Northern Irish indie darlings Ash thrilled audiences on their recent tour. The gig was a first for me and I was inspired by the energy of the three piece on stage as well as the enthusiasm of the heaving crowd.
Delighting audiences with their upbeat punk pop, they celebrated their 30th anniversary Teenage Wildlife Tour and 10th visit to Australia with the Manning Bar Sydney right in the middle of their 5 show tour. Short but very, very sweet. Ash first graced our shores at Livid in 1996 and have been rocking ever since. Formed in Ireland by frontman Tim Wheeler in 1994, the three piece has seen only one line up change with guitarist and vocalist Charlotte Hatherley joining the original 3 piece briefly and recording their second EP Nu Clear Sounds in 1998 and a string of successful singles up until 2004 when the band returned as the original 3 piece with Tim, Mark Hamilton on bass and Rick McMurray on drums.
Their set was filled with energy and featured one of my favourites, Shining Light from their album Free All Angels.
Ably supported by local and upcoming act The Gin Palace, fronted by Crow’s Peter Fenton, this Sydney based 6 piece features members of 90s indie band Glide, Copperline and Caligula. Introducing us to their current single Unsettled co written by Midnight Oil’s Jim Moginie, the track has been garnering lots of attention and rightly so since they released the accompanying film clip, shot recently in Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains. Definitely an act to look out for!
