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