Set list
- Girl From Mars
- Meltdown
- Orpheus
- A Life Less Ordinary
- Evil Eye
- Clones
- Walking Barefoot
- Starcrossed
- Out of the Blue
- Shining Light
- Renegade Cavalcade
- Detonator
- Goldfinger
- On a Wave
- Won’t Be Saved
- Envy
- Vampire Love
Encore
Review 1
What can I say, the last 24 hours have been somewhat eventful. I awake on the floor of the bottom lounge covered in blood. It seems my fledgling adventures with Mr. Daniels have taken an early toll (you see I’ve just started drinking the old sour mash). Yesterdays memory comes flooding back to me, I tried to pull a running front somersault over the table in the back lounge of the bus only to smash my face on it and bust my nose open. I think it might be broke. Hmm, why indeed? Won’t be trying that one for a while.
Last nights show was a lot of fun, rocked hard and went down well with the crowd. With over 20 Ash-board regulars hanging out afterwards all getting generally shit faced at the Friday night rock disco, there was an air of party time! The one and only ‘Mac’ had appeared earlier in the day to interview for his Uni’s Magazine, seems he’s quite the artist now as well. He witnessed the joyous task and Charlotte’s ecstasy at having to sign hundreds of posters for the merch stand. A perverted version of Tweekie from Buck Rogers is Leif’s new ‘Magic person’. (These characters I may expand upon on another time), he’s incredibly funny and jabbers such commands as, “Ram it in her ass Buck! biddley, biddley, biddley.” Tav and our Agent ‘Slim Strangey’ headed up from London to join the rogue’s gallery. After our eviction from the dressing room we said our goodbyes and got on the bus. Within minutes some local gypo’s started bashing on the bus windows and shouting shit. So out came my trusty axe, (It’d make Grimley proud) Me and Eddie (new swag seller) ventured out to confront them. After realizing the errors of their ways they ended up on board and joining the conversations with Jack. Soon after we departed for Middlesbrough. In-hindsight I shouldn’t have started dreaming of Olympic gold. This could be the start of an interesting relationship…
By Mark Hamilton, 27/02/04
Review 2
The Mill is literally jam packed to the rafters. You can hardly move due to the amount of people huddled together in this most intimate of venues. The reason for this fervent excitement is that Ash will be playing in a matter of minutes, previewing new material from their forthcoming album.
The band saunter on stage to the theme from Kill Bill. Tiny Tim Wheeler has the appearance of an unkempt nomad, slightly swarthy but with a chiselled profile and winning smile. Mark Hamilton is close by, tall but quiet, the calm to Tim’s tempestuous storm. To be this close to such an established rock combo is a rare experience indeed. The moment Ash kick off with the hit that made them household names, “Girl From Mars” you just know straight away that this is gonna be one gig you’ll remember for a long time and boy am I right or what. The title track from their next album Meltdown sees Ash getting down and dirty with a vengeance. This is the taste of what’s to come, a harder more aggressive sound, uncompromising and direct. This sound would fit neatly in the punk era with a nod to the Sex Pistols and The Stooges with lyrics about heads exploding. “Orpheus” is a more conventional song, but a rock n roll spectacular all the same.
“A Life Less Ordinary” is a welcome blast from the past which shows Charlotte giving the lads from Ash a run for their money with her rock star poses and virtuoso guitar playing. The loud and proud “Evil Eye” had a radio friendly chorus while new download single “Clones” is a deliciously dirty grimy track. Tim announces that “Starcrossed” is the most mellow song on the new album, but it’s not a patch on their “Candy” single. “Out of the Blue” is unadulterated ballsy rock, “Renegade Cavalcade” starts off all Elvis Costello before launching into the archetypal killer Ash chorus and ends in a mess of chaotic chord changes.
By the time the band perform “Envy” Tim looks worn out and his voice is starting to sound a little strained. The last new song of the night is “Vampire Love” which sees the guitars almost being ground down with ferocious stabs. “Darkside Lightside” and “Petrol” take the crowd up to the climax of “Burn Baby Burn”. For such a low key show Ash play solidly for a good ninety minutes and play almost the entirety of their new album which sounds as fresh and diverse as their older, more familiar songs. A larger tour will take place closer to the album’s release but it’ll have to go some way to eclipse tonight’s resounding success.
Review by Nicholas Paul Godkin