By Helen Clarke
Humanity Hallows caught up with London-based band Eliza And The Bear at Fopp Manchester after a pre-gig acoustic set and album signing.
James Kellengher (lead vocals, guitar), Callie Noakes (vocals, keyboards), Martin Dukelow (vocals, guitar), Chris Brand (bass), Paul Kevin Jackson (drums) took centre stage and performed acoustic versions of “Oxygen”, “Friend” and “Light It Up”. The intimate space of the ground floor of the record shop gave fans a chance to experience their raw talent.
After the pre-gig signing at Fopp, the evening moved across to Manchester Academy 3. The room was alive with the sound of Model Aeroplanes and the crowd grew louder at the arrival of Eliza And The Bear.
The boys played a flawless set and, very keen to interact with the room, attempted to start a rave complete with strobe lights and Callie’s new favourite keyboard sound.
They played their two biggest hits, “Friends” and “Light It Up“, mixed with beautiful medleys. “It Gets Cold“, had everyone singing their lungs out both in the academy and on the 42 bus home – Or as it was sung by tipsy Manchester students, “It get coooooowld”.
Humanity Hallows caught up with the band for a quick interview:
Humanity Hallows: When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?
James: I had no idea, up until I was 16 I didn’t know. I just wanted to have a laugh.
Callie: I just wanted to see thirty (years-old) and go from there.
Chris: I wanted to be a rockstar!
Paul: I wanted to be a veterinarian.
Martin: I wanted to be known as ‘Quick Hand Dookie’.
HH: A mixed group of ambitions you might say, but they led each member to a successful band. Did you guys go to university?
James: No, none of us did except Callie.
HH: Which university did you go to Callie?
Callie: Salford University, I spent a lot of time there so it kind of became a second home.
HH: What do you think of the Manchester music scene?
James: We love it, yeah it’s great. It’s our second best selling town actually, Manchester.
Martin: I don’t think I know any Manchester bands.
Callie: Oasis! They’re from Manchester.
HH: What is your spirit animal?
James: Anna Kendrick. I know because someone asked me this the other day.
Martin: Does it have to be an animal?
HH: No, it can be whatever you want.
Chris: A banana, I’ll be a banana.
As you probably noticed by now, no-one in the band is called Eliza. Their name comes from a collection of poems by Eleanor Rees called Eliza And The Bear.
All in all, it was a great acoustic set and a phenomenal gig.
Humanity Hallows had an awesome time and think these lads will go on to do great things. Eliza And The Bear are definitely a band to keep an eye on! Check out elizaandthebear.com for more.
Photography: Helen Clarke
Featured image and gallery: Lucy Elson-Whittaker It’s that time of year again: Manchester Psych Fest returns with one of its toughest line-ups yet, forcing festivalgoers to make some difficult choices about where to spend their day. With so much packed across the city, sacrifices are inevitable. Racing across Manchester, we catch four standout sets spanning…
Featured image: Georgina Hurdsfield After the considerably grey weather of the weekend, Sunday morning started with a spell of glorious sunshine to wake the people of Leeds Festival, a spot of cheer going into the dreaded final day of the weekend. But, of course, it wouldn’t be a proper festival weekend without the flash downpours,…
Featured image: Henry Redcliffe Not to be outshined by the artists performing today, the rain makes its inevitable return to the skies of Yorkshire over Leeds Festival. With the downpours hardly taking a break, Saturday is the day for the indie-heads and brats, as two of the most anticipated acts of the weekend take the…
Featured image: Georgina Hurdsfield Despite the dreary weather forecast, it seems the explosive noise of the night before has blown away the expected torrential rain, as the sun fights through the clouds to shine over Leeds Festival on Friday. With the opening of the ‘other’ stages, the first double headliner, and a very special birthday,…
Leave a reply