Start of the Summer!

Posted on 24th Apr 07 by Contributor | 0

Artist: Ash " La Faro " LIVE
Author: Scott Edgar

Oh Yeah"
It was the start of the summer"

Ash " La Faro
The Stiff Kitten" Belfast
Friday 13 April 2007

It"s something of a lucky Friday 13th for the small crowd lurking in the blackness of Belfast"s Stiff Kitten club. Ash front man Tim Wheeler declares us to be an audience of winners and in many ways he"s right. We"re damn lucky to bear witness to this low"key homecoming gig as the three Downpatrick rockers storm their way through a set of energetic greatest hits and a smattering of new material.

Before all that however there is the small matter of Belfast"s resident noise merchants La Faro becoming the first band to play in the Stiff Kitten. Johnny" Alan and Anna are a gutsy three piece with a cock swagger" a wall of noise and a handful of vital tunes. Johnny Black introduces "Tupenny Nudger" as their biggest selling single" boasting that they"ve now sold four copies. It may well be true but this record has been all over local radio and cropped up on compilation CD"s in all the right places. There"s nothing out of the ordinary with La Faro. You know what to expect from their gigs" no showboating" no theatrics" just good old fashioned noisy rock and roll.

Fifteen year ago Ash were a three piece on the up" peddling demos to radio stations and being "that band off the Heineken advertisement" before "Girl From Mars" became the anthem to many a teenagers lazy summers days. They flitted between heavy rock" with noisy flying"v guitars and shit haircuts and pure pop. If anyone tries to tell you that "Burn Baby Burn" isn"t a fantastic pop song they clearly need their ears syringed or their music snobbery surgically removed.

The band have almost all hit their 30"s now. Tim still looks like he might have to undergo an ID check on the door though and based on tonight"s performance the songs have aged well too from the opening" frantic intro of "Lose Control" through to the closing feedback strains of "Kung Fu". The singalong moments are often and they"re loud. In years to come these songs will be what us writers label "timeless classics"" "masterpieces" or attach other superlatives to. "Oh Yeah" is one of those songs that gives you a little surge of Northern Irish pride every time you hear it. It"s the "Teenage Kicks" of our generation.

From what we hear on the stage" the new album is one eagerly await. The single "You Can"t Have It All" and "Twilight Of The Innocents" mark a return to the band at the peak of their game" angular chords" singalong choruses" one to brighten up a cloudy April day. As DJ Rigsy and The Japanese Popstars take over on the decks for some post gig shape throwing on the dancefloor we take a moment to reflect that tonight has been a celebration of 21 years of BBC Radio Ulster"s "Across The Line" show" Ash have been around for 15 of those years. I still remember queuing up outside Woolworths to buy "1977" on tape. We"re feeling a little bit old" a little bit nostalgic and the tinnitus is playing up but we wouldn"t have it any other way.

Photo Credit: Chris Semple
www.medialook.tv