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Timothy S. Griffin

Bear in Heaven wrapping up tour with Blouse and Doldrums

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Bear in Heaven – Sinful Nature (Anika With BestMate Remix) (MP3)

Bear in Heaven at Hotel Vegan party, Austin (more by Tim Griffin)
Bear in Heaven

Just a reminder that Bear in Heaven wrap up their North American tour this week with two hometown shows: tonight (5/8) at Bowery Ballroom and tomorrow (5/9) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Both shows are $15 with two solid openers: synthy Portlanders Blouse and Montreal’s Doldrums. After these two shows, Bear in Heaven head to Europe for most of the summer — all tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Bear in Heaven last played NYC back in early March at Union Pool where they were billed as “Adventure Hippies”:

…watching them play last night with waves of roto-toms and giant synth pads washing over us, it struck me what that is: the Miami Vice soundtrack (Jan Hammer, Phil Collins, Yello, Glen Frey, etc) condensed into one band, albeit one that also loves Yes and late ’80s/early ’90s techno. Which is a really strange combination, but Bear in Heaven make it work, due in part to excellent musicianship and that they clearly love playing. All three members (singer Philpot, bassist/guitarist Adam Wills and drummer Joe Stickney) let the O Face slip when they’re in the moment, which, in their case, is endearing.

If you haven’t seen them live yet in their roto-tom-loving glory, Bear in Heaven did a set for Yours Truly during SXSW (they also played one of our Hotel Vegan parties) and you can watch that below. You can also download a remix of “Sinful Nature” by Anika and Bestmate at the top of this post. And if you haven’t heard their new album I Love You It’s Cool, you can stream it at Spotify.

Openers Doldrums will tour with Grimes in Europe after their stint with Bear in Heaven wraps up and then head back this way for a string of dates with Unknown Mortal Orchestra, including June 7 at Mercury Lounge and June 8 at Glasslands. Those dates are at the bottom of this post as well.

Bear in Heaven – Yours Truly Session

Blouse – 2012 Tour Dates
05/08/12 New York City Bowery BallroomAdmission: $10/$12.
05/09/12 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of WilliamsburgAdmission: $15.
05/11/12 Lexington, KY Als Bar
05/12/12 Lawrence, KS The Jackpot Saloon
05/14/12 Denver, CO Hi-Dive
05/15/12 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court

Doldrums – 2012 Tour Dates
With Grimes (UK / Europe)
5/11/12 – The Haunt – Brighton, UK
5/11/12 – Great Escape Venue TBA – Brighton, UK
5/15/12 – La Laterie – Strasbourg, FR #
5/16/12 – La Fleche D’or – Paris, FR #
5/20/12 – Exio – Amsterdam, NL #
5/22/12 – Blaa – Oslo, NO #
5/23/12 – Cafetreaten – Stockholm, SE #
5/24/12 – Inkonst – Malmo, SE #
5/25/12 – Berghain – Berlin, GER #
5/26/12 – Ubel & Gefarlich – Hamburg, GER #
5/28/12 – Circulo Degli Artisti – Rome, IT #
5/29/12 – Hanni Bi – Ravenna, IT #
5/30/12 – Astoria – Turin, IT #
6/02/12 – Dot To Dot Festival – Bristol, UK
6/03/12 – Dot To Dot Festival – Nottingham, UK
6/04/12 – Dot To Dot Festival – Manchester, UK
6/07/12 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY !
6/08/12 – Glasslands – Brooklyn, NY !
6/09/12 – Rock N Roll Hotel – Washington, DC !
6/11/12 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA !
6/12/12 – Middle East – Boston, MA !
6/13/12 – Il Motore – Montreal, QC !
6/14/12 – 6/16/12 – NXNE – Toronto, ON
7/06/12 – 7/08/12 – Hopscotch Festival – Raleigh, NC
# w/ Grimes
! w/ Unknown Mortal Orchestra