Bumbershoot Review: The Lonely Forest Draws a Screaming, Pogo-ing Crowd

Renee McMahon

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It's hard to know for sure if the packed audience in the Sky Church realized what they were singing when they sang along to John Van Deusen's lyrics. Dozens of kids crowded the barrier in the front of the stage, pumping their fists in their air and singing at the top of their lungs to Lonely Forest songs like "WSBHBWA," with the emotional chorus, "You're beautiful but you're empty." Or on songs like "Tomato Soup," which details the ups and downs of drug addiction.

Maybe it's because they see something of themselves in 21-year-old Van Deusen, the Lonely Forest's lead singers. In many ways, Van Deusen is still just a kid himself. Between songs, he stopped for a moment to put a fedora on his own head, adjusting it--straight, then cocked to the side, then straight again--and waiting for the audience to tell him which way they prefer.

And the audience loved him. During the band's final song, "We Sing in Time," Van Deusen stepped out from behind his keyboard and walked to the edge of the stage, and the crowd let out a scream. The center of the crowd bobbed up and down like the ocean, pogo-ing to the chorus and screaming the lyrics. There were nearly 1200 people in and out of the show, and a line of people stood outside during the set, hoping to get in. When the Lonely Forest tried to leave the stage, the crowd called them back, chanting, "One more song!"

The band obliged, offering the first encore in the Sky Church all weekend. And Van Deusen treated the audience to a never-before-played-live song, called "Two Notes and a Beat." Slow and heavy on distortion, it was a love song.

Renee McMahon

Renee McMahon