Ash

Of all the bands that burst onto the British scene in the nineties, Ash were probably the hardest to pigeonhole – a bit pop, a bit punk, a bit indie, always melodic but capable of morphing into a fuzzy guitar garage band as and when required.  This may well have been their downfall – in the tribal ‘90s people had not yet become the omnivorous musical consumers of today, and we liked our bands to fit nicely into predetermined categories.  Genre shifting was viewed with suspicion.  Crossover was still a dirty word.  But Ash defied easy categorization – they played the music they wanted and maybe we didn’t appreciate them enough for it at the time.

Possibly this was part of the reason why the band never quite achieved that head of commercial steam that would have taken them to the very top, but at The Welly in Hull on Monday 29th they delivered a high energy set that showcased their stylistic eclecticism and gave an overview of where their career has been as well as showing clearly where Ash are now.

On these occasions it’s often politest to skip glibly over the openers but this show was kicked into life by a fantastic set from Cambridge’s Violet Bones.  They describe themselves as a rock ‘n’ roll band with sing-along garage-pop anthems, and they quickly won the crowd over with an exuberant performance and great songs – certainly one to watch.  For many of the younger members of the crowd there was some initial culture shock attached to their first exposure to a medallion and chest hair, but once that had worn off they were bopping along with their more experienced elders.

Ash hit the ground running with a pounding “Meltdown” and “A Life Less Ordinary” that had glasses rattling on tables before launching into the first big crowd please of the night – the sing along jangle pop of “Girl From Mars”.  “Kung Fu”, “Goldfinger”, and “Shining Light” followed soon after, but this was a crowd that knew their stuff and it wasn’t just the major hits that had people singing along.  Highlight of the set was “Orpheus”, from 2004’s Meltdown album, which featured a riveting drum solo from Rick McMurray and a call and response section with the audience as it built to a climax.

Along the way the band switched styles from song to song, from lightweight indie to metal inflected garage, with Tim Wheeler on a flying V in charge of crowd interaction while bassist Mark Hamilton remained more aloof, prowling stage right and striking extravagant straddle poses.  The interlude towards the end in which McMurray came out from behind his drum kit to demonstrate a remarkable talent for writing his name in mid air with his pelvis was both edifying and educational, although from a presentational point of view thought might be given to the issue of mirror writing which would aid readability from front of house.

The show climaxed with “Twilight of the Innocents” and “Burn, Baby Burn” – according to their website Ash are presently working on material for a new album – if this evening’s show is anything to go by it should be worth looking out for.