Friday 30th April 2010 @ Academy, Bristol

For a band that’s been in the spotlight now for 15 years, Ash provided a show tonight that is everything you would expect from a highly professional and fun act although at times, it felt formulaic and a little mundane: Play your anthem in the middle of the set (Shining Light); play your early hit at the end (Girl From Mars) and always save your biggest hit for the encore (Burn Baby Burn).

This, it haves to be said, pretty much sums up tonight’s show. The set revs up and slows down and threatens at times to get going but, to be honest, never really hits top gear. When eventually we do hit mid-set and Shining Light, the crowd again warms to front man Tim Wheeler’s advances upon them. Though as soon as we finish the song, the night again reverts back to its usual plod-off while flawless playing an utterly mundane atmosphere continues to fill the room.

Maybe it was simply that I’d expected more from a band that have been plying their trade in the spotlight for nearly two decades, to provide the audience with a bit more substance to get there heads bouncing too. Or maybe it was that I thought that the addition of Russell Lissack from Bloc Party on extra guitars and keys (added for this tour while his day job takes a hiatus) would add a special new dynamic to a long time loved UK pop-rock favourite. Or maybe it’s just simply that the gig wasn’t sold out and the atmosphere isn’t what I’d become used to recently at the academy. I guess I’ll never really know.

Though I think some explanation can be found in the band’s own decision on the way they choose to release their music now. This year the band have embarked on releasing 26 singles via download, only suggesting that download is the future. And while I agree with the band, I believe it is this new school ideal that hampers their live set tonight. The simple fact remains that people still love an album, and while many singles in one year maybe great, it still leaves fans without a substantial piece of material to get their teeth stuck into. When these new songs are introduced tonight, that’s when the set really begins to slow down, so while you have to respect Ash’s new ideas, you wish sometimes there outside releasing activities were a bit more like their set: Formulaic.

www.ash-official.com

Adam Hooper
Photos by Laura Palmer