All Ash, All the Time

I had a friend play Ash's first record, 1977, for me and I was instantly hooked. I had to wait five years, until 2002, to see them play live after that and I made up for it in bulk. I had the opportunity to see them five times over the span of six weeks. And I did. They were touring to promote the American release of Free All Angels after a year of solid touring elsewhere in the world behind the record. Needless to say, they were incredibly sharp and each set seemed to be better than the one I saw before. The last one of that run, in particular, was excellent. They had an amazing energy, which the crowd gave right back to them. It was the only time I'd ever been to that venue in Orlando, the House of Blues, and seen an opening act get such a big crowd response. It made sense; they played every one of the sets I saw as if they were headlining. And the set lists were jam-packed with some of their catchiest songs, all played a click or two faster than the recordings. That fifth set is still one of the Top 5 Shows Ever. And looking for videos for that last post, I got sucked into watching so much Ash stuff (about 90 minutes or so), that I figured they just deserved their own little entry today.

I'll start with "A Life Less Ordinary". The song was originally put out right around when Charlotte Hatherley joined the band, I believe. They have a bunch of great songs, but this one I could listen to ten times in a row and still not be sick of it. The pace they play it at here reminds me of those shows. Blistering tempo.



Maybe you should check out the video for the song as well. Good clip. I just said I can listen ten times in a row; you can listen to it twice...



And there's always "Lose Control", the song that opened all those sets, if my memory serves correctly. The aforementioned 1977 just got a remastered re-release overseas and this song kicks in the door right after the Tie Fighter soundbite blasts through your speakers. Excellent song.



And they had some big hit singles elsewhere that I always thought would make them more popular over here. Like "Burn Baby Burn"



Or "Shining Light".



Or "Girl From Mars" (US version of the video, mostly because it's the one I first saw and remember the most)



And some personal favorites, like "Clones"



"Envy"



I better stop before I just end up slapping every video I can find up here. Just go search around the web for more about this band. I like this band. A lot. Still do. Any record collection could do with some Ash.

Official site for Ash

Denali, Helmet, the Rich Kids

I was thrilled that Denali got back together this year, but also bummed that none of their shows were an easy commute for me down here in Florida. But alas, I can still check how they sounded. Even better than I thought they would sound, it turns out. It's tough to pick just one here, but "Gunner", one of my favorite songs of theirs, will do.



Another gem from the old MTV show Jon Stewart once had. Some of my favorite bands of the time were on that show. I look for those clips a lot. This one from Helmet is classic. The tune is "Wilma's Rainbow" and this is one of the best band performance on TV that I've ever seen. One of the best heavy bands ever. And they sound amazing here.



And the Rich Kids, a band from the late 70's with ex-Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock. This is a clip from a TV perfomance of their song, "Ghosts of Princes in Towers".

John Doe and Kathleen Edwards

This pairing is just brilliant. I won't go on about their backgrounds, especially his (that would make this term-paper length), but Edwards sang on some songs on Doe's last record, the amazing A Year in the Wilderness, including the lead single, "The Golden State". All the way back to X, Doe has sounded excellent when matched with the right female vocalists. And all I could think is that the two of them just needed to do a whole record together.

I hope that day does come, but, for now, they just did a short tour together, which they dubbed The Hurtin' and Flirtin' Tour. The tour stopped nowhere near me, but thanks to this vast internet, I still get to see some of the results. I just spent a long, long time watching these videos and here some of the best.

This is them playing the aforementioned "The Golden State"



One of many clips I found of them playing Zankel Hall in NYC. This is a cover of "We'll Sweep Out the Ashes" by Gram Parsons, a song they sang together at a benefit a few years ago.



Another cover for good measure, this one is "When Will I Be Loved" by the Everly Brothers.





If you just search both their names, you'll turn up a handful of other clips, including one of Edwards' videos, "Back to Me", which featured Doe in an acting capacity.


John Doe on MySpace and official site
Kathleen Edwards on MySpace and offical site