ASH & BAG OF CANS

I headed down to Epic Studios tonight with relatively low expectations. Ash is a band that I liked back in the day but never loved and haven’t gone out of my way to listen to for a good while. If I’m being honest, I was anticipating a good fun opening set from the always excellent Bag of Cans followed by a bit of nostalgia. Oh boy, did I get that wrong. Without getting all hyperbolic, Ash were (forgive the puns), if not on fire, then certainly smouldering nicely, and this was far from a nostalgia trip. 

What I wasn’t wrong about was BAG OF CANS. Ash’s Tim Wheeler referred to them as local legends. Their mash-up of The Kinks, Madness and Parklife-era Blur is always a joy. Like, say, Half Man Half Biscuit, this is a band that can be very funny without ever heading into novelty/the-joke-soon-wears-thin territory. Beneath the larks and jokes, the likes of Favourite Shirt, Spin Cycle, Hair of the Dog and Hostage at the Dinner Table are simply damned good songs. I am sure that Bag of Cans won a fair few new fans tonight and they deserve it. Oh, and a special shout out for Rowan who did a top job filling in for the injured Tim.  

Before Bag of Cans and between bands, self-proclaimed pop culture video DJ and host Level Up Leroy tried to get the crowd going. Credit to him for trying and it is not something that I could do but I am sure that I am not alone in finding it rather annoying. Apart from being (unforgivably) louder than Bag of Cans, some of the tunes didn’t seem entirely appropriate and Leroy’s breathless exhortations were just too darned shouty. Oh well.

So to the main event. After nine albums and 30 years together, the core trio could be forgiven for being sick of the sight of each other yet they seemed to be having a good time on stage. The between song chat was limited – something other bands might learn from – but there were moments of humour shared between them. Tim Wheeler was in fine voice and wields his Flying Vee to glorious effect. Looking like a cross between Dee Dee Ramone and Rich Hall, bassist Mark Hamilton was a live-wire, at times coaxing a deliciously filthy sound from his Thunderbird. Rick McMurray nails it all together behind the kit. As for this being a nostalgia trip, eight of the nineteen tunes given an outing tonight are from last year’s Ad Astra whilst there’s five from the classic debut 1977. If anything, some of the new tunes are the most enjoyable of the night. 

Having George from Bag of Cans play trumpet on intro/opening number Zarathustra was a nice touch. Of the Ad Astra tunes, the highlights are Fun People, the title track – complete with some old school metal double-handed finger tapping – and the laid-back but power-poppy Which One Do You Want? Harry Belafonte’s Jump in the Line prompts some energetic dancing. Unsurprisingly but perhaps unfairly in the newer songs, 1977’s Kung Fu and Girl From Mars get the biggest response of the night.