Ash at Leopardstown Live on July 25th 2013

Northern Irish heroes Ash are the latest band to play at Leopardstown as part of the Bulmers Live at Leopardstown gigs. The veterans of eighteen top 40 singles and two number one albums are heading over to Australia and south-east Asia next month, and stopped off at the racecourse for their only Irish gig of the year.

The band kick off the show with Meltdown, a song the crowd don’t seem that familiar with, but is a lively opener nevertheless. They follow that up with a cover of The Undertones classic Teenage Kicks. It seems a slightly strange choice considering that the band have plenty of their own tunes to choose from, but they put their own charming spin on the song. They supply a constant barrage of their own hits after this, with A Life Less Ordinary, Oh Yeah and Goldfinger all following in quick succession. Binary, from the ‘A-Z Series’, outshines these songs with its massive bassline and huge chorus, and the subtle use of a backing track adds extra depth to their sound.

Walking Barefoot, with its slightly regretful tone, fits perfectly with Tim Wheeler’s pronouncement that the summer is over, or at least the good weather is at an end. At any rate, the song is performed brilliantly and is one of the highlights of the night. Evil Eye is also a significant performance, with the dynamic change between the quiet verse and the loud chorus making the track all the more explosive. Jack Names The Planets is an energetic performance, and The Return of White Rabbit, the last song before the encore, is tremendous. The outro is especially stunning, with Wheeler’s shouts of “I don’t wanna go!” working very effectively at the end of the set.

The three tunes played during the encore are perhaps the best the band play all night. Angel Interceptor is a wonderfully crafted pop song, played with vigour, while the aggressive lead and elaborate solos on Uncle Pat are breathtaking.  The band wrap up the show with the ageless classic Burn Baby Burn, which the crowd go wild for.

Ash are a serious live act, exuding an enormous amount of energy, typified by bassist Mark Hamilton’s fantastical poses he pulls with his low-slung bass. The band bring their songs to life on-stage, with the tunes sounding rougher and more vibrant live. With so many top-quality songs to choose from, an excellent set jam-packed with hits is always guaranteed from Ash, even if at times the band sound as if they could do with an extra guitar to beef up the sound.

Ash at Leopardstown Photo Gallery

Photos: Dave Kelly