Hot off the back of their A-Z tour of Britain in the latter part of ’09, Ash have announced new UK tour dates for April and May.

April 2010
19 Southampton, University
20 Cambridge, Junction
21 Norwich, Waterfront
23 Birmingham, Irish Centre
24 Leeds, Metropolitan University
25 Newcastle, Academy
27 Glasgow, ABC
28 Manchester, Academy 2
30 Bristol, Academy

May 2010
01 Brighton, Concorde 2
02 Oxford, Academy
04 London, Electric Ballroom

Gig/Concert: Ash with Panama Kings
Venue: The Forum, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
Date: 14 November 2009
Headliners: Ash
In one word: Terrific

“This is our favourite toilet!” Ash frontman Tim Wheeler smiles, “We played here in 1994 supporting Shed Seven.” Ash, yes, Ash are playing in Tunbridge Wells and quite frankly, I can’t believe it! The Forum, a former public toilet, is one of the first venues you play when you start touring, being 250 capacity when it sells out, so the chance to see a band who have sold millions of albums around the world is very, very exciting. I saw the band live for the first time at this year’s Hop Farm Festival and it goes without saying that I was impressed seeing them play in Kent, but seeing them play in my hometown was not to be missed!

Tonight was stop ‘T’ of Ash’s A-Z series of gigs, which is taking the band to places that many people didn’t know existed, for instance for the last gig of the tour in the village of Zennor in Cornwall, the population is only 250, and getting from venue to venue (i.e. Falkirk to Gloucester) must be a logistical nightmare.

After a short set from promising support band Panama Kings, the venue was full, there was an air of anticipation and the sweat was literally dripping off the walls…this is a real rock ‘n’ roll venue! The lights dimmed, fans dressed in tutus and waving pom poms screamed, and Ash took to the stage, which was quite possibly their shortest walk from dressing room to stage ever.

Starting off with “Lose Control” from their first full length album 1977 the band instantly got the audience dancing and they blasted their way through a greatest hits set. “Shining Light” was played early in the set and inevitably provoked a mass sing-a-long, this was one of many highlights. From the earliest single “Jack Names The Planets” to the tracks that are making up the A-Z series of single releases which compliment the tour.

Ash plan to release one single every fortnight for a year, with “Arcadia” being the fourth single in this series.

The new songs compliment the classics brilliantly, “Return of The White Rabbit”, “True Love 1980″, “Joy Kicks Darkness” are full of energy and infectious hooks to keep you humming the tunes for weeks on end. I’m looking forward to hearing more releases from this ambitious project.

Classic singles “Oh Yeah”, “Kung Fu”, “Girl From Mars” to set finale “Burn Baby Burn” were all lovingly received from the adoring Tunbridge Wells audience.

So, on a night when half the UK are indoors watching talentless, fame-hungry wannabes on X-Factor, it was a privilege to watch a band who perform because they love music. Ash were making music before I was born, and still have the great enthusiasm and passion for what they do. It didn’t matter to them about the size of the venue, they were doing the job that they love.

Tim Wheeler announced that they were doing Tunbridge Wells’ first ever residency as they would be performing again the following night playing 1977 in its entirety. Weren’t we spoilt!

© Lauren Towner

More photos of Ash

Setlist

Ash played:
‘Lose Control’
‘A Life Less Ordinary’
‘Meltdown’
‘Shining Light’
‘True Love 1980′
‘Joy Kicks Darkness’
‘Kung Fu’
‘You Can’t Have it All’
‘Oh Yeah’
‘Space Shot’
‘Starcrossed’
‘Jack Names The Planets’
‘Goldfinger’
‘Walking Barefoot’
‘Orpheus’
‘Girl From Mars’
‘Return of the White Rabbit’
Encore:
‘Arcadia’
‘Twilight of the Innocent’
‘Burn Baby Burn’

Related links:
Review – Ash at Hope Farm Festival, Kent – July 4, 2009 – Music Vice
Video – Ash featured in part 3 of My Tour, a feature-length DIY documentary by Music Vice editor Brian
Ash – Myspace

Imagine a music festival in the year 2009 that wasn’t sponsored by energy drinks companies and clothing brands. Actually, go the whole mile and imagine a music festival without any sponsors at all. This is the wistful concept behind Hop Farm Festival, taking place in the English countryside of Kent with a gaggle of good bands and 20,000 keen festival goers. Lauren was there to experience the festival’s inaugural year, and what was also her first time at a music festival – check out her full 2-part story, with coverage and photos from Saturday below and Sunday here.

Gig/Concert: Hop Farm Festival
Venue: The Hop Farm, Kent, England
Date: 4-5 July 2009
Headiners: The Fratellis and Paul Weller
In One Word: Positive

Day One; Saturday - (click here for Sunday)

I have never been this excited about visiting The Hop Farm since I was seven. Set in the heart of the Kent countryside, The Hop Farm is usually a day out for the family to look at Shire horses and other hop field activities but today was different; my first music festival! Before arriving at the festival, I was worried about my photography equipment not being ‘long’ enough. Generally for festivals, a big, heavy 70-200mm lens is a prescribed necessity, but fortunately this stage isn’t Glastonbury – though being 5’2″ I did feel like I needed a stepladder if I was going to shoot the drummer.

Firstly, I decided to venture off into the festival grounds to find the elusive press tent. Now, where could this press tent be? Would it be by the funfair? Is it by the other stages? Nope! It’s behind the big green gates with ‘Backstage/Press’ written on with big white letters obviously! I had also realised that there was a large blue tent that hid behind the main stage. I was told by another member of the press that this tent was ‘for bands and their family and friends only’. No VIP areas? I don’t think so! They were true to their word in one sense that the festival was not commecialised or sponsored in any way. I quickly settled down in the press tent with the other photographers that were there and introduced myself to everyone who asked ‘where I was from’, I said Tunbridge Wells but was asked again ‘What magazine are you from?’.

The first taster of my festival experience was Florence and The Machine, consisting of front-woman Florence Welch and her backing band, The Machine. I had never heard any of Florence’s music until now so I was very surprised at how good it was and how fantastic she was live. [Click here for a link to a recent MV review of FaTM]

Legendary Liverpool band Echo and The Bunnymen played the main stage mid-afternoon which questions whether the running order was based on record sales alone. Ian McCulloch took to the stage donning his trademark coat and sunglasses, the highlight of the set was their 1997 comeback single ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ which led into a cover of ‘Walk on The Wild Side’ which was then followed by classic Bunnymen songs ‘Breaking The Back of Love’ and ‘Killing Moon’. Ardent Liverpool FC fan McCulloch didn’t interact much with the crowd after not dedicating ‘The Cutter’ to “Michael ‘f******’ Owen”!!

Irish band Ash are next. The band launch straight into ‘Girl From Mars’ which gets an immense reaction from the crowd, frontman Tim Wheeler continually threw gestures into the crowd who were already pumped for a very energetic performance. All the usual suspects returned to Ash’s live set such as ‘Burn Baby Burn’ and ‘Shining Light’ providing the audience with mass sing-a-longs before Dundee band The View carry on the party atmosphere with classics such as ‘Wasted Little DJs’, ‘One Off Pretender’, ‘Superstar Tradesman’ and ‘Covers’ which featured keyboard player Reni on Paolo Nutini’s vocals. To my complete surprise the band played ‘Double Yellow Lines’ which had only been played the weekend before at Glastonbury and it is a song that I had been ever-so desperate to hear live ever since the band released their second album.

“My first interview… I have never been so nervous… My nerves were softened when View frontman Kyle Falconer came up with a remarkable idea – you need a cider!“

After The View’s set, I rushed back to our ‘base camp’ to grab my bag and then speedily ran to the press tent to arrange an interview with the band. After ten minutes waiting I was escorted through the ‘bands and friends and family only tent’ to their dressing room. I have never been so nervous; I had never done anything like this before so it was real challenge. I was the bands last interview, so I waited outside preoccupying myself with a game on my iPod and I’d say it went well for my first time. My nerves were softened when View frontman Kyle Falconer come up with a remarkable idea.

“You need a cider.”

I continued to swig my cider during the entire interview, before spilling a vast majority of the contents of the bottle on The View’s dressing room floor. Smooth move. [Click here to check-out Lauren's interview with The View.]

The Pigeon Detectives? Not my cup of tea I’m afraid. I enjoyed the bands first album and was looking forward to their second. I read an interview in a magazine with drummer Jimi Naylor about their second record ‘not being difficult’ but to my disappointment this album was not difficult because it is the same record as their first!

Headliners The Fratellis closed the first day of the festival with blistering anthem filled set. The Glasgow band mainly concentrated on material from debut album ‘Costello Music’ with obvious highlights being festival favourite ‘Chelsea Dagger’ which sent the crowd wild! Acoustic ‘Whistle for The Choir’ provoked mass sing-a-longs along with ‘Baby Fratelli’ and ‘Henrietta’.

The Fratellis left the stage, the lights went down, and the strains of their usual finale of ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Neil Diamond filled the air. This ensured the audience carried on dancing into the night.

© Lauren Towner, Music Vice

Part two; review and pictures from Sunday at Hop Farm Festival

More photos from Saturday