By rights, Ash should have burned out by now in a blaze of effervescent pop hits, used up and worn out before they got a chance to become boring. Thursday night's gig at the Olympia, however, saw the Downpatrick band determined to outlast their audience's attention span; and, though they played it fast and loose, they seemed to have a tight grip on their future plans.
It's two years since Oh Yeah became the definitive Irish summer teen anthem, and Ash could easily have bowed out on that glorious moment. Instead, they changed from a threepiece to a foursome, recruiting guitarist Charlotte Hatherley into their boy's club and having their biggest hit with the title track from A Life Less Ordinary, the movie starring Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz.
There was a notable absence of thirty-somethings at the Olympia on Thursday night, but the empty spaces at the back were more than balanced by the condensed teen frenzy at the front. This was Ash's core crowd, and for their benefit the band ripped into Lose Control like young punks run amok. Tim Wheeler wielded a formidable-looking Flying V guitar, while bassist Mark Hamilton looked ready for battle in his baggy fatigues. Angel Interceptor and A Life Less Ordinary took care of the familiar, while Jesus Says (the new single, out in September) gave a prophesy of things to come. Other new tunes such as Projects, Wildsurf and I'm Gonna Fall were tossed like corks among a maelstrom of Ash classics, including Jack Names The Planets, Girl From Mars and Petrol. Hatherley proved her worth with a blinding guitar solo on Oh Yeah and Numbskull hammered home the band's undiminished power. Inevitably, it was Goldfinger which touched the sublime and reminded us that, among the flurry of ragged riffs and slashing hooks, Ash can sometimes pierce right through to the soul.
Ash are still the perfect teen pop idols - don't grow out of them just yet.
