Zennor is a shining light for Ash

Ash Zennor Village Hall

Review by Lee Trewhela

WHAT could have been the most incongruous gig to happen in Cornwall for many a year proved to be a complete joy.

The final date of the Irish trio's A-Z tour of the UK should have been a mess – uncomfortably packed, poor sound, obstructed views.

This is a band who have sold eight million albums worldwide, played the main stage of Glastonbury and headlined Cornwall's own Boardmasters festival in front of thousands.

And here they were playing to 80 people in a tiny, quaint village hall in the depths of "God's own country" – they probably haven't played to such a small crowd since forming in Downpatrick in 1992 while still at school.

With the walls lined with panto pictures from time-in-memoriam and the plush velvet curtains twitching at the sides of the stage, the band unleashed what proved to be a glorious greatest hits package.

Using a small percentage of the kit they would usually have and crammed on to the tiny stage, which will soon be home to yet another panto, this was a "proper gig" as one fan put it – exhilarating and communal.

Any fears were diminished – the sound was superb and you could see all the action, even teeny weeny Tim Wheeler – promoters SW1 could probably have fitted another 30 in, but it felt just right.

A steady stream of punters had to walk in gales and rain between the hall and that quintessential of village pubs, the Tinner's Arms, to get their beer, but there was no complaining; it all added to the special atmosphere.

The crowd was a fascinating dichotomy of local music fans and London music biz types – heads turned in the pub as another record company bod entered with their big city ways and fancy clobber.

Ash's agent Steve Strange was also present, loving every minute of the gig. Perhaps the man who also represents the likes of Coldplay and Snow Patrol will now be tempted to bring his other client to Zennor. I'm sure Eminem would rock the granite.

From Aldershot to Yeovil via Jersey and Tunbridge Wells, Ash had worked their way through the alphabet, but Zennor was the last and by far the smallest – and obviously a gig the band were loving, though a desire to go surfing earlier in the days had to be scrapped because of the weather.

Their Nirvana meets Beach Boys sound; grunge meets West Coast melody is timeless and built for a sing-along, so the likes of artist Anthony Frost could be seen mouthing the words to such classics as Girl From Mars, the downright perfect Shining Light, A Life Less Ordinary, an anthemic Goldfinger, the pop gem that is Oh Yeah, Jack Names The Planets, Sometimes, Petrol and Walking Barefoot – the catchy blighters were all played with abandon despite bassist Mark Hamilton suffering from what he described as swine flu.

They played a handful of the 26 download-only singles which inspired the tour – the electro throb of True Love 1980 and the quietly epic Arcadia being standouts.

Ash ended on the perfect metal punk rush of Burn Baby Burn, where Abba meets Sabbath, Rick McMurray arms flailing on the drums and Wheeler proving himself one of the best songwriters of the last 20 years.

As they hit the 11pm curfew and worried about ignoring it, one punter shouted out in a beautiful Penwith burr: "Carry on, not like you're gonna come back, izzit?!"

They probably won't (though Wheeler was expounding afterwards that it was the best venue on the tour), but they did enough on Monday to ensure this gig will be remembered for a long time by everyone who was there.