Meet Jack & The Bear, your new favorite band.

Unsure of what to do with your weekend? Going through banjo withdrawals?  Looking for a new musical love?  Do you like cocker spaniels?  Well dry your bored, musically deprived tears because I'm about to introduce you to the musical stylings of Jack & The Bear.

Click the photo!

I met Brandon and Adam of Jack & The Bear on Halloween of 2010 after a Mumford & Sons show in Chicago.  We were waiting by the stage door after the show, hoping to catch a glimpse of the band.  Brandon had his guitar with him and while we waited he and Adam led the crowd in sing-a-longs to Mumford songs, the holiday-appropriate "Mumford Mash", and The Killers' "All These Things That I've Done" (the last at my request).

I later found Brandon and Adam on Facebook and decided to check out their band's original music.  What I found was well-crafted, bright folky songs complete with plucky guitar, banjo, and spirit-lifting horns.  Influences like Mumford & Sons and The Avett Brothers are immediately apparent in songs like "Jack's Flying Theme Part 2" and "Downriver", while the spooky harpsichord and ominous lyrics of "The Atrocious Tale" Call Tom Waits to mind.  "Ashes", a favorite of mine, is a growing anthem in the vein of The Head And The Heart's "Rivers and Roads".  I should probably mention here that I only compare to other bands because I am terrible at describing music and I want my dear readers to get a good sense of what I'm talking about.  Jack & The Bear's music surely stands on its own.

The 7-piece band from Monroe, Michigan, has big ambitions and it seems, are steadily working towards them.  They've shared the stage with Langhorne Slim, The Felice Brothers, and Dr. Dog, among others.  Their current goal is to be on Conan. Soon they'll head West to record their debut album, but first they're touring the Midwest, making a long-awaited (for me, at least) return to Chicago to play a show at Goose Island in Wrigleyville this Saturday (Nov. 10) with Bethesda.  I've never seen Jack & The Bear play but I've heard it is quite an experience.

Hopefully I've succeeded in enlightening you if you like good music, good people, and good times, join me and Jack & The Bear this weekend!

Place: Goose Island Brewery in Wrigleyville
Time: 9pm
Cover: $8

Jack & The Bear songs to check out:

Farewell to Mr. Rat
Jack's Flying Theme Parts 1 & 2
The Atrocious Tale
Downriver
Ashes


https://www.facebook.com/JackandtheBear