This year’s Forest Fest might more accurately have been christened Rainforest Fest but the abiding memory is the 10,000-strong crowd’s indomitably sunny disposition.
After a storming performance, Brett Anderson, lead singer of Sunday’s headliners Suede, was swamped by a sea of adoring fans. They might have been standing in the mud but they were looking at a star.
With three of the four stages under canvas, the festival in Emo, Co Laois, was reasonably weatherproof but fans at the main stage proved as adept as roadies in donning ponchos with each new shower.
James delivered a strong finish on Friday night, Tim Booth in great form, embodying the music as he danced on stage, delivering an acoustic version of a number when something went wrong, and watching rapt as his fiddler and guitarist duelled.
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But the star turn on the second stage was Peter Hook, who channelled Ian Curtis (whose grandfather was from nearby Portarlington) to deliver a suite of Joy Division classics, with his son Jack on bass, dedicating Atmosphere to the late Andy Rourke of the Smiths.
The aptly-named Ash kicked off Forest Fest with a lively set of hits, including Girl From Mars and Oh Yeah! whose nostalgic chorus line “it was the start of the summer” was served with extra irony as raindrops shone in the arclights (Ark-lights?).
The Proclaimers declared it was their second time in Laois, having played Electric Picnic just down the road in their early days. Which reminded me of the Bob Monkhouse joke: “They say you play Vegas twice, once on the way up; once on the way down. It’s great to be back!” Their performance was at times a bit one-note but Letter From America, Sunshine on Leith (aka Sunshine on Laois) I’m on My Way and I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) delivered a strong finish.
Saturday’s highlights included The Undertones, Paul McLoone a solid successor to Feargal Sharkey. As a giant bubble floated by from a nearby stall, he quipped: “Someone’s doing the washing,” provoking another downpour which added a note of defiance to Here Comes the Summer as he advised the roadies to “put the electro condoms on” to protect the stage equipment.
Jack Lukeman was another hit, optimistically wearing a Panama hat as he sang Here Comes the Sun and later segued into Singing in the Rain, praising the “beautiful soft Irish day where you get your hair washed for free”.
Bell X1 performed a solid set, and Sister Sledge closed the night with a string of disco hits but lost their momentum when they invited dozens of dancers from the crowd onstage. Alabama 3 were outstanding on the Village Stage, electrifying the crowd with a set including their Sopranos theme song, Woke Up This Morning.
Dream Wife were Sunday’s standout act, Rakel Mjöll an outstanding lead singer with a compelling stage presence and powerful, sweary feminist message: “I am not my body; I am somebody.” A father offered his young daughter standing in the front row a pair of ear defenders but I imagine this performance will resonate long with all who heard it.
Paul Brady is at this stage an elder (to indulge in another arboreal pun) but has lost none of his power or presence, and listening to his catalogue of classic songs reminds us of his greatness: Nothing but the Same Old Story; The Island; Crazy Dreams; Steel Claw. He bids farewell with The Homes of Donegal, a tin whistle held in his fingers, the audience in the palm of his hand.
Suzanne Vega, accompanied by David Bowie’s former guitarist, Dubliner Gerry Leonard, delivered a strong set that included her hit Tom’s Diner, a cover of her late friend Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side, and Rock in his Pocket, about David and Goliath, which she dedicated to Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, which Bono once told her in a backhanded compliment was “a good woman song!”
Asked to sum up Forest Fest in three words, a festivalgoer answered without hesitation: fun, wet and sexy. He was definitely right on at least two counts.
