Ash / Rock City / Nottingham
As the band hit the stage at Nottingham’s Rock City, you could see the utter relief in Tim Wheelers face that they were finally here, and playing live. He was glowing and so happy that the tour twice cancelled was FINALLY actually happening.
Ash are an Irish alternative rock band from Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, and are made up of vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. They released their first mini-album Trailer in 1994 and debut full-length album 1977 in 1996. 1977 was named by NME as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The band were joined by Charlotte Hatherley as a guitarist and vocalist shortly afterwards and they releasing their second record Nu-Clear Sounds in 1998. After narrowly avoiding bankruptcy, the band released Free All Angels in 2001 and a string of successful singles.
In 2006 Hatherley left and the band became a three piece once again, and after five more albums the band released 26 singles in the A-Z Series in 2009, one every two weeks! The band have had one silver, two gold and two platinum-selling (and chart-topping) records in the United Kingdom, as well as 18 songs in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
And what a show Ash gave us ! The set was full of energy right from the start and didn’t relent right to the end. With 17 tracks and then a 3 track encore, the fans certainly got value for their money, and the night ended with a brilliant rendition of Burn Baby Burn. No fancy stage set, and simple lighting, this was a night to concentrate on brilliant rock and the guys certainly delivered on that.
Setlist
Jack Names the Planets
A Life Less Ordinary
Angel Interceptor
Buzzkill
Shining Light
Confessions in the Pool
You Can’t Have It All
Goldfinger
Darkest Hour of the Night
Kung Fu
Cocoon
Walking Barefoot
Oh Yeah
Sometimes
Orpheus
Another Girl Another Planet
Girl from Mars
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Arcadia
Wild Surf
Burn baby Burn
Support was provided first by The Gulps from London, with a rock sound that blends the energy of punk with a more refined pop sensitivity. They had a great stage presence, with swagger, energy and enthusiasm. A really enjoyable set and certainly one to keep an eye on for the future.
We were then introduced to Indoor Pets from Kent who, describe themselves as making ‘Dirty Pop’. Again a great set, but interestingly some people I spoke to didn’t enjoy it, in particular the vocals which they couldn’t clearly hear. For me, I loved them, and they had a feel of Weezer to them, the lead singler having a slightly quicky almost manic style at times which added to the performance. It was loud, energetic, erratic and entertaining, a great way to set the scene for Ash.
