Put out the welcome mat and move the exercise equipment out of their old bedroom—Bear Hands is coming home. Wes alums Dylan Rau ‘07 and Ted Feldman ‘09 alongside bandmates Val Loper and TJ Orscher (formerly of In Pieces) are coming to Eclectic this Saturday to play a free show along with opening acts Apache Kid and Tony Castles.
The Brooklyn-based band has a couple of different stories of origin. One says that Rau started the band to spite a romantic rival; another says that Rau was a huge fan of Orscher’s and Loper’s band In Pieces, and bothered the two about recording a demo with them until they relented.
Regardless of whether these stories are true or not, the boys started getting attention following the release of their “Golden” EP back in 2007, and have enjoyed continued success from there, opening for fellow Wes-progeny MGMT (wait, did they go here?) and playing shows across the United States and Europe along with a stint in Brazil. Their first full-length album, November’s “Burning Bush Supper Club” from Cantora Records (yup, they publish MGMT too), scored a 7.1 out of 10 from the all-mighty lords of Pitchfork, where they were described as “upbeat psych-rock” with a “quirky sense of humor.”
Show-goers should expect catchy hip-shakers like “Crime Pays” and “What a Drag” along with occasional tastes of the more contemplative, slow head-nodders such as “Wicksey Boxing.” But whatever you come for, be prepared to love it. Apache Kid opens at 10 p.m. followed by Tony Castles at 11 p.m., with Bear Hands coming in at midnight.
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