Review: Scouting For Girls

Rowan MantellAs the sun set over the forest a thousand picnics were packed away, a roar swept through the crowd and the music soared out. The band won over a packed Thetford Forest in seconds.Rowan Mantell

Thetford Forest

As the sun set over the forest a thousand picnics were packed away, a roar swept through the crowd and the music soared out. First the big, breathy songs of X-Factor finalist Diana Vickers and then the boys from London, who stormed into the charts, and the hearts of fans worldwide, with their first album.

Scouting for Girls have sold out stadiums and won over a packed Thetford Forest audience within seconds.

The tunes are catchy, the words cheeky and the songs belted out by SFG, who, famously, met as cub scouts.

It was my 11-year-old son's first live gig and he had missed his own scout group (favourite activity - lighting fires) for this.

The infectious melodies, join-in chants and sheer power and clarity of the sound set his world alight. "Awesomely, jaw-droppingly amazing atmosphere and wonderful, wonderfully loud music," was his verdict.

There have been snide reviews of Scouting for Girls but the show last night was overwhelmingly fun - the music, the lyrics, the instruments, the crowd dancing and singing-along. Who hasn't wished they were James Bond, just for the day? Or been a little bit lost without someone? Or even needed a love lobotomy?

Scouting for Girls romped through hits including Elvis Isn't Dead, Heartbeat and She's So Lovely from the first album. But this audience knew the songs from the second album too and sang and danced as the main set finished but the hits kept rolling out. Encores lit up the now-dark forest with their energy. This Ain't A Love Song, sang Roy Stride.

But it sounded like love.