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
- Projects
- Vampire Love
Encore
Review
My paranoia runs rampant in this town. Walking around there are a multitude of ways to get run over. Car, Cyclist, Tram they’re all coming at you and in every direction. It’s hard to work out what the hell is a safe pedestrian path. Years ago Tav saved me from a gruesome death by Tram, like Jaws it approached from behind, horn’s blasting, oblivious to anything, (the unfortunate effect of the coffee shops around here, and as Ali G says “I don’t like coffee”) I was a second from being flattened until Tav hauled me out of harms way. Today we play the Paradiso, a famous venue, once a grand old church. Inside daylight streaks through stained glass windows on to the stage, in recent times this is a Mecca of rock. Press takes up most of the afternoon, we are feeling last night but get on with it like troopers. I seize and have to withhold convulsions as a goldfish is escorted out of the room we are to be interviewed in. An unusual mini putting green helps pass the time. Rob and myself head off after soundcheck on our usual pilgrimage to Easy Times, this place is the real deal, none of that tourist shit like The Bulldog or Grasshopper. The show only went on sale a few days before hand so it’s great to see the room full of punters. The show is solid and we add “Petrol” to the encore because we’re enjoying it so much. Afterwards DJ Donna Legg is over from BBC Northern Ireland with some competition winners who are most pleased to be here. The crew are in jovial mood as they look forward to an undeserved 3 day beach break in the Spanish sun, we however will have to plough on with the promo schedule from hell, like wildebeest across the plains of the Serengetti. As it approaches 4am it sinks in that we are up in 3 hours. Once again Amsterdam disappears in a foggy haze of smoke.
Mark Hamilton
Review 2
At the key change in “Clones”, there’s a line that goes “Shame. Everyone’s the same” and when I wake up at 5.30am the morning after seeing Ash, it’s the first thing that enters my consciousness. It’s a ridiculously early hour to be singing Ash songs, so I go back to sleep, only to wake up an hour later with the “I need the sunshine in the morning, heading for the open road” line from “Orpheus” running through my brain. Goddamn that pesky Tim Wheeler and his catchy tunes. We’ve always known he had an ear for a great pop hook, but standing in the Paradiso, hearing the new tracks from Meltdown for the first time, we’re actually singing the choruses DURING our first listen.
There’s not every band that would get away with playing 11 new songs during a set, but Ash are getting away with it on this tour purely because the 11 new songs are as good as the best things they’ve ever done. As good as “Shining Light”. As good as “Burn Baby Burn”. As good as “Goldfinger”. They open with a song many lesser bands would keep for their encore - “Girl From Mars”, and run through it as their old logo flashes behind them. It’s like they’re saying that was then, but THIS is now. The logo changes to that cool new celtic design, and the first new song of the night “Meltdown” proceeds to royally kick the audience’s ass. There’s been a lot of talk about how heavy this album’s going to be, and yes, the new stuff is loud, rocky, and enormous, but y’know what, and it’s all supremely hummable and has choruses Justin would kill for.
“Meltdown” is followed by new single “Orpheus”, then they skip over “A Life Less Ordinary” before we get another two new songs in “Evil Eye” and the mighty ’“Clones”, which sparks the first full-on RATM-style mosh down the front. By now, the Dutch crowd have stopped holding back and they’re along for the ride, surfing the Foo-Fighters style riffs, and enjoying the fun. Someone even humorously requests “Here Comes the Summer”. Foreigners, you’ve gotta love them. Future single “Starcrossed” is this album’s token ballad, and provides welcome respite from the onslaught of all-out rock. This will be the one during which lighters are sparked on the arena tour, and proves that even though his time in the States has turned him into a sweaty axe-wielding tattooed rock god, young Mr Wheeler isn’t quite able to hang up his romantic heartstring-puller just yet.
The rest of the set passes in a dazzling array of good tunes. Tim’s voice is solid as a rock throughout, and Charlotte’s harmonies still catch us off-guard, making us wonder how they ever got along without her. “Renegade Cavalcade”, “Detonator”, and “On a Wave” all keep the energy up, before they leave the stage after storming through the powerful “Vampire Love”. The now fully warmed-up crowd howl their approval until the band return to charge through an encore that includes “Darkside Lightside”, a ten year old single “Petrol”, and an album track from their least successful record “Projects”. Confident? They’ve every right to be. Everyone’s the same, but even better than before. The tunes are in place and the engines are engaged. Prepare for meltdown - 6 weeks and counting.
BBC - Donna Legge
Review 3
This year should see the come back of Irish rockers Ash. The group are just a few months away from releasing their new album called Meltdown. To present their new songs they played a low-key gig in the Amsterdam based club Paradiso.
In this case low-key means no support act, a fairly small entrance fee, and well, a rather small crowd too. Only the first front rows are packed with enthusiastic Ash devotees, while the majority of the audience didn’t have to worry about rubbing elbows.
To get things started lead singer Tim Wheeler kicks off with the Ash classic “Girl From Mars”, dating from 1995. After this brief collective nostalgia it’s time to get acquainted with some fresh material. First up are two songs called “Meltdown” and “Orpheus”. Ash’ new album is expected to sound a bit heavier than the previous ones and after hearing this first taste, it probably will.
The whole concert is built around Ash’ forthcoming album. Judging by this show Meltdown will be an album to look out for. Songs like “Clones” and “Out of the Blue” sound quite good, even at a first listen. The pleasant harmonies of Tim Wheeler and guitarist Charlotte Hatherley are also present in some of the new songs, like in the rather catchy “Evil Eye”. Still the audience appears to feel a bit unaccustomed when they are introduced to Ash’ new work. Fortunately the group throws in a couple of well-known classic songs every now and then, like “Shining light” and “Walking barefoot” (with Charlotte suiting the action to the word).
Through the whole gig the band members keep in character, which can have a sort of amusing outcome now and then. Tall bass player Mark Hamilton shows of his elastic limbs, striding along likes he’s watching over the couple of square metres stage in front of his amps. It makes a nice contrast with drummer Rick McMurray, who seems to be focused on no more than his drum kit. Hatherley appears a bit numb, even when rascal Tim Wheeler drops in to slide along each other in this semi sensual way. It looks a bit predictable each time, but then again Ash have never been averse to some good old rock clinches.
Wheeler brings the night to a close with a fresh song called “Vampire love”. Well, it’s not really the end of the concert, because the audience demands an encore. After a short rest Ash plays three more songs. Older ones fair enough. The final set closer is “Burn Baby Burn”, and they couldn’t have chosen a better song. This one really becomes even more energetic when played live.
It still remains a bit unclear though just why Ash are playing through Europe this short before the release of the Meltdown album. Testing new songs in small venues prior to their release surely is a good idea, but the songs are most likely already recorded. As an audience, getting acquainted to the songs can be a bit difficult on concerts like these where quality of the sound decreased with time (shame on those PA-people). Moreover Ash probably don’t need to rehearse the songs. They played the songs so well this night one might think they’ve already got a whole tour behind them. But that’s merely praise. Ash are good fun to watch, and can definitely produce nice songs. And play them in an exciting way.
From Pitfather.com