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home » festivals » Forest Tours » Texas in the Forest 2011
Texas let the hits flow at Westonbirt Arboretum on their Forest TourTexas in the Forest 2011 reviewTuesday 19th July 2011 July is supposed to be the 'Summertime' so I don't know what happened when we were seeing Nerina Pallot, and Texas in Tetbury at Westonbirt Arboretum. Torrential rain from the time we got there to the time we left. No umbrellas allowed in the arena, so we got soaked through, even my camera bag was soaked. Thank god for black bags. We managed to get to the front of the arena, even though we left quite late due to the weather. The sat nav decided to send us all around the Wrekin, up every nook and cranny in Gloucester. We went prepared to get soaked as it had been raining all day. People had turned up at the gig without even wearing wellies or ponchos. They did a roaring trade in Ponchos for £2 each. The arena was quite small, portaloos galore, merch stand selling T-shirts at £20 each, and a few refreshments stands. The crowd were 30/40 somethings and was building up quite nicely as we got there, people sitting in deck chairs with their picnics and glasses of wine and a few odd sproggs for good measure. The rain didn't dampen anyone's spirit.
Nerina reminded me of a cross between Norah Jones and Katie Melua, which isn't a bad thing. I thoroughly enjoyed the 30 minute set, shame she wasn't on for longer. In between songs she was quite witty and jokey, at one point she wanted to know why no-one had any umbrellas! Everyone was waiting for Texas to come on, the rain didn't hold up, everyone vied for places, quite a bit of pushing and shoving and jostling and the token giant pushing to the front and annoying everyone. I did wonder whether I would enjoy Texas and I had previously seen Sharleen Spiteri twice before on her solo tour and I must admit I wasn’t enthralled.
The 15 song set started with a bang, Texas classic 'I Don't Want a Lover', pure class it was, music to my ears. The hits just kept on coming and coming; 'Halo', 'Everyday Now', 'Once in a Lifetime' and 'Sleep'. I had been a Texas fan years ago but never got round to seeing them live, after seeing the first few songs of this set I was kicking myself and thought why on earth didn't I get my arse in gear and see them 'live'. 'In Demand', and surprise of the night, new song 'The Conversation' totally blew me away. If all of the new material is like this song, when is it coming out and when's the tour?? I bloody loved it, it blew me away. Even a random guy in the audience shouted when's the album out? Spiteri joked at least one person wants the album when it's out. The band hadn't toured for 6 years, and have just been back out on the road taking in Newmarket, Doncaster, Glasgow and playing at the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival in August. It felt like they had never been away and I was absolutely in heaven, didn't realise how many classic Texas hits there are. My O/H was in her element, she is a massive fan, has collected everything and been everywhere to see them. She knew every single word of every single song, obviously not the new one, but it wont take long once it's released. 'When We are Together' then just Ally and Sharleen on stage with an acoustic guitar and it was heaven. Singing the Al Green classic 'So Tired of Being Alone', the audience lapped it up, shouting "We Love You Sharleen".
There was quite a big lesbian contingent last night, the front row and a couple beyond that, they loved every minute of this gig, they were salivating at the prospect of Spiteri bouncing up and down freely, she had so many fans in the audience both male and female, they adored her. The gig ended with stonker 'You Can Say What You Want', it was astounding. The audience were in their element. It was the last song of the night, the audience were gutted. But luckily the encore was to come; Spiteri on stage on her own, just her and a guitar, 'Put Your Arms Around Me' belted out of the speakers, it was pure class. She was on a roll, the band came back on stage and sang 'Inner Smile', this gig was one of the better ones I've seen this year, I just wished they were at V Festival. I'm just waiting for the new album and some UK tour dates. This forest gig has definitely whetted my appetite to see more of Texas in the future. If you haven't seen this band live before you need to do yourself a favour and make sure you do. Keep your eyes peeled for UK tour dates. review by Michelle Owen-Williams photos by Michelle Owen-Williams 
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