Cameron Matthews will get down to business as Bear Ceuse at Arlene’s Grocery on January 6
Arlene’s Grocery
95 Stanton St.
Wednesday, January 6, 11:00
www.myspace.com/bearceusemusic
www.arlenesgrocery.net
While a freshman at St. Louis University, Cameron Matthews won MTVu’s Best Music on Campus competition. Now a postgrad English major, he changed his name to Bear Ceuse, made a sweet EP with Xmas (Nick Risler of Radical Sons), and has also released his own EP, the strong 80, that is available for free here. Still slinging pizzas three days a week, Matthews displays an eclectic taste in music, playing guitar-heavy pop and languid, bittersweet ballads with healthy doses of country, folk, and even bluesy soul, sort of M. Ward mixing it up with Ryan Adams with a voice that echoes both Neil Young and Bono. From the hard-driving opener, “I Saw It Beating,” to the jangling “Vodka Parade,” through the yearning finale, “Kiss Another,” the EP is one damn fine listen. Bear Ceuse, featuring Matthews on guitar, Patrick Creceilus on bass, and Ben Majchrzak on drums, will be headlining Arlene’s Grocery on January 6 at 11:00, preceded by Jon Gant (7:00), Luke Elliot (8:00), the Blaire Reinhart Band (9:00), and Mounia Tajiou (10:00). Along with his originals, Matthews could always throw in a few covers, anything from Andrew Bird, Bright Eyes, and Damien Rice to Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and David Bowie, although we love his take on Ray Charles’s “Drown in My Own Tears.” And what’s not to love about a guy who once wrote a song called “In Defense of J. Alfred Prufrock” (not to mention “Marxist Marriage”)?