Ash Grunwald
with Simon Kelly and Andrew Winton
» Get "Serious" With Ash Grunwald This January/March - January 12, 2007
» Ash Grunwald - Sirocco's, Tas - October 3, 2008
» Ash Grunwald - Republic Bar and Cafe, Tas - October 2, 2008
» Ash Grunwald - Another diamond from the soul of his blues - August 30, 2006
» Ash Grunwald - Funk, soul brother. - February 13, 2006
» Ash Grunwald - Governor Hindmarsh, SA - February 23, 2007
» Ash Grunwald - Indi Bar, WA - September 26, 2006
First up on the night was Andrew Winton, who is resident at the Indi Bar every Wednesday, and he started to a small but very receptive audience. Despite playing on his second choice guitar (his custom 7 string blew up the week before) he still managed to rip it up with some awesome slide and quick-as-hell picking. This guy is seriously talented on the guitar and he has a great voice, so do what you can to get hold of his latest album, or go and see him any Wednesday at the Indi Bar.
Next up Simon Kelly played some groovy tunes, but straight away you could see he should have played before Winton. He is talented, and his songs are good, but his voice doesn’t stand up to Winton’s, nor his stage presence. Despite this, the crowd liked him, and none of the momentum was lost before Ash Grunwald took the stage.
By the time Grunwald took the stage, the place was packed. For a rock show, this would be perfect, but the truth is, I chose this venue because I thought it would be more intimate. Also, Ash sits down to play, and due to the crowd and the low stage, it was almost impossible to see him from the back, or even the middle. The fact that all the irritating girls were holding cameras in the air didn’t help either. Despite all of these factors, Grunwald’s charming manner and winning smile helped a great deal, and there were some great moments during the night.
One of these was “Dolphin Song”. Played at the request of the crowd, this surfer’s anthem did a lot to save the night for me. It was played with a great tongue-in-cheek delivery so that those who hadn’t heard the song were on the edge of their seats (so to speak). Any of you who haven’t heard the song, you will have to hear it to understand, I don’t want to ruin it for you. This was followed by the Tom Waits classic, “Goin’ Out West”, of which Grunwald does a brilliant job. Everyone was grooving to this riff, and it was the perfect way to close out the night. All in all, I would have to say that you are best off going to the biggest venue on the quietest night if you want to see Ash play; he is much too popular to hope for the small intimate gig. Oh, and get your hair dreadied up if you want to blend in, I have never seen so many dreadlocks in one place before.
