Fourteen years after soaring to the top of the charts, Ash looked as fresh and vibrant on stage as ever.
Perhaps that should not be surprising, as they were barely out of school when they hit big in 1996 with the album 1977, but it makes them an oddity in the modern era.
While their Britpop contemporaries have either split or limped on with changed membership trotting out old hits on tour, Ash have stayed fresh and kept innovating as they’ve carried the torch for indie rock.
This gig was part of a tour promoting their latest venture, a string of 26 singles called A-Z being released at a rate of one a fortnight throughout the year.
Several were played here to an excited reaction from the sold-out Concorde 2 crowd. Joy Kicks Darkness stood out, while The Dead Disciples, Neon and Dionysian Urge all captured the sound that brought frontman Tim Wheeler festival-headlining adulation.
They were mixed into a crowd-pleasing playlist featuring the hits older fans had been hoping for.
The tone was set with a high-octane rendition of opener Lose Control and kept up with excellent performances of Life Less Ordinary, Goldfinger, Shining Light, Angel Interceptor, Oh Yeah and Kung Fu.
Wheeler looked joyful on stage, wielding his guitar like a kid living his rock star dreams, and the crowd lapped it up, happily moshing to the stand-out finale Girl From Mars and encore Twilight Of Innocents and Burn Baby Burn.
This was a band who still have more to offer.
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