Ash
Mike The Pies, Listowel, Co Kerry
‘Throw your stadium gigs in the river, this is rock as it should be.’
Rick McMurray, Tim Wheeler and Mark Hamilton pull out the stops for a tiny audience.
The stars of County Down head south.
“Who’s in from Listowel?” asks frontman Tim Wheeler. A muted response sees a few punters raise their hands. “Who isn’t?” A roar from everyone else. Earlier, as we watched the soundcheck, venue owner Aiden O’Connor mentioned a phone call from Galway begging for a ticket. One was found and the caller jumped in his car for the 177km drive.
Why would folk, including Classic Rock down from Dublin (268km), travel such distances on a winter’s night? Because Ash are special and catching them in a place like Mike The Pies is a rare opportunity. A country pub that started running gigs ten years ago with a tight official capacity of 100, it’s divided by an arch. The front bar hosts regulars drinking pints and watching the telly, while the back room’s stage, not ten steps from said arch, adjoins the toilet door. It’s a wondrous den where an ABBA tribute once played while the sombre afters of a funeral went on out front.