Bear’s Den at The Mod Club

A sold out Mod Club hosted Bear’s Den Friday, November 21, 2014 in an unusually early show for the College Street hotspot, but performance didn’t necessarily meet expectations.

The British trio marched on stage to a chorus of applause and cheers, and kicked their set off with ‘Elysium’ and ‘Mother,’ before introducing themselves and then getting back into things with one of the highlights of the night in ‘Don’t Let The Sun.’ But, by the end of that third song, I almost felt like holding my hands up and saying, “Okay, I get it. This is going to be a very mellow Friday night.” Right after ‘Don’t Let The Sun’ ended, the band might have kicked on with something a little bit more upbeat, something with a little bit more fire; something to keep the audience attentive, because they didn’t stay attentive for too much longer.

While the beginning of each song was met with cheers, which suggests an audience of loyal fans, conversation around the venue seemed to pick up, and the band became, dare I say it, background music. At one point, guitarist Joey Haynes had to ask the audience to “please be quiet,” so that the band could play an even quieter song. Come on, guys! We’re not at Massey Hall, this is a standing, drinking, Friday night audience, and you, Bear’s Den, are the main event. Act like it. 

In stark contrast, the band performed their encore from the audience itself. They closed with the set with fan-favourite ‘Agape,’ and then came out for their encore with showmanship. Why they left the actual performance part of their set to the encore, I don’t know. They could have used some of that during the frankly monotonous hour they spent on stage. Variety is the spice of life, and Bear’s Den could use an injection of it.

Now, there are also some things to take into account. I’m a big fan of folk music; from Townes Van Zandt to Mumford and Sons, I like it all. So I was really looking forward to this show, and I was expecting to be drawn in by melody and lyric and all the rest of it. But I just wasn’t; it all just fell a little bit flat for me. A band like Bear’s Den has more to do than a heavier band does on stage. A heavier band can just blow the roof off a venue with sound; Bear’s Den can’t do that. It’s a performance based on the songs themselves, based on the lyrics and the music more than it is about flash and flair and all the rest. But if you’re Bear’s Den, you’ve got to captivate, or you’re going to lose the room. And I wasn’t captivated, not for long. A little bit of showmanship, a little bit more authority on stage, would go a long way for Bear’s Den. Then, they’d not only captivate, they’d command.

Bear’s Den have been to Toronto a handful of times this year, so it’s clear that they’ve built up a good little following in the city, but the show last night was a bit of a let-down for me. Hopefully next time there’s more on offer from the sophomoric British outfit.