anklesandwrists

On Luke Haines' last album, he penned a tune called 'The Heritage Rock Revolution' on which he takes a typically Haines-esque swipe at the number of 60s and 70s rockers doing the rounds on the gig scene. It's a cracking tune, but one can't help thinking that Haines, like myself, probably has more than a passing affection for such acts (not that the cranky fucker would ever admit it) - and who can blame him? For a Britpop-era kid like myself, the current indie scene holds little appeal. With the exception of a few acts (Ting Tings take a bow) it's a load of stale, uninspiring crap, so we're forced to look elsewhere for kicks - and you can do a lot worse than investigating your parents's record collections.

The classic rock revival continues here at Beech Street - after the delights of last week's Focus gig, a trip over the water was taken, ending up at the Pacific Road Arts Centre to see Wishbone Ash. For the uninitiated, a little explanation is in order. There are currently two versions of said band doing the rounds - the first being the group that evolved from the original band which is now led by Andy Powell. The second is a group formed by original singer/bassist Martin Turner called Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash. The name issue has caused some bad feeling between the two camps but as a fan of both musicians I'm happy to see them both out there performing.

So, after seeing Turner's band in London last year, it was the turn of Powell's crew to impress me. I've seen this band many times and with many different musicians, since my first WA gig in 1992 and, save for a period in the late 90's when they had a boring-assed guitarist called Mark Birch in the lineup, they have always impressed me. Andy Powell has turned Wishbone Ash into a sort of cottage industry and thanks to putting some serious road hours in, has made it work. Not content to rest on his laurels and play the classics, he also regularly takes his team into the studio to record new albums and while I'm not overly keen on the current album, they've recorded more good stuff than you'd expect from your average bunch of 70s rockers - certainly enough to put them a few notches above most of their peers. The current lineup consists of Powell, bassist Bob Skeat (currently in his tenth year as an Ashman), Finnish guitar ace Muddy Manninen and recent addition Joe Crabtree on the drumstool.

We arrived at the venue slightly late and entered the hall just as the group were kicking into 'Runaway'. Taking a spot stage-left, Rosie made it known that she thought Mr Manninen was a bit of a looker. This was a relief as, even if she didn't dig the music she'd have something nice to look at. But dig the music she did and quite rightly so, for it was a barnstorming performance. As I explained to my Thin Lizzy-loving flatmate, it was Wishbone Ash who pioneered the twin-guitar sound she likes so much on her Lizzy and Skynyrd albums, and this was in evidence tonight as Powell and Manninen ripped it up big-style on hard rockers like Way Of The World & Engine Overheat as well as it taking it down a notch for more boogie-ish numbers like Blind Eye. However Ash have always been about more than the guitars and I'm pleased to report that the rhythm section held it down admirably - Joe Crabtree had the unenviable task of replacing my favourite Wishbone Ash drummer Ray Weston and he stepped up the plate and proved himself worthy of his position in this group. The ever-smiling Bob Skeat looked as if he was born to strut a Wishbone Ash stage and his rapport with his boss of ten years was a joy to see as they traded smiles with each other and their audience.

This is Andy Powell's fortieth year of touring with Wishbone Ash and he's showing no signs of slowing down - and as long as he continues to find guitar partners like Manninen his continued success is assured. Picking up a t-shirt (yes they had size small!) on the way out, I caught snatches of conversation from my fellow gig-goers and it was uniformly positive. You want a heritage rock act that it's cool to like? Ladies & Gentlemen - I give you the mighty Wishbone Ash.