Boogy time at Tetbury

2018 and we did enjoy those foot tapping Irish popsters, the Script at one of my favourite venues - Westonbirt Arboretum ... Good Times

As Qoted;

When singer Danny O’Donoghue, guitarist Mark Sheehan and drummer Glen Power emerged on to the stage at Westonbirt Arboretum, they were met with thunderous applause and cheers from the thousands of fans in attendance.

The trio, better known as The Script, had nearly everyone up on their feet within seconds of walking out - and that was before they had even had a chance to greet the crowd or pick up an instrument.

Such is the beauty of the unique venue, which is nestled among the arboretum’s trees and woodland, that many of those in attendance had come with picnic chairs and blankets - enjoying support act Tom Walker’s performance while sat down in the evening sunshine.DBut the arrival of Danny and his fellow band members on stage appeared to spark some life into the audience, which was made up of a mix of Script superfans, groups of young people and families with small children.

Without so much as a “Tetbury, how are you doing?” from lead-singer Danny, the band jumped straight into their opening song ‘Superheroes’. The track, from their 2014 album No Sound Without Silence, was in many ways the perfect start to their hour and a half-long set - it was upbeat and instantly recognisable, and proved popular with the crowd. After briefly addressing those in attendance, Danny led the band into track number two ‘Rock The World’ - the first of many from their latest studio album Freedom Child. The song, and the album more generally, is far more upbeat, up-tempo and ‘dancey’ than some of their previous work - but that didn’t seem to bother the crowd at Westonbirt Arboretum, who danced, sang and clapped along enthusiastically as Danny and co. made their way through ‘Paint The Town Green’, an ode to their Irish roots, ‘Wonders’ and ‘Arms Open’. Sandwiched in between the new material, which was pleasant enough to bop along to without necessarily knowing any of the words, were some of The Script’s better-known breakthrough songs - including ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ and ‘For The First Time’.

As the sun finally disappeared beyond the stage and the trees, and the stars started to appear in the night sky, another element of the show really started to come into its own - namely the lighting. Similar to other pop music bands like Coldplay and One Direction, it seems The Script have placed a great deal of emphasis on the visual element for fans at their live shows - making it more about the overall experience than simply tight vocals. This was particularly noticeable during their performances of ‘Rain’ and ‘The Energy Never Dies’, where the use of bright lights, lasers, smoke machines and large LED screens made you feel at times as if you were a million miles away from Tetbury.

The gig, however, did feature one or two slightly predictable live music moments - not least the part when Danny urged the crowd to turn on the lights on their mobile phones (“to create a moment to take to the grave,” as he said to the audience) or the part when they exited the stage only to return a few minutes later for the all-too-familiar encore.Although somewhat tried and tested, the audience were more than happy to play their part in lighting up the nighttime arboretum with thousands of tiny, white lights and scream “more, more, more” when the three musicians walked off-stage - only to scream even louder when they inevitably reappeared for a final hurrah of ‘Breakeven’ and their biggest hit ‘Hall Of Fame’.

In summary, it was an evening of enjoyable, family-friendly fun and live music - made all the more special by the glorious evening sunshine and unique venue.