Ash with The Plea and La Faro at Whelans on June 6th 2011
Review: Deirdre Harrison
Photos: Kieran Frost
Mondays aren’t usually a night associated with going out and having an amazing time; this June Bank Holiday an event in Whelans changed that. Ash were set to play an intimate set in a venue that could easily have sold out several times over.
When opening act The Plea took to the stage at half eight it was clear this was no ordinary gig, the venue was already almost full. While it is hard to find something to criticise about The Plea, it is almost as hard to find something positive to say. They weren’t a bad support act, but they were certainly unmemorable. Perhaps this is due to the fact that second support act La Faro gave a performance that on any other night would have been worthy of a sold out headline show. It should be noted that La Faro are possibly the only support act to ever be louder than the headline. The only flaw with La Faro’s performance was the sound sadly as the vocals were drowned out.
By the time Ash came on stage Whelans was full to the brim. Opening with a high energy version of “Lose Control” it became clear to the crowd that we were in for a treat. We were informed that Ash’s drummer, Rick McMurray, was unable to join us as his girlfriend was in labour. Instead Ash were joined by La Faro’s drummer Alan Lynn.
The demographic of the audience spoke volumes about Ash’s staying power; all ages were represented from teens to those in their forties. The fact that Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton have been playing together for almost twenty years is hard to believe, both perform with such youthful energy and don’t look a day over 25.
As Ash progress through their set of hits it becomes apparent how many huge hits they have had, for songs like “Girl From Mars” it isn’t even necessary for Tim to sing as each member of the audience are singing along word for word. Whelans is known for its intimacy, yet for “Oh Yeah” you could be forgiven for thinking you were at a large outdoor festival watching a headline act. The festival feeling continued for “Kung Fu”; moshing and crowd surfing on a Monday? Why not!
The crowd kept up their rowdy antics through the rest of the set and for the four song encore kicking off with fan favourite “Arcadia”. By the trio’s final song “Burn Baby Burn”, those of us at the front began to wonder where we would end up if the moshing continued at this pace. By the end of the song at least ten people ended up on the stage, myself included!
At the end of the night it was clear from the smiles on Ash’s faces that they had an amazing night, the feeling within the crowd was mutual. Although the last buses had long since gone we would have all happily stayed and watched another hour of Downpatrick’s finest.
Since the departure of Charlotte Hatherley, Ash have mainly toured as a three piece. While Tim does an excellent job switching from lead to rhythm guitar it does mean the group must leave certain songs out of their set list. However, with such an extensive back catalogue was not a problem. Special mention needs to go to night’s guest drummer Alan, who by the end of the night he had been drumming for well over two hours. If he was feeling tired he certainly didn’t show it!
Words cannot do justice to this gig. For all those present it will be a night that will never be forgotten. Anyone lucky enough to be seeing Ash at one of their appearances at Temple House or Indiependence this summer is certainly in for a treat.
Robbie Lambe was also at this gig for us and of the show he mused
Tim effortlessly juggles the shifts between both rhythm and lead guitar riffs with vocals thrown in which makes he work all the more impressive, even their stand in drummer is on top form, it’s hard to fault his playing tonight and of course Mark Hamilton dons his trademark moves on stage left. The set which lasted about an hour and half and consisted of about twenty songs which was rounded off with ‘Burn Baby Burn’ giving the crowd the final chance to mosh on the rather small dance floor of Whelan’s.
One fan commented after the gig that “it would take a cold person to not come out smiling after an Ash gig” and it is very hard to disagree with that.
**Set List**
Lose Control
A Life Less Ordinary
Dionysian Urge
Twilight Of The Innocents
Girl From Mars
Gold Finger
Petrol
Joy Kicks Darkness
Walking Barefoot
Oh Yeah
Kung Fu
The Dead Disciples
Shining Light
Orpheus
Return Of The White Rabbit
**Encore**
Arcadia
Angel Interceptor
Jack Names The Planets
Burn Baby Burn