Bathed in green light is the distinctive figure of Robert Smith. With his eyes outlined and his lips adorned with red, he prepares his Shecter guitar, black like his outfit. Let’s revisit his 1980 classic “A Forest”.
Massive crowd. Excited and expectant. Squeezed looking for the best possible perspective. The sound of applause is mixed with the sound of a distant keyboard. A note held by Roger O’Donnell increases the expectation. A huge stage, arranged with all kinds of sound gadgets, turns green and smoke machines turn this stage into a kind of mystical swamp. A sacred place.
Bathed in this light is the distinctive figure of Robert Smith. With his eyes outlined and his lips adorned with red, he prepares his Shecter guitar, black like his outfit. Attentive follows the progress of the keyboard while he makes sure that his bandmates are ready to start this song.
This is how his pick hits the strings to offer the first notes of his 1980 classic “A Forest”, from his second studio album “Seventeen Seconds”. Arms crossed, perched on his guitar, Reeves Gabrels awaits the end of this introduction. Marking the entrance with a traditional 1,2,3,4, Jason Cooper gives the signal for the beat to be incorporated as a guide for this journey.
A rhythmic fill of toms and bass is presented by Simon Gallup, who completes this enveloping atmosphere with consistent and energetic strumming. He begins to walk around the stage being perhaps the most expressive of the band, infecting the audience, as if inviting them to be part of this dance.
Pinkpop attendants accept the proposal and join this party that transcends any generational differences. The atmosphere is set for Smith’s deep voice to take the lead as if he were an ancient minstrel or a forest guardian: “Come closer and see. See into the trees. Find the girl. While you can. Come closer and see. See into the dark. Just follow your eyes”.
The delivery of this verse, almost like a whisper, gives way to an instrumental transition that continues to guide us, through the intricate paths of the forest. Gallup continues the shamanic dance of him as if a wild spirit took him over. One hint is seen written on his amp: «Bad Wolf.»
A mysterious scene of calls and distant voices is completed with another verse by Smith: “I hear her voice. Calling my name. The sound is deep. In the dark. I hear her voice. And start to run. Into the trees”. The passionate delivery of another line, while rising the tone, takes us into this increasingly misty landscape. “Into the trees…”
The journey reaches a climax point in the third verse. It is there when we find out what has happened to the character in this story: “Suddenly I stop. But I know it’s too late. I’m lost in a forest. All alone”. We decided to undertake this journey believing we heard a call, only to realize too late that this call was always within us, and now we are lost.
“The girl was never there. It’s always the same. I’m running towards nothing”. What we traveled so much for, was never there. We set out on a journey looking for something that never existed, like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Like a fabulist, Robert Smith warns that this is not where the tragedy of the story lies.
A mantra glimpses the true nature of the tragedy. The eternal return. Our character is condemned to repeat this journey repeatedly: «Again and again and again and again…». The made-up face projected as a hologram on the stage curtains has completely surrendered to its performance and conveys the weight of these words.
As torn by this history we are delivered to a zigzag of guitars that now lead us. Surrendered to the sound, there is nothing left but to lead our movement to where the music wants to take us. We know that the end is near when the beat ends and those guitars are sustained only by the hi-hat and a few dry hits on the bass.
These hits begin to be gradually accompanied by the audience clapping. Now the forest is reflected in a landscape of raised arms, moving in unison, guided by the sound of Gallup. The audience has become part of this piece of music, one more instrument that gives a magical element to the closing of the story and comes with Smith’s wandering guitar until the end.
Almost without realizing it, it’s just Gallup and the public. Without the guitar present, what remains is the response of the people with their voices. In a final moment, the crowd notices that the song has ended and only the palms of their hands remain.
It is there when the great ovation explodes, not only for the band but for all those who were part of this collective experience. Gallup returns the gesture with a fleeting chaotic sound of the bass, after which he prepares for the next song.
