Ash, Northern Ireland’s enduring punk heroes, are set to level the Manning Bar tonight, and the energy is palpable. First up though, we’ve got So I Says to Mabel, hailing from Western Sydney. They rip into their set with the kind of reckless energy that can only come from a band born in the backrooms of urban pubs. Midway through, they drop an unexpected, yet oddly fitting, cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story.’ Gone is the fairytale lilt; instead, it’s driven by grinding guitars and a defiant snarl, transforming the once-sweet ballad into a gritty anthem for anyone who’s been chewed up by romance and spit back out.
Ash hit the stage like they’ve been shot out of a cannon, with the A-Team theme blasting through the speakers, colliding headfirst into Queen’s ‘Flash.’ It’s a mashup that feels both absurd and perfect, the kind of grand entrance that screams: we’re here to have fun, but we’re also not messing around.
This isn’t a band that deals in half measures or nostalgia—no, they come armed with decades of hits, and the crowd is ready to worship. From the moment they hit the stage, it’s a sonic assault, a blitzkrieg of sound and light that threatens to tear the room apart at the seams. With each song reverberating through the sweat-drenched walls, Ash prove that they still have the power to leave you breathless.
