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
Reviews
As compliments go, durable isn’t especially sexy, so how about this, Ash have spent a decade consistently saying “I love you” to a world that doesn’t hear it enough, and if you don’t like them then you’ve probably let go of more of your inner child than you can really afford to be without. But as tonight proves, you can be a kid inside and still have massive biceps.
Anyway, it’s traditional for Ash, to plough round an inefficient but vital tour of the nation’s toilets to preview their new songs to, like, proper fans, in wait of the proper big tour and the proper greatest hits set. And yet it’s testament to this band’s unique position that they can ram a hulking eleven new songs into a set that still spurts molten pop classics out of its hit sac at the slightest arousal. Everything’s here: “A Life Less Ordinary”, “Goldfinger”, “Shining Light”, “Envy”, “Burn Baby Burn”, “Petrol”… and to kick things off, “Girl From Mars”. Still the feelgoodest hit of any summer ever, still bounding through meadows on hoverboards ten years after the fact. If this is the arrival of the heavy metal Ash, then it’s a damn colourful curveball.
For all the fire in Tim ’s eyes - gleefully absorbing the sweat on the walls - girls and thrills are still definitely on the menu. For all its big rock magnitude, next single “Orpheus” will sound fabulous on ecstasy. Ash have always been louder live than their albums convey, and here, the songs that sound grimy and industrial on Meltdown are given space to scratch at heaven’s floorboards. “Starcrossed”, a lighter-ballad and “song of tragedy” that on Meltdown sounds like an unnecessary throwback to their tenderer beginnings, here waves a big sign around that flashes “this way for the big American radio hit” in neon writing.
And then there’s “Clones”, the download single that’s famously the heaviest thing they’ve done. May we also point out that it’s the best, a future-rock dreadnought as adventurous as “Stockholm Syndrome”, live it fires off tsunamis like Trent Reznor, but it’s all bound in with a popskill that could only have come from the pen of Wheeler.
And yet it’s actually no surprise whatsoever that Ash should return so mightily. Like Muse, they’re one of a rare breed of British bands that get consistently better every single time they come back. What is strange is that it should be now that they finally, properly gel so well as a band. Charlotte is now such a vital organ - in both style and sonics - that it’s impossible to imagine that she was ever a bolt-on rhythm guitarist. The new material’s plutonium impact elevates Rick into the Grohl league of drumming (with a beard to prove it). And Mark - well Mark was always the coolest one anyway.
Other good things about Ash: Tim is so out of thrall to tosserish hipness that he thinks nothing of dedicating newie “Renegade Cavalcade” to Rick Witter (not present) who they once supported somewhere. He considers the crowd’s feelings by introducing every single new song. Their new album has a song on it called “Vampire Love”. They play “Burn Baby Burn” last, as they should. They play “Petrol” simply because they can.
It’s these, and millions of other things, that make Tim ’s occasional lapses out of tune seem charming, and the fact that their albums have only ever been 70% amazing seem human rather than flawed. It’s in Ash’s DNA that they’ll always be a band of the people. It’s just that this time, those people are proper hard bastards. Hard, durable. Their meanings are really very similar.
Dan Martin
Review 2
Ash, you say? Didn’t they fritter out as if by magic in a puff of rancid, choking smoke from a fresh pack of Marlboro Lights as bought by an ex-member of the Britpop fraternity (Rick Witter, perhaps), along with all the other wannabes that existed way back in the mid-90s?
Cobblers they did. Yes, the Irish trio (and posh bird) have always been so much more than scene copyists. Lest us forget, staying-power only exists through either one of two possible notions - one, you’re still relevant, or - two - you have a nigh-on delusional, fiercely obsessive fan-base that’ll love you no matter what. And, uniquely, in Ash’s case, they bear both of the previous, hence such continued esteem.
But, f**k us if we were expecting this. A live-show so flawlessly punchy and continually rousing that we’re engrossed for beyond 90 minutes, and all in the venue a sixth of the size they could easily pack out amidst the British provinces. In a tried ’n’ tested (’n’ proven successful) attempt to showcase new material from forthcoming, fifth studio-LP (counting their debut mini-album of 1994, ’Trailer’) via a series of fan-only, low-key gigs around the country, Ash are presently as youthful and commanding as any of the ’hotly-tipped’s that rockfeedback’s been pleasurably psyching and pushing as 2004 unfurls.
Seemingly, their new’un Meltdown bodes yet more of the tempestuously tuneful, fearlessly abrasive, yet somehow collectively palatable, penchant for rough melody from which Ash have carved their mantel.
Despite this, however, “Girl From Mars” opens the show, and with dramatic effect - bodies flail, pits are formed, and hundreds of voices bark along in unison to a surprisingly touching, lifting effect. Then: the title-track of their latest endeavour, the stage’s backdrop immediately slapping in view the band’s new logo - a transition back and fore that progresses throughout the set, where each of Ash’s varied career-paths are reflected through paralleling imagery according to the material aired (thus, predictably, a comparably tame, stodgy “Goldfinger”features the band’s 1977 name-stamp).
It’s this emphasis on time that hits home just how long they’ve been with us (after airing one oldie, like a shrivelling grandpa reminiscing on his death-bed, cherub-like vocalist Tim Wheeler has the sheer audacity to sigh, “Good times…” nostalgically… and this is a man still in his 20s, folks), and how consistently joyous their presence has always been - “A Life Less Ordinary”, “Envy”, “Walking Barefoot” and unquestionable set-highlight and Ivor Novello award-winner, “Shining Light”, which simply glimmers in charm and swooping majesty, are all modern alt-masterclass.
But where from here? Onward and defiantly, clearly - for the bulk of newer endeavours are sprightly, frenetic and very, very loud. Indeed, current web-only tune, “Clones” (“This is our current number-one single,” at first proudly announces Wheeler, “erm, in the download-charts…”) is hurtling, all-over-the-shop, mash-up mayhem - spiralling, dirgy riffage and complex chord-changes, resembling more Muse and Motorhead than any prior punk-pop fishing-holes.
“Detonator”, meanwhile, is more of the same, kaboom/shakedown schlock with enough robust distortion and crunching hooks to potentially wobble any one of Rik Waller’s chubby limbs, “Won’t Be Saved” is a dark, straight-ahead hormonal anthem, while “On a Wave” with its dual-vox choral wails is a possible hit-single in the making. Save for some suspect lyrical-cliches in “Evil Eye” and via a compounded noise freak-out in first set-closer “Vampire Love”, or the pick of the punch, a mighty, ravaging “Renegade Cavalcade”, Ash have not only justified their future worth, but left us wagging drooling tongues in the process.
As if we weren’t already affirmed, da kidz receive one more pelting - and they’re mildly obscure ones too. “Darkside Lightside” from 1977 gets the honour of opening the encore, “Petrol” off of Trailer follows, and soon-following it’s a surprisingly ballistic, rampantly received “Projects” from the band’s (unfairly) disregarded, second album Nu-Clear Sounds. By now, the heat in the room is impenetrable, and it’s last-song time. “What do you wanna hear?” Not that the audience need bother responding - the words “Burn Baby Burn” have already sauntered on to the screen at the back of the stage, and the band rocket into one last burst of sound that still resonates in the cubic room long after it actually finishes.
Cor, a relief then. You might even dare comment, a pure sensation. Either way, Ash don’t look set to be leaving us any time soon - not that we’d allow them to anyhow. No, not after this.
From rockfeedback.com
Review 3
Tonight sees Ash, who I last saw play to 15,000 people at V2003, get up close and personal with 500 lucky Oxford folk at the Zodiac.
Winnebago Deal are here to support, though no one really cares and they play to a room full of people who have no interest in these two hairy rockers who just seem to shout. The music itself is good, though the set was a bit of a mess and the songs were too long. The main problem here is that the ’Deal just aren’t an Ash support act, we want nice rock, not Motorhead on speed!
By the time the main attraction bound on, the crowd has swollen and everyone is crammed down at the front, Tim Wheeler and Co. are met by screams and applause from many their devotees.
They open with “Girl From Mars” and immediately the floor of the Zodiac is bending under the collective weight of 500 pogoing, excitable people. The set is a mixed bag and even though all eleven songs from forthcoming album Meltdown are played, we also get all the classic Ash tunes, from “Petrol” to “Goldfinger”, “A Life Less Ordinary” to “Shining Light”, but surprisingly for me, these aren’t the highlights.
The new material sounds better than almost anything from the previous two releases with tracks such as “Evil Eye”, “On a Wave” and current downloadable single “Clones” really getting the crowd going. The best of the new material is a song called “Renegade Cavalcade”, a 3 minute punk(ish) rock storm in a teacup, Mr Wheeler throws himself around as if he is a fencer and his guitar is a sword, brilliant!
After a brief rest an encore is produced with great passion and, it would seem, an outstanding desire to play live, “Darkside Lightside” is absolutely stonking and set closer “Burn Baby Burn” has to be one of the best live tracks I’ve seen for a very long time.
This was a night to remember, the crowd went crazy, the band clearly loved every minute… just thank your lucky stars they didn’t play “Candy”!
Review 4
He’s got hairier, her skirts have got shorter, it can only mean one thing, Ash have returned, older, distinctly heavier and ready to rock.
Ok so the drummers still ugly and the bass player still hides away in the shadows but there they were, filling the Zodiac with their infectious, riftastic sounds. Ash swept to fame on the crest of Britpop with their debut album, 1977 fantastically energetic and full of youthful exuberance, producing such instant classics as “Goldfinger” and “Kung Fu” much alcohol-aided, drug-fuelled rock and roll like behaviour resulted in Nu-Clear Sounds a product of the pressure to release a decent follow-up to their multi-million selling debut.
The sensation that was Ash seemingly petered away until 2001’s Free All Angels established the fact they were no Brit pop has-beens. The eagerly anticipated follow-up, Meltdown due out in May was the reason for this low-key, mini-tour, a chance to preview their new tracks. After enduring the truly awful support Winnebago Deal who consisted of two overgrown adolescents, a lot of sweaty head-banging and incoherent screaming, Ash took to the stage with an effortless cool, aided by Tim Wheeler’s new tattoo that just oozed “I’m a rock-star” and the long long legs and bare feet of guitarist Charlotte Hatherley.
Launching straight into “Girl From Mars” setting the atmosphere for the night ahead, Ash’s intention to rock out and enjoy themselves was evident. The new material was played with the confidence of a band that has reached artistic and technical maturity. “Evil Eye” with its catchy upbeat tempo and hook-laden chorus was a stand-out track and sure to be a highlight of the new record. The audience’s reaction safely confirmed “Evil Eye’s” status among the Ash’s classics, proving Tim Wheeler to be a master in the art of tune-smithery.
The new single, “Clones” is a blend of Foo Fighters-esque melodic aggression and Tim Wheeler’s distinctive Irish charm. Bouncing around like the happy little leprechaun that he is, he peppered the promotion of the new album with a healthy bunch of sure fire crowd pleasers. Even though they played all eleven of their new tracks there was no sense of tedium in the audience or the feeling that they were waiting for something they knew, so instantly catchy was the new material such as “Renegade Cavalcade” Ash left the stage with a crowd baying for more; they returned with an encore of memorable classics which culminated in “Burn Baby Burn” it seemed to reward fans for listening to the unfamiliar (but excellent) promotional set.
With their new look and fresh sound, 2004 looks set to be a Meltdown for Ash, it’s as if 1977’s baby has come at last.
Charlotte Pattullo for fazed.com