CONTINUED...

Before Setting Sail, Stuart, Josh and Steve each say their thank yous and have us all in tears again. But tonight the tears are not tears of sadness they are tears of thank yous, of pride, of love and of every emotion we have been through over the past months.

Joshs dedication of Army of Two to the person he wrote it for, "Mrs Jenny Doyle", prompts the happiest cheers and grins from the crowd. Another high point is when Josh receives a kiss on the cheek from Steve, more cheers! Joshs freestyle dance mooooves in Fresh prince are, as always, impeccable executed! And I cannot write this without a mention of the topless Mr Clarke (of the Steve variety!!) and Stuarts, now renowned, mini solo in Lonely Hearts. High pitched girly screams were heard all around at these two particular moments!

At the second encore, they pause. The three people who have been known to their fans as the Dum Dums huddle together around one microphone. A silence settles over the assembled crowd. We all tighten our grip on each others hands. This is it. The end of the rollercoaster ride is now in sight. But we are together, and as we listen to three very special people say goodbye, we know how lucky we have been to be part of this, how lucky we are to have found each other. This is not the end, it is only the beginning.

"Don't join the system... join the circus!!"

Those words, perfect for the theme of this years Greenbelt, "Eternal Echoes".

written by Kelly Ridpath

 

After the “tension” of Edenfest I had such a feeling of apprehension about Greenbelt, I just really didn’t know what to expect. I wanted it to mean so much, and in the end, it did.

We had done the usual and stayed in a Travelodge at Cheltenham the night before, and arrived onsite a Greenbelt around 10am. After collecting our passes we made our way to the campsite to catch up with some message boarders. Then, after sitting in the sun for a while we discovered the pub! The pub had air conditioning which was wonderful as the temperature was now hitting 30 degrees outside. We wandered outside after a while and bumped into Steve and James (oh and Beard from Whitehouse!) After hugs all round and my usual performance of giving Steve numerous presents we went off in search of lunch. As we were sitting down eating cheese sandwiches we spotted Stuart and Josh wandering around the festival site and gave them a wave, then decided it would be a good idea to head back to the pub. Upon arrival back at the pub we spotted James (what a surprise!) and Beard along with a bunch of other message boarders taking liquid refreshments. Steve was completely mobbed outside the pub and despite my very best efforts, I was unable to sneak a pint of lager outside to him – but I really TRIED Steve!!!

After hearing about Josh running into a pole and chipping his tooth (now why did hearing something like that not surprise me??!) at around 5pm we decided to take our rightful places at the barrier to wait for the boys. The stage set up was very odd for a festival, for a start, we were stood on concrete, not grass, and the whole stage and audience are was covered by some sort of tin roof affair – which as I was advised by Steve earlier on the day – was “in case it rained” – well that’s got to be batter than most festivals.

First of all we were treated to the all-girl R’n’B/Garage act “Shine” who we weren’t really into. This obviously showed and the compere told us off for “not dancing”. Only Vick got a mention for “getting into it!” Ha! Ha! Vick’s a closet “Shine” fan! After “Shine” came “Kato” – who at first glance reminded me of a very early Blur, oh and Em fancied their bassist! After “Kato” were “Earthsuit” who were quite entertaining if a bit weird! Quite why the singer guy felt the need to wear a boiler suit is anyone’s guess! After “Earthsuit” came the much-hyped (by Josh!) “Switchfoot” – sure they were a good, punky band with cool grungy guitars but I honestly didn’t think they were anything special. Maybe this was due to my state of mind, knowing it would all be over in two hours.

But then…..the sirens started. Multicoloured flashing lights and smoke filled the stage and there they were. The 3 guys who had changed my life. Stuart in his “Ataris” t-shit (kindly donated by Davina if I’m not very much mistaken!) , Josh in his trademark backwards baseball cap and “Royals” t-shirt, and Steve…..a vision of loveliness in the ubiquitous black cords, and the most fantastic silver “rock star” jacket! He looked amazing! “The Kinda Day I’ve Had” launched the set with a vibe so electric we could have collectively energised the National Grid! The guys were getting frantic onstage, Stuart beating the hell out of his drumkit and Josh spitting out the words with venom, pointing to his head as he tried to convince us all that the words were “Stare at my CAP?” – I don’t think so Josh! “Running Away” signalled the start of the tears for many, me included as Steve began singing the second verse! I’d waited for this moment for so long! Josh asked us if we liked the 80’s, and then asked us if we liked Bon Jovi, before reminding us that “this isn’t a song by Bon Jovi” as they launched into an electrifying “We Built This City”. It would have made a wicked single, I thought to myself. Josh asked us “do you wanna hear some of the stuff that didn’t make it?” – Did we? You bet? And so they launched into “Travelling At Speed” – it was fast, vibrant and punky – we loved it! I just hope James manages to get some of the new tracks available for us to hear, otherwise it will seem such a waste. The “Fresh Prince” tonight was accompanied by Josh’s “freestyle” dancing which has got even more bizarre since Edenfest! The choreography was “dubious” to say the least but it went down well with us lot.

I freaked out completely as I heard the opening chords of “Lucy’s About To Beach” – I hadn’t heard that song live in so long! By this point Steve had removed the jacket, keeping his promise that he would “go topless at Greenbelt” – (maybe he was prompted by our sign that was held up proclaiming “get yer kit OFF Mr Clarke!” It raised a smile from "Mr Groovy Feet" in any case!

Josh dedicated "Army of Two" to "the person it was written for – Mrs Jenny Doyle". It was the most beautiful thing, I’ll bet Mrs Jenny Doyle was one proud lady!

As they went offstage after "Can’t Get You Out Of My Thoughts" the realisation hit me. A couple more songs, at most, and then what had become such a huge part of my life was going to end. What was written on the back of Stuart’s t-shirt seemed all the more poignant "End is Forever". They came back onstage and Steve took his place at the mic. The screams were deafening as he explained "we are all still friends" – I stared up at them, Josh, Stuart and Steve, standing there, headlining the Saturday night main stage at this huge festival in front of thousands of people. As they held each others hands and smiled at us, the tears began. I was instantly transported back to October 1999, in the Oxford Zodiac, watching 3 energetic young lads play 2nd support to My Life Story with a passion I’d never seen before. They’ve come so far.

They went back to their instruments and as I heard the opening bars of "Setting Sail" and I knew then I couldn’t stop the tears…The feeling of loss was overwhelming as I looked around to see my friends sobbing uncontrollably, about to lose the band they loved. It all seemed so real.

After the emotion of "Setting Sail" the guys revved us up once more with a manic "Knock Me Off My Feet" and finished with the most spectacular version of "Everything" – the indoor pyrotechnics went off in front of Stuart’s drumkit and it was the end. The end of everything. The most beautiful, stunning, perfect end... thank you.

written by Lindz

 

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