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Just a word before they even start, I've just had the privilege of spending a week with these guys and gal on the Danube, the "All hands on deck" cruise, and they're such lovely, talented people. I'm really looking forward to their set on Thursday eve  ;D Hello to anyone else who was on the good ship AmaSerena. Wasn't it just fantastic!

 Magnificent.

Absolutely wonderful.

Seen them a lot in the last few years, in small and large venues and they have never failed to deliver!

Excellent performance. Really got the festival going!

Brilliant as usual.
Should have headlined the Thursday, they had easily the biggest crowd of the day down the front.

Excellent once again

A great set. Fantastic rapport with the crowd - just what you want at a festival, a lot of the favourites to keep everyone happy.

Very good, as others have said.  And did a good job of interacting with the crowd and getting people involved.

Don't shoot me, but I think they are overdone. They are at nearly every festival this year and after a few times it starts getting a bit samey. They have a massive following (along the south coast) and that's great, but please can we have someone else for a change! They do write a good song and Steve K is a strong front man, but....

Well.........they hadn't played Cropredy since 2007, so how much of a change do you want?  :D

They get booked at a lot of festivals because they are popular and sell tickets. They drew the biggest crowd on thursday down the front, bigger than Trev Horn, and much bigger than the Profane Tragedy who headlined.

I know sometimes the same acts can play a lot of festivals, but I think there might be more people at Cropredy who go to one, or maybe two festivals a year, than there are who go to, say, ten or more. So SoH were therefore a great choice for Cropredy.

Personally, I wish they played every festival I go to. Even the rock ones.  8)

For me they could and should have been the Thursday headliners. Brilliant set which just flew by. Never tire of seeing them

They were great and very energised. We saw them at the New Forest where they were ok, but this performance eclipsed that one effortlessly.

And a new song, to boot!

When their opening song was 'Are We Alright?' - a full-on crowd pleaser they normally reserve for the end - I knew it was going to be a great SoH set, and it was.

When Steve sang the opening line of their beautiful version of 'Boys of Summer', I wish the official Cropredy photographer had somehow been able to take a picture of the look I saw on her face at that moment. Sort of this  :) to the power of 10!

One of the highlights of our weekend. After enjoying their last appearance in 2007, we were really looking forward to this set and we were not disappointed. Excellent! Hopefully we won't have to wait another ten years for their next appearance on the bill

With the exception of the Fairport set (1st half anyway) SOH were the act of the weekend. Masters of their craft.

Loved them. Agree with plenty here that they would have been a great headline act. SK just fab at working the crowd, as always, and love PB distinctive fiddle sound.

SOH the highlight of the festival for me

Well I'm not a great fan of Show of Hands, but this was one of the standout sets of the festival.
I have previously been put off by their love of the anthemic protest folk, aimed at increasingly easy targets. (Apart from Country Life which is great).

However their last CD was much more varied and this was reflected in the Cropredy set. I stood at the front for the whole set and really enjoyed it. They won me over.

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A band I love and never get tired of, and this was one of the best performances live I have heard in quite a while.  They seemed to genuinely be pleased to be there and the reaction of the crowd spurred them on.  One of my highlights of the weekend

A superb set from masters of their craft.  They didn't disappoint one little bit, and yes, they should be headliners!

Quality, quality, quality a really excellent performance

Pretty much the same set (including ad libs) as Folk By The Oak. I thoroughly enjoyed them,again.

They have never, ever failed for me, this was no exception.

Show of Hands are certainly on fire at the moment. They were great at Wickham, and they were great at Cropredy. Steve seems to have mellowed with age a bit. Phil is getting a well deserved time at the front now, and Miranda goes from strength to strength. Particularly with her singing. I had tears in my eyes for The Keeper, partly because of the WW1 subject matter, but secondly because Miranda's backing vocals were so beautiful, contrasting with the subject matter of the song.

Paul

Pure class.

One of the highlights of the Festival for me. I've seen them six or seven times, firstly as a duo, but last few times, with Miranda on double bass.  I wouldnt want to see them now,  without her, the bass adds so much to their sound

Best rendition of Cousin Jack I have ever heard,

perhaps because the backing singers numbered thousands.

Disappointed to have missed them but I was bopping to a Ska band at the Red Lion  8)

Hope to catch them live soon  :)

Ive seen Show of Hands loads of times . This set was the best set I have ever seen them do . Steve Knightly had dropped some of his political rantings it seemed to me ? Or am I wrong ---anyway --very surprised to have really enjoyed them this time out . "Roots" lyrics get me very emotional every time . I feel very strongly about that songs lesson . Great stuff .

Im not a SoH afficinado but i thought there was plenty of politics in the announcements and music, I loved them.

Absolutely wonderful. Didn't want them to leave!

Possible rant warning...

Have been a fan of the band for many years, seen them live half a dozen times including the Albert Hall, got most of the albums. The set this year was well played - Phil and Miranda were truly excellent - and Steve did what Steve does. But.

It's taken a few years to get to this point, and maybe I was blinded by the music, though someone formerly of this board did say a similar thing to me a few years ago, to wit: why does Steve have to be so earnest all the time? I met him once, he was grumpy. Maybe a one-off, though someone who until recently worked closely with him said he was intense pretty much constantly, a total contrast to Phil.

And I could forgive that if it wasn't for the earnestness. I don't mean, anger or protest - we need protest songs, and Country Life is a genuine classic (maybe not so much Roots - what's wrong with rap? And Cromarty isn't in England) - but the heart-on-sleeve, "you're staying till the end while I frown" sense of things. There are other ways to make a point, there really are.

To make a direct comparison with Divine Comedy, who were on the same evening, SoH's song AIG (or Cutthroats, Crooks and Conmen, basically the same song) made a point, very seriously, and then I forgot. I had never heard DC's Complete Banker before, and it's still going round in my head - comedy, satire, self-deprecation and a nice tune. Then there was the confessional, No Secrets which I just couldn't sing along to, because relationships aren't black and white like that; compare with DC's Something In The Woodshed and you see something dramatic, funny and dark at the same time.

I would really like to be able to enjoy Show of Hands again, but Steve's songs need to change. There is joy, there is love, there is drama, there is shock, there is sadness, there is purpose and rage. So much to bring to the fore with a little effort.

Oh, and they didn't play The Dive, nuff said  ;)

I liked the new "No Secrets" song.

Interesting! Steve is definitely more laid back on his solo tours, and was positively jovial when I saw him at the behind the castle festival a couple of years ago. Did anyone notice his wry smile on the "everyone stares at a great big screen" line during Roots (whilst looking at said big screen?). Maybe the contrast with Phil is what makes them so good.

I totally agree...with your last comment

Keith clearly knows a different Steve Knightley to the one I know.

Sadly, I can't go into any more details, for obvious reasons.

Steve is very intense, but I think this is because he cares. You do have Phil to provide a balance.

This was demonstrated very aptly at Wickham a few years ago. The main stage at Wickham is under a big circus top. Steve comes on, and starts a very earnest description of what they are going to play. Phil comes on, and with a big grin says "Where are the elephants?"

Paul

I like SK, he is intense, not sure he is grumpy though. He makes me laugh, the music is great and his heart is absolutely in the right place so carry on. 8)

That you have been to see them so often is surely your fault not theirs?

Works for me every time. They just get better and better and make it look so easy.

At the end I thought, wow, all my favourites! Then I thought of all my other favourites... a classic set topped off by the amazing Chris While, heaven!

should have headlined Thursday, great set