Ash are somewhat of a paradox.  In one respect as their youthful appearance ( portraits in the attics, guys ? ) and abundance of energy suggests, it is unbelievable that they have been around for  twenty (yes you’ve read that right, that’s TWENTY) years.  It seems like I’ve grown up with this band and they have soundtracked my life.   On the other hand  though I’m struggling    to remember a time when they weren’t delivering their own brand of powered up  indie rock tunes to a grateful and loyal crowd.

 The crowd here tonight at The Venue in Derby seem more than grateful to have them here, and as they blast open with ‘Lose Control‘ the crowd are already on side,  screeching every word of the song back at the band with fervour.  If you didn’t know any different you think that Ash were playing a triumphant homecoming gig as the crowd are treating them like local heroes.

 Thundering straight into ‘A Life Less Ordinary‘  and ‘Goldfinger’ in this early point in the gig this already shaping up to be a ‘greatest hits’ set and you tend to forget the wealth of tunes that their back catalogue provides.  you know the words to virtually all of them and each one reminds you of a snapshot of points in your life.

 Tim doesnt even need to sing the  ‘A Life Less Ordinary‘s ‘ chorus of “Take me in your arms again” as the Derby crowd are joining in and the noise that they are creating together  is (metaphorically at least) lifting the roof off this venue.  You’ve heard of turning it up to eleven, well my guess is that Ash laugh in the face of that,  as the noise is ear-splitting  and by the time they start  ‘A Girl From Mars’ the whole place is in an Ash-fuelled frenzy and there’s no signs of a drop in energy or enthusiasm from either party.

 The band are banging out tight tidy tunes and Tim is smiling throughout,  you get the feeling that the whole band are having a whale of a time and the good feeling is infectious and with such great tunes to accompany it,  it’s hard not to get carried away by the euphoric energy that this band have managed to create.

 Just when you think that a) you’re running out of energy and b) there surely can’t be loads more where that came from, Ash deliver the three pronged attack of  ‘ Oh Yeah‘ , ‘Kung Fu’ and ‘Evil Eye’ and incredulously ramp up both the noise and the energy levels further.

The adrenalin manages to get me through to the end of this exhausting rock-workout and I’m pleased ( or should i say relieved)  that they think to give me a short rest by following it with relative slow song (for them at any rate) and my personal Ash favourite  ‘Shining Light‘.   I now have a further reason for it being my favourite song as it quite possibly prevented me from collapsing on the floor through sheer exhaustion as not joining in with the previous mosh was not an option.

 My rest is only temporary (note to self – get in shape before this band are next in town maybe join a gym for the months leading up to an Ash tour ) as once again the frenetic pace is driven to the max with ‘Orpheus’.  The cries from both band and crowd of “I’m heading of the open road”  echoing the sheer exhilaration and abandonment that this gig has provided for me, and no doubt many other of the people in the crowd.

 Encore time brings us fast paced ‘Jack Names the Planets’  and  the fabulous intro of Marks scuzzy bass indicating the start of ultra catchy and dancey ‘ Return of the White Rabbit’ ,  showing that Ash can do more than the ‘rock‘ stuff that we know and love them for.

 Concluding their Set with crowd favourite  ‘Burn Baby Burn‘, its surprising that Rick’s supersonic paced drumming  doesn’t cause a friction fire in itself.  Then off they go leaving the crowd exhilarated, exhausted and in my case at least  in need of a good lie down.  Next time you’re here guys – and make that soon –  I’ll make sure I’m match fit!

Jackie Nutty