Live!: Welcome to Ashley @ Empty Bottle
It’s not too often you get a highly recommended band from the great OHIV that can deliver on both the studio and live fronts. So when he told me to check out Welcome To Ashley at the Empty Bottle this past Friday, I tried to keep my expectations realistic. I’m a veteran of the punk rock community – it’s tough to impress a guy who grew up seeing D4, Thrice, The Fux, and plenty of other virtual unknowns for $5 at the grand old Fireside Bowl. Luckily, I was able to check out a venue I’ve never been to before, and I’m fucking pumped that I did. The Empty Bottle, like the headliner that night, is punk rock to the core.
The first few hours at the venue I spent drinking tequila and Old Style while writing ironic messages on the silly photos with talk bubbles that were posted on the wall. After solid sets from The Handcuffs and I Lost Control, Welcome to Ashley took to the stage. With my only previous listening experience being the video posted on Assault, and a few songs on their MySpace page, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from these seemingly mild young men.
It only took a song or two, but I felt like I was seeing a secret showing of what sounded a lot like a really punk version of Interpol. I wouldn’t normally consider myself a fan of the monotonous tones of what Oswald Hobbes tells me is quality Interpol, but I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with happy thoughts–I nearly joined the crazy bum guy who was dancing around with all the young ladies in front of the stage. And I definitely wasn’t the only one enjoying the performance, as the majority of the venue seemed to move and sway along to the intense rock sauce being sploojed all over their ears and faces.
The live performance lived up to the band’s unique music video in every sense of the word–it wasn’t a stiff, hipster-esque indie-rock show so much as it felt like I was back at the Fireside watching some band give it all to a wildly enthusiastic crowd. If you haven’t seen Welcome to Ashley yet, I highly recommend it, especially if it’s at The Empty Bottle.
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Tim is the co-owner of Assault, and tends to think he can party twice as hard as anyone. Follow him on twitter @assaultEmail this Author | All posts by tim
