As the band careen into album opener 'Lose Control', it's another reminder of how staggering it is that three Northern Irish teenagers were able to craft such a stunning opener. It's more than stood up to the test of time and would not sound out of place on a debut album now, some twenty-five years later. The barrier of HD screens, laptop monitors and carefully angled iPhones could have completely drained the atmosphere from Ash's celebratory moment, but the filming is done in such a way that the event still feels intense. Quick cutting from shot-to-shot captures the sense of urgency and, in a world where we've become used to lacking physcial contact, the close-up filming replicates at least the essence of sweaty claustrophobia of the basement shows were this album was originally birthed.
1977 helps itself out where other album shows have struggled by having various hard-hitting singles scattered across the run time. As a result, you're never too far away from an epic chorus. Taking place on a Saturday night, but with ready access for thirty-days, these are anthems built for weekend parties; even if the parties look somewhat different right now then Ash might have imagine when they were sat crafting hits like 'Oh Yeah'.
The real treasures of the performance sit within the 'bonus material' with the initial encore of 'Coasting' and 'Sneaker' further supported by four ultimate deep cuts. 'American Devil' is the highlight. A momentous point in Ash's history as it represents their first song ever written, an adoptation of a track which originally started life within the catalogue of previous band Vietnam. Elsewhere, the band revist covers which were staples of setlists in their formative years. Helen Love's 'Punk Boy' and 'Silver Surfer' by Lazer Gun Nun, both sound as thrilling as when the band first put their own spin on them all those years ago.
It remains to be seen where livestreams such as this might sit within our live music landscape in the future, but for the time being, Ash have shown themselves to be masters of this particular craft.