Sydney indie rock-folk quintet Boy & Bear have been touring relentlessly, both nationally and overseas, on the back of their 2013 sophomore LP, ‘Harlequin Dream’.
The group will be returning to Australia for their ‘Get Up & Dance’ theatre shows in September. This latest string of shows comes in the middle of a gruelling tour schedule for the band, who have recently wrapped a hugely successful Australian regional tour and will soon be jetting off for a three month stint throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom.
“We’ve got shows right up until December,” says guitarist/ vocalist Killian Gavin. “We have a few more to be announced, but December 10, I think, is the last show and we don’t stop from June until December. [We’re] going to have a quick two weeks off then head away again … October as well, we’re actually just about to announce all of that to America, so that’s the year all filled up.”
One upside to the endless travelling is that Killian has managed to rack up a pretty healthy stash of Frequent Flyer Points, enough for some rather desirable high-end consumer products. “That’s probably one of the added benefits,” he laughs, “I got quite a few points right now, I actually just bought myself an iPad with them so that was pretty handy.”
When Boy & Bear tour their ‘Get Up & Dance’ theatre shows, Killian says fans can look forward to a rejuvenated band with a fresh setlist. “When we get back from overseas, we’ve got about a week before we head off on that [‘Get Up & Dance’] tour so we’re going to get together and basically rework the set. We’ve been playing this current set more or less, for the past six months so we’re going to spend a week and redo a couple of songs and change up the order.
“We’re also thinking about getting a cover in, I’m not going to say what but we’ve got our eye on a certain song we haven’t done before — a ‘classic’ cover. For us it’s fun to play other people’s music; we’re going to do about 200 hundred shows this year playing our own songs, sometimes it’s kind of nice to play something you really respect and think is a fantastic song. So we’re going to try and look at getting a cover out for this tour.”
Accompanying Boy & Bear on the ‘Get Up & Dance’ tour will be Triple J favourites Holy Holy, a collaborative musical project from Brisbane singer-songwriter Timothy Carroll and Melbourne guitarist-producer Oscar Dawson. “I’m pretty keen to see what they do live,” says Killian.
“I heard their first single on Triple J and it had this great catchy descending guitar line. We posted about it on our Facebook page, I think Dave threw it up on our page saying it’s a really great song and we really enjoyed what they did. Eventually it all came around, we had another tour to go and we thought, ‘let’s see if they want to do it’.”
"For us it’s fun to play other people’s music; we’re going to do about 200 hundred shows this year playing our own songs, sometimes it’s kind of nice to play something you really respect and think is a fantastic song."
In the five years since their formation, and with only two albums under their belt, Boy & Bear have achieved a level of success other bands work years for and never attain. The success of their second studio album, ‘Harlequin Dream’, has garnered Boy & Bear worldwide attention from fans and critics alike, yet Killian is still humble about the group’s popularity. “When you’re starting out you are naïve and you’re hoping for everything, I guess you expect nothing to be honest especially when it’s such a crazy industry.
“We’ve believed in what we’ve done from day one but whether anybody else actually likes it is a completely different thing, so we’ve been pretty fortunate with how it all panned out and you can’t really expect anything, so anything you do get is a bonus.”
With such a packed performance schedule for 2014, it seems fans will have to wait until Boy & Bear finish touring for another album. “We don’t write on the road but we had a bit of time in December last year so we went up the coast, and got about eight or nine demos done. Whilst these songs are so far from being finished, the ideas are there … but we probably won’t get another gap until at least January to get together and write the second batch of songs.”
In the meantime, Killian is happy to keep on touring and bring Boy & Bear’s music to fans around the world. “We can’t complain I guess, it’s enjoyable still and fun and people come out to the shows so you just have to embrace it and enjoy it while it lasts.”
Boy & Bear Tour Dates
Wed 03 September | The Palais, MelbourneFri 05 September | The Palais, Melbourne (sold out)
Sat 06 September | Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide
Fri 12 September | The Arts Centre Gold Coast
Sat 13 September | The Tivoli (all ages matinee and a 18+ evening show).
Sun 21 September | Sydney Opera House
Mon 22 September | Sydney Opera House - Sold Out
Thu 25 September | Albany Entertainment Centre, WA
Fri 26 September | Bunbury Entertainment Centre, WA
Sun 28 September | Fremantle Entertainment Centre, WA
