear? Intelligent, thoughtful, forward looking, energetic, driven, passionate, authentic, hard working, talented, bluesy, like a bear with a sore head, not Tories. Purveyors of genuinity even.

Go and see for yourself. 

 

Listen to Wretch EP:    http://bigbearlovin.bandcamp.com/releases

Set list

1. Intro
2. Hip Hop Queens (yet to be named properly)
3. Bedclothes
4. My Revolver’s Made of Salad (new EP)
5. Cortina
6. Whiskey (new EP)
7. Toulouse
8. Stingray (Wretch EP)
9. Is This Love (Bob Marley cover)
10. Glory Box (Portishead cover)
11. Sobriety (Wretch EP)
12. Southern Discomfort (Wretch EP)

 

Twitter: @bigbearlovin

Instagram: @bigbearlovin

 

Words and pics by Si  ©cre8ivation