On a typically cold and windswept January night in Oslo, the exceptionally talented rockers Wishbone Ash came to Norway’s capital city on their glorious Live Dates Live tour. Which essentially meant that the sold-out crowd at the John Dee venue were blessed with an hour and forty-five minutes of some of the finest and most elegantly composed rock music known to man.
Spearheaded by original member Andy Powell (guitar, vocals) and boasting frighteningly tight and well-oiled machinery composed of Bob Skeat (bass), Mark Abrahams (guitar), and Mike Truscott (drums), today’s constellation of Wishbone Ash is unarguably one of the strongest and most potent line-ups the group has ever had. This is saying something, but the bottom line is that the musical pedigree of these four gentlemen and the playful and dynamic interplay between them are the stuff that epic rock ‘n roll dreams are made of. Hard rock, prog, blues rock, proto-heavy metal, folk rock, jazz fusion, classic rock – these guys effortlessly cover it all and there is a reason Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden have cited Wishbone Ash as an influence.
The four men guided us through decades of incredibly well-written and diverse material with the oldest composition dating back to 1969 (‘Phoenix’) and the latest one being lifted from the melodically gorgeous Coat of Arms opus from 2020 (‘We Stand As One’). The sound carried punch and clarity in equal measure; which entailed that all the harmonies really came to the fore and were prominent in the mix but fortunately so was the magical bass playing courtesy of the aforementioned Mr. Skeat – which I was personally most pleased about. Following the main set, they came back and tore through a stirring rendition of ‘Living Proof’, which was a fitting and climactic finale to an evening where we had already enjoyed ‘The King Will Come’, ‘Warrior’, ‘Throw Down the Sword’, ‘The Pilgrim’, ‘Ballad of the Beacon’, and ‘Rock n’ Roll Widow’ among other notable and vigorous cuts.
This one is quite possibly one of the most memorable, rewarding, and wonderfully atmospheric gigs that I have had the great pleasure and honour of attending. Also, finally being able to witness Wishbone Ash in a live setting was a bit of a dream come true for me. So please, if you do get the chance to catch one of their shows on this tour then by all means do so. You will hear and experience timeless and consistently relevant songs imbued with purpose, power, and meaning (and sounding even better live than they do on the actual albums). It is as simple as that, really.
