review

Whoever brought the weather with them this is certainly a fine day for an outdoor concert. The venue is Sherwood Pines Forest; the band is Crowded House.

Opening with one we all know ('When You Come'), the band are in a chatty mood, talking about their walks around the forest that day ("There's a lot of stuffed animals!") amongst other things. This is their first of three forest shows this summer, organised by the Forestry Commission.



Surrounded on all sides by tall and graceful pine trees, which also act as a great sound barrier and provide good acoustics, this is a perfect setting for a gig of this size – large enough for a good number of people to be here whilst still keeping the feeling of an intimate show. Picnic blankets and chairs line the back of the clearing (brought in by the organised amongst us), and refreshments and beer is available at the side of the stage.

The band have a few more members this time, at one point there are eight people playing on stage. Neil Finn is in a really talkative mood; sometimes seeming to waste time by tuning his guitar (though singing along comically with it) or talking about anything from Richard And Judy to taxidermy. The best bit is where he spies some kids playing frisbee, and encourages them to throw the disc to the stage. They oblige, with help from the crowd, and Finn returns the favour with the best frisbee throw I have seen in a long time, it lands straight back at them in just one throw...



There's a mix of songs from across their back catalogue, but many of the hits are during the encores. They slip a mix of James brown's 'Sex Machine' into 'Weather With You', along with the whole band jumping in unison, causing the crowd to copy (we are encouraged to run on the spot to warm ourselves up. The cloudless sky has left it feeling damp as the sun goes down, but purple light hitting some of the trees and the great stage lighting and sound make up for it.

The only problem with the venue is the lack of bins, although people are tidying up after themselves, and there are not enough toilets (though you only have to queue for a short time, and they are kept tidy). The hour-long queue out of the car park is handled well by security.

So take 'It's Only Natural', 'Four Seasons In One Day', 'Don't Dream It's Over', and 'World Where You live', throw in a cover of the Beatles' 'Helter Skelter', newbies 'Isolation', 'Falling Dove', and 'Either Side Of The World' and last minute change to the setlist 'Fingers of Love' and you have yourself a varied and memorable show. As the crowd clap for the last time to 'Better Be Home Soon', I wish more bands would come and play in these beautiful settings, as it truly reminds you how extraordinary nature is.



set list:
When You Come
World Where You Live
Isolation
Fall At Your Feet
Turn It Around
Don't Stop Now
Pour Le Monde
Falling Dove
Finger of Love
789
English Trees
Don't Dream It’s Over
Either Side Of The World
Say That Again
Distant Sun
It's Only Natural

Locked Out
Weather With You

Four Seasons In One Day
Better Be Home Soon

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