Ash - London Astoria - 5/2/02
3/5
By: Andy Willson
Once upon a time in 1995 BC (Before Charlotte, that is), an early version of a boy-band emerged into the public-consciousness, all young lads with a knack of making very loud music titled under the banner of Ash. Then, a couple of years later, along came a girl to anger the growing female element of the fan-base by joining the ranks and picking up a guitar to assist in their distinctive blend of sonic-rock... Today, however, the group and their sound seem a million miles away from the initial reaction stirred when Charlotte first joined the group. Without her now, they don't seem complete and it now appears the hatchet has finally been buried.
In an interview prior to this concert tonight, lead-singer Tim Wheeler revealed that there was a strong likelihood that the set would be a full-on, no-holds-barred, 60-minute rock-out. Thus, with no introductions, and the band kicking off the evening with 'Jesus Says' - as a large angel peered down on the group from the back of the stage - it seemed that his earlier promises were becoming a reality.
Wheeler, with his usual V-shaped guitar, took us through a couple of the early numbers ('Angel Interceptor', 'Goldfinger'), the band seeming rather relaxed, confidently striding through an hour's set mainly comprised of material from '1977' and 'Free All Angels'. Indeed, Tim revealed to the crowd that this was the third 'NME'-associated set of gigs they have played, and their fourteenth time at the Astoria, so it's plain to see why Ash looked so polished.
The indisputable highlights of the night, however, included the frantic, stop-start pace of 'Girl from Mars', insanely catchy 'Sometimes' and a tragically cheerleader-lacking 'Burn Baby Burn'. Shame. Still, as if this wasn't enough, when you possess such old favourites like 'Kung Fu', which rowdily rouses the varied crowd, how could the reaction be anything other than dilligently demonstrative of extreme pleasure?
And to summarise, Ash will never set the world alight, but they know what they're good at (noise), and succeed where many have failed. They have achieved chart successes with the singles from most recent album, 'Free All Angels', and, after toils, deservedly so. Where to from here, though, only Ash know, but we're pretty sure their name will be heard for years from now.
Artists in this article: Ash
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