There is a huge flood of nostalgia currently for all things connected to the mid-90s, with many of the biggest bands of the era touring again – as well as providing a huge inspiration for the likes of The Big Moon, with the classic three-minute indie pop-rock song back in vogue. Riding that wave, Ash returned to Brighton once more with another high-octane show at Concorde 2. It’s hard (and painful) to believe that 1977 came out 21 years ago, but these shows are designed with just one thing in mind – to help the crowd forget the passage of time for a night, and to party like it’s not even 1999.

Support on the night came from Get Inuit, a band who should have been the perfect match with Ash due to their similar brand of spiky but relentlessly upbeat indie rock. Strangely, however, and through no fault of their own, they didn’t quite seem to connect with a slightly reserved audience to begin with. On vocals and guitar, Jamie Glass was an engaging frontman, contorting and twisting himself around the stage through the likes of ‘Teriyaki’ and the superb ‘Barbiturates’. Alongside him, bassist Oliver Nunn was a hypnotic presence thrashing like a yeti who is being chased by a wasp. By the time they finished with the punky ‘Pro Procrastinator’, they had broken through the audience’s reluctance to dance and could count this as another small victory on their way to bigger things.

The founding members of Ash, (frontman Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray) were barely out of high school when 1977 was released and, as they blasted through that album’s ferocious opener ‘Lose Control’, it was like time had stood still. The sheer power and fury of that, alongside the bass-heavy ‘Goldfinger’ rolled back the years in a fan-pleasing first section of the night. There is a supreme confidence in their catalogue, with ‘Kung Fu’ – a cast-iron set finale for most bands, dropped in ridiculously early in the night. With a football crowd-style tribal chant slotted into the middle extending it far past its recorded 137-second pure punk injection, it couldn’t help but bring smiles and pogos to an already hot and sweaty room.

As they led communal singalongs to ‘Walking Barefoot’ and ‘Oh Yeah’, Ash showed exactly why they have managed to keep on rolling throughout all these years. There is nothing particularly extravagant about their stage presence, but what they do have is a series of perfectly formed three minute singles that keep the momentum and energy flowing. They don't so much sum up a date or time in the way that Pulp or Sleeper would, but more a specific age and emotion – for example, it's hard to think of a song that captures the essence of a first teenage love in the summertime better than ‘Girl From Mars’. That song will surely continue to be discovered by new fans in 50 years time, and it will still portray a perfect mood and moment in life. As the crowd bellowed this with arms aloft, for just a few minutes we were all 17 again.

Returning for their encore before closing on ‘Burn Baby Burn’, Wheeler mentioned that they have been working on a new album which is due for release at some point in 2018. The boys from Downpatrick can afford to take their time these days but, with just two albums in the last 10 years, it will be great to hear some new music. Until then, fans will be clinging onto memories of nights like this.

Jamie MacMillan

Read our review of their show at The Roundhouse in December: https://brightonsfinest.com/html/index.php/8-reviews/2042-ash-1977-20th-anniversary-tour-the-roundhouse-london-10th-december-2016

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