Ash (Glasgow)

In a venue reminiscent of Vegas circa 1983 and with an impressively inventive use of dead woodland gracing the stage, Ash grace the stage, still wearing that slightly empty look of a three-piece who have lost one of their members, the much-missed Charlotte Hatherley. Still, Ash are one of those rare bands that have been around for more than ten years and still manage to look as if, and possible genuinely are, enjoying every second of every gig they play, with the exception of bassist Mark Hamilton, who took until crowd pleaser ‘Shining Light’ to wipe that mardy look of his face. Tim Wheeler still remains one of the cutest men in indie, with shy hand-though-hair gestures whilst tentatively asking if Glagow are “alrigh’?” and a massive grin on his face whilst playing ‘Afterglow’ with every inch of his tiny body.

It isn’t until ‘Barefoot’ that the slightly more mature crowd really let go and the floor begins to bounce, but this is soon halted with tracks from the band's set-to-be incredibly boring new album. The crowd are quickly livened up again as the long set draws to a close with some of the defining tracks of the nineties, the immense ‘Girl From Mars’ and the equally popular ‘Oh Yeah’. All in all, Ash are a pleasure to watch if, like most of the Glasgow crowd, these are the songs of your youth, and it’s to their credit that they still remain smiling twelve years on, but clearly past their peak.

Glasgow Barrowlands, 28th October 2007.

Written by Hannah Atkinson.