Ash - The As(h)toria, London - 6/9/08
4/5
By: Matt Tomiak
At a time when broadsheet newspapers offer declarations of an imminent "90s revival", ATP's Don't Look Back gig series continues to flourish and the televised Soccer Aid charity England XI team boasts Seaman, Redknapp, Shearer and Sheringham (and proving vastly more entertaining than Capello's mob) there could hardly be a more apposite juncture to re-visit once of the most beloved debut records of recent times.
Since reverting to their original incarnation as a trio, Ash's early material has featured prominently in live sets - last year's rapturously received headline set at the Carling Weekend was heavy on golden oldies- but tonight at the Astoria we're being treated to the Downpatrick boys' full-length debut album in all its flighty, exuberant, life-affirming splendour. It's worth remembering that 1977 reached number one in the UK album charts in an age when the N64 was the must-have hot new gadget, a reality acknowledged as singer Tim Wheeler introduces 'Angel Interceptor' by reminding us that it charted as a single way back in October 1995.
But such anal-retentiveness should come as no surprise. Ash have never been embarrassed by their collective nerdish tendencies; indeed, bassist Mark Hamilton is tonight clad in a luminous Back To The Future t-shirt and features a prominent Transformers logo on his guitar. Such geeky pop cultural allusions are gleefully reinforced by the bizarre sight of four of the Emperor Palpatine's Imperial Stormtroopers leading our heroes out at gunpoint to perform the first encore of b-sides and rarities once 'Goldfinger', 'Girl From Mars', 'Kung Fu', 'Oh Yeah' et al have been dispatched to venue-wide delirium.
Tim expresses disappointment that the famous G-A-Y night isn't being held this evening, before a souped-up cover of Dusty Springfield's 'I Only Want To Be With You', whilst other highlights include a romp through Helen Love's 'Punk Boy' and the Star Wars 'Cantina Band' instrumental: all in all, a splendid wallow in nostalgia.
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