In the short time since their last performance in Brighton back in February 2015, Bear’s Den have had what they described as a “conscious untripling” with founding member Joey Haynes leaving the group, released their second album Red Earth & Pouring Rain and embarked on a worldwide tour. Tonight, they returned as worthy headliners at a sold out Brighton Dome with fantastic support from Matthew And The Atlas, and Patrick James.

James, an Australian singer/songwriter, won the crowd over with his self-deprecating style and heartfelt gentle folk-pop songs, the highlight being a serene cover of The Killers’ ’Runaways’.

Next up came veterans of previous Bear’s Den tours – Matthew And The Atlas. Backed by a five-piece band, Matthew Hegarty hushed the audience into a stunned and awestruck silence with anthems from both albums and older EP’s. ‘Elijah’ entranced the crowd, while ’Within The Rose’ continues to be a live favourite due to Matthew’s powerful vocal performance. Closing with a rocking version of ‘Out Of The Darkness’, Matthew And The Atlas continue their own dazzling rise.

Bang on 9pm, the stage dipped into darkness and the ominous synths and drums of The Terminator theme played across the Dome. Bathed in red and blue light, the two remaining founder members, Kevin Jones (guitar/drums/vocals) and Andrew Davie (vocals/guitars), kicked off the set with the title track from their latest album, their sound beefed up by an additional four members being added to the touring group.

Upon its release, Jones described their new album as akin to “driving forwards while looking in the rear view mirror”. This was reflected by the setlist being dominated by songs from Red Earth & Pouring Rain (all bar one album track played on the night), with just a smattering of old favourites. Swapping instruments throughout, the band successfully balanced the 'widescreen' elements of their latest sounds with their folksier, older work – moving comfortably from 'Broken Parable' and 'Greenwoods Bethlehem' into tracks from their first LP and even further back.

It's easy to forget that it wasn't too long ago that this band were hand-printing their own CD sleeves. Their bashful charm is still present, as they reminded the audience of once playing at the Fitzherberts pub around the corner, and admitted that they had “never quite worked out how to play this before” as they broke into 'Stubborn Beast’. From this, into 'Isaac' which prompted the first full audience singalong, with its refrain of "I'm going to give all my love to you" warmly drifting across the concert hall. While the feelings of love were still in the air, it was possible to hear a pin drop in the next town when they performed a completely unplugged version of ‘Sophie’, totally captivating the audience.

After indulging in perhaps one or two too many mellow album tracks in a row, the band kicked back into an upbeat mode with a lively finale to the main set. 'When You Break', 'Auld Wives' and crowd favourite 'Above The Crowds Of Pompeii' left everyone hungry for more. When they play at this tempo, the sheer joy and elation of their music becomes truly irresistible and the only option is to bask in the feeling that they create.

Coming back onstage to the Morricone-esque guitar chimes of 'Napoleon', the band took to the centre of the hall, as their tradition dictates, to play 'Gabriel' in a tight circle bathed in a ring of light amongst the crowd. It would be easy for this to be just a gimmick, but the sheer beauty of their stripped back sounds will always prevent that from happening. Finally, and after apologising for running out of songs after a mammoth set, the roof of the Dome was nearly taken off as the crowd favourite 'Agape' sent everyone into a frenzy of dancing and bouncing, with nobody very keen on knowing who they would be without Bear's Den.
Jamie MacMillan

Photos by Jamie MacMillan

Website: bearsdenmusic.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/bearsdenmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/bearsdenmusic

Read our review of their second album Red Earth & Pouring Rain HERE.