Ash Live at the Echo, Los Angeles
So second gig in 72 hours at, in what is rapidly becoming one of my favourite L.A. music haunts, The Echo at the far end of Sunset Blvd...
I'm a great believer in turning up early to a dig to catch the support acts, 'cos you never know who you might be missing and thus unable to dine out on stories for years, such as the time up-and-coming Dublin beat-combo U2 supported Dolly Mixture at the Marquee (Sorry Bono, but Debsey, Rachel and Hester wiped the floor with you that night...)
There are some great bands out there, working their dues on the undercard, and once again tonight was no exception...
There are some great bands out there, working their dues on the undercard, and once again tonight was no exception...
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| Dreamland kick off proceedings... |
Overcoming some dodgy PA issues that twice caused the band to abort their opening number, L.A. locals Dreamland shrugged this aside to turn out a powerful and energetic set full of high octane shoegaze-inspired indie-pop gems full of pent-up vocals, thumping bass and thrashing reverbed guitars, that more than reminded me of My Bloody Valentine. Similar to Tuesday night, I don't know much about this opening act, but sure intend to find out more. On this evidence they're more than worth a punt.
You could tell that Deaf Havana weren't from around these here parts - if the accent wasn't a give away, the gratuitous use of that most adaptable (and acceptable) of Anglo-Saxon words, "fuck", dropped casually in to the between song banter was probably a give away. No folk-in' joke (groan), but the Hunstanton, UK, band were a blast of fresh air, kicking-off with a veritable wall of crashing guitars, rhythmic keyboards and tight harmonies - all driven by some mean stick-work which left me thinking that if drums were pets, the band would be rightly vilified by the ASPCA (RSPCA). With a stage presence and energy that more that doffed a cap in the general direction of the Foo Fighters, the band whipped-up as storming a set as I've heard from a support act since Palma Violets threatened to rip a new one for Franz Ferdinand at the Fonda last year. If you're catching Ash on their US tour - get there early and catch Deaf Havana - you can thank me later.
Deaf Havana are new to me (indeed their ticket on the Ash tour is their first time here in the US) - but they seem to be making a bit of buzz back in the UK and based on this gig and their debut US release "Old Souls" they should be more than capable of leaving a mark here (hint to support acts - always have some merch available - especially if you can knocking out your CD for only $5 - you'd be surprised how many people will take a chance at that price...)
Live, there a definite alt-rock edginess and energy but on record they're definitely more melodic. Indeed, there's a sticker on the CD from BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe who's been championing the band - he's a bit faddy for me - but generally knows his stuff - I was a bit surprised with the comparisons (Springsteen, Snow Patrol) - but you know, having given it a spin on the drive home (and it's playing in the background as I write this) - I can see where people are coming from - although, just like Snow Patrol - live there's that wired-buzz associated with their stage show.... Basically my way of saying that I'll be looking out for them next time they hit L.A.
It's hard to believe that Ash have been around for 20-odd years. Their songs sound as fresh and infectious today as they did when they were first released, in fact it's easy to forget how many classic tunes the band have churned-out (indeed as the long-suffering Mrs Blog, who was initially skeptical of yet "another" gig was moved to remark as she gave a few of my Ash CDs a spin; "Wow, I didn't know they did this!")
And it's also testament to the bands longevity that tonight's crowd were definitely "all ages" - anyone hawking t-shirts proclaiming "I may be old(er), but I got to see all the great bands" would have made a financial killing - those of us who've been, there, seen it, done it (and had the aches and pains as limbs unused to bouncing around all night where ** cough ** exercised) were rubbing shoulder with this generation's masters of cool (who were probably secretly horrified that ** shudder ** people their parents' age were there...)
Launching into 2004's
"Meltdown" - Tim Wheeler still looking like a freshly scrubbed cherub,
drummer Rick McMurray suitably moody in black and bassist Mark Hamilton
struggling to contain his 4 by 3 frame in a 16 by 9 aspect ratio world (jeez how
lanky is that guy?) - the band had no problem whipping-up the crowd. It
was fairly obvious the band were here to have a good time, so were the
crowd - the result was that a good time was going to be had by all.
In a little over an hour - and boy, time flew - the band ripped through a storming 17-song set - effectively a greatest hits live; "A life Less Ordinary", a storming version of "Girl from Mars", "Oh Yeah", "Shining Light", Mrs Blog's favourite "Goldfinger" - every song performed with gusto and an energy that transmitted itself to the crowd.
In a set full of highlights it's difficult to pick out one, "Kung Fu" was performed with the volume cranked up to eleven, and both "Orpheus" and "Jack Names The Planets" sounded even better live than on record - as if the band were free from the constraints of a bit of shiny plastic... There was even a stage crashing Robin (as in Batman and...) for the set's closer, "Burn Baby Burn." With the band in the studio there's the promise of a new record - one that on the night's showing is going to be eagerly received...
You could tell that Deaf Havana weren't from around these here parts - if the accent wasn't a give away, the gratuitous use of that most adaptable (and acceptable) of Anglo-Saxon words, "fuck", dropped casually in to the between song banter was probably a give away. No folk-in' joke (groan), but the Hunstanton, UK, band were a blast of fresh air, kicking-off with a veritable wall of crashing guitars, rhythmic keyboards and tight harmonies - all driven by some mean stick-work which left me thinking that if drums were pets, the band would be rightly vilified by the ASPCA (RSPCA). With a stage presence and energy that more that doffed a cap in the general direction of the Foo Fighters, the band whipped-up as storming a set as I've heard from a support act since Palma Violets threatened to rip a new one for Franz Ferdinand at the Fonda last year. If you're catching Ash on their US tour - get there early and catch Deaf Havana - you can thank me later.
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| Deaf Havana rip it up |
Live, there a definite alt-rock edginess and energy but on record they're definitely more melodic. Indeed, there's a sticker on the CD from BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe who's been championing the band - he's a bit faddy for me - but generally knows his stuff - I was a bit surprised with the comparisons (Springsteen, Snow Patrol) - but you know, having given it a spin on the drive home (and it's playing in the background as I write this) - I can see where people are coming from - although, just like Snow Patrol - live there's that wired-buzz associated with their stage show.... Basically my way of saying that I'll be looking out for them next time they hit L.A.
It's hard to believe that Ash have been around for 20-odd years. Their songs sound as fresh and infectious today as they did when they were first released, in fact it's easy to forget how many classic tunes the band have churned-out (indeed as the long-suffering Mrs Blog, who was initially skeptical of yet "another" gig was moved to remark as she gave a few of my Ash CDs a spin; "Wow, I didn't know they did this!")
And it's also testament to the bands longevity that tonight's crowd were definitely "all ages" - anyone hawking t-shirts proclaiming "I may be old(er), but I got to see all the great bands" would have made a financial killing - those of us who've been, there, seen it, done it (and had the aches and pains as limbs unused to bouncing around all night where ** cough ** exercised) were rubbing shoulder with this generation's masters of cool (who were probably secretly horrified that ** shudder ** people their parents' age were there...)
 |
| Ash's Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton |
In a little over an hour - and boy, time flew - the band ripped through a storming 17-song set - effectively a greatest hits live; "A life Less Ordinary", a storming version of "Girl from Mars", "Oh Yeah", "Shining Light", Mrs Blog's favourite "Goldfinger" - every song performed with gusto and an energy that transmitted itself to the crowd.
In a set full of highlights it's difficult to pick out one, "Kung Fu" was performed with the volume cranked up to eleven, and both "Orpheus" and "Jack Names The Planets" sounded even better live than on record - as if the band were free from the constraints of a bit of shiny plastic... There was even a stage crashing Robin (as in Batman and...) for the set's closer, "Burn Baby Burn." With the band in the studio there's the promise of a new record - one that on the night's showing is going to be eagerly received...
Twenty years under their belt, and still one of the most underrated bands of the past two decades. On the plus side, just happy that I get to see them (when they toured here in Australia) with minimum fuss when buying tickets, getting to the gig etc
ReplyDeleteI've lived in the States now for 8 years and I believe this is the first time that the band have played here in all this time, so I jumped at the chance of tickets. I suspect that some of the reasons that Ash were so criminally underrated was partly because of all the Blur / Oasis "Britpop" hype of the time and partly because they got labelled as a "singles band". The gig was fantastic - intimate venue (350 capacity) packed to the rafters. Both support acts were excellent (which helps) and Ash just ripped through what was effectively a greatest hits "live" set. Brilliant gig, brilliant venue - been getting the kind of buzz that I got back in the late-70's / early-80's.
DeleteHope you enjoyed the post. If you dipped into some of the others you'll have noted that I'm generally a Francophone-loving Brit (which is a bit of an oxymoron), but I've been sating my inner indie thirst of late!