Madness in the forests 2005
Saturday 11th to Saturday 25th June 2005forests around the UK, England
£27.50
Once again the Forestry Commission had decided to hold a few gigs in Sherwood Pines. As in previous years these small intimate outdoor gigs have proven to be very popular indeed - over the past few years acts have included Motorhead, Status Quo, Jools Holland, and this years headliners included The Beautiful South and Madness.
However it wasnt the headliners that we wanted to see, it was the support band for Madness called The Rifles. We'd heard that these were quite impressive and so we made the trek to Sherwood in search of this so called impressive support band.
The band arrived on stage to a mixed reaction from the crowd, which consisted of a whole range of weird and wonderful people from notorious football hooligans who are well known in Nottingham through to men dressed up as women, and people wearing the trademark dark shades as well as quite a few people wearing a fez.
However despite only receiving a luke-warm reception The Rifles retro punk sound ricocheted through the trees of Sherwood Pines to create an incredible live sound. If you imagine The Clash sprinkled with the best bits of The Jam, then you will have a good indication of what The Rifles sound like.
The band members still seem slightly introverted on stage, however it will only be a matter of time before they have got enough experience to really command the stage. There songs are certainly retro punk rock, and they perform them like true professionals - the only downside is that you feel like you have heard them done before (that is if you were alive during the 70s).
The Rifles will be one of those bands to keep an eye out for as they will certainly be gaining popularity over the next year or so, especially if their latest single When Im Alone is anything to judge them by.
review by: Luke Seagrave
photos by: Luke Seagrave