Middlesbrough Music Live

2:47pm Thursday 5th June 2008

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AS any music fan will know, grey skies and rain tend to put a bit of a dampener on outdoor music festivals. So after a day full of cloudy skies and dull drizzle, Middlesbrough could have done with a shining light to lift everyone's spirits.

Appearing on the main stage at the end of the day, headliners Ash and penultimate act One Night Only were faced with the tough and unenviable job of entertaining a crowd which had grown a little bored, rather restless, and, in some quarters, more than slightly drunk.

Big things were expected from local boys One Night Only, who since going down a storm at last year's event, have reached number nine in the UK singles chart with second single Just For Tonight; been playlisted on Radio 1 and asked to perform at Glastonbury this year.

The band, from Helmsley in North Yorkshire, started fairly strongly, gleaning a good reaction from the crowd and displaying impressive energy.

Frontman George Craig got a good rapport going with the audience while Jack Sails, on keyboards, was entertaining and lively to watch.

Taking full advantage of being on home turf, the boys incorporated into their set Perfecto Allstar's Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag) - the song played at the Riverside when Middlesbrough FC score a goal - and threw a Boro shirt into the crowd.

This went down well, with the crowd singing along and jumping around. The five piece also finished on a high with strong crowd-pleaser Just For Tonight.

But despite their clear verve, vigour and joy at playing to such a large crowd, the set was weak on song variety, with many of their tracks seeming to sound very similar. Also missing was that certain unidentifiable quality which turns a good performance into something really special.

Their set was unfortunately tainted by several fights breaking out. Aside from being completely disrespectful to the band, it was a real shame that an otherwise good day out was marred by a small minority of selfish and irresponsible individuals, who chose to brawl instead of watching free entertainment which had been organised for their benefit.

Happily, there was no trouble when headliners Ash took to the stage.

Although the announcer's claim that Middlesbrough was about to be treated to one of the best bands the UK has ever produced is perhaps a slight overstatement, the veterans of indie pop were upbeat, entertaining and fun, seeming to lift the crowd's spirits.

The band, once again a three piece following the departure of guitar and piano player Charlotte Hatherley in 2006, gave a charismatic performance with frontman Tim Wheeler coming across as particularly dynamic.

As well as some new material, pretty much all the classic hits were played, including breakthrough single, Kung Fu, and Ivor Novello award-winning track, Shining Light, but the real highlights of the set were Burn Baby Burn and Girl From Mars.

Oddly, the group chose to finish on a slow song after performing Girl From Mars second from last and therefore ending on a bit of an anti-climax.

Despite this, Ash managed to light up the stage, bring the event to a pleasant close and prevent a damp set from becoming a washout. It's just a pity a small group of thuggish individuals causing trouble in the crowd weren't as well-behaved.