More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Almost zero chat, a set list which avoided many of the "greatest hits" and no big screen - but if you wanted to see Paul Weller play at Bedgebury Pinetum, you wouldn't care about any of that.
For his date in Kent last night, there were some hard core Paul Weller fans in the crowd. Infact, it was noticeable how many more men there were in the crowd than women - many sporting Weller-style hair.
The gig was a sell-out, though the enclosure at the leafy Forestry Commission site Bedgebury Pinetum in Goudhurst still felt positively roomy, even when Weller hit the stage and people surged to the front where we were, there was still plenty of space.
Support came from Stone Foundation, whose album was recorded at Paul Weller’s Black Barn studio and who proudly told the crowd they'd had a No.1 in the vinyl singles chart.
They blasted out a series of songs which were well received and sounded in a very similar vein to what was to come.
Weller hit the stage with minimal introduction and went straight into it, giving it his all. It wouldn't be right to say "all the hits were there" as he steered away from playing many of the ones you might expect. That's Entertainment, however, definitely got the crowd going, possibly the most of the night.
The voice, the look and the epic guitar playing are all still there and the crowd lapped it up. Highlights, besides That's Entertainment, included, obviously, playing Wild Wood surrounded by the forest in the moonlight (the full moon was one thing he did comment on to the crowd).
Also a personal favourite, You Do Something To Me, came on while I was in the queue for the ladies but that didn't stop some of us singing along as we queued. Will try to time things better in future.
Paul Weller has played Bedgebury several times before - twice for Forest Live in 2004 and 2014 - and there's no doubt the appetite for hearing and seeing him is still just as strong.
It was a shame us 5ft 5ins folk couldn't see so well, so a screen would have been nice, but it's not every day you get to see a legend, so I'll say no more about that.
The evening finished a weekend of gigs, with Foals playing on the Friday and Hacienda Classical on the Saturday with Bez on the maracas.
The gig was part of: Forestry England’s Forest Live concert series, a live music series held every summer by Forestry England. Income generated from ticket sales helps to look after the nation’s forests sustainably, for people to enjoy and wildlife to thrive.
