I was just about to enter the venue when I got a call from my auntie asking if I'd spoken to my dad. I last saw him two days earlier but I was worried because he said he'd had a fall. I'd tried him a couple of times today and hadn't been able to get hold of him so I decided to text his neighbour who checked and said that he wasn't answering and the papers were still hanging out of the letterbox. This prompted a quick dash to Failsworth to find that he wasn't home and hadn't been for at least a day (I could tell from the dates of the newspapers on the mat). This prompted a call to the local hospitals to find that he had been admitted to North Manchester General. Too late for visiting so I rushed back to the venue just in time to catch the amazing 'Back In The Tracksuit'.
The track immediately takes me back to my early twenties when the band were a huge part of my life. I was a metaller but my friends were into indie. They didn't like my music and although I slowly grew to like theirs, The Sultans were the middle ground which myself and my friends could enjoy without either of us compromising. He would
The sleazy garage rock of 'Mescaline' is insistent. The high octane indie punk of 'Give Him A Ball (And A Yard Of Grass)' is phenomenal. The Cramps-esque rock and roll of 'Psychopath' is a surprise and welcome inclusion. They play a solid cover of The Third Bardo's psych garage classic 'I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time'. Even after 30 years, I still want to scream my lungs out to anthems like 'Veronica' and I do. My voice is already fucked. Songs like 'Michiko' mix punk energy with big choruses and sweet sentiment. 'Eamon Andrews' is another surprise and i don't remember it having such a snake-hipped riff. 'Wake Up And Scratch Me' is an absolute blast. Frontman Niall O'Flaherty is at his most deranged on 'Ladybug Boy' which has more than a whiff of late '70s Alice Cooper about it. 'Stupid Kid' is insanely good. The high energy kink of 'Kick Me With Your Leather Boots' is as good as ever. A ballsy ' You Talk Too Much' closes the regular set. 'Let's Go Shopping' is sweet and poignant. A super speedy 'Where's Me Jumper?' predictably causes mayhem. They close the show with a chaotic, slightly messy 'I Said I Am I Said' which is kinda perfect for me. I don't want perfection, as The Sultans aren't that type of band but they are some band.
Epilogue: When I got home after 90 minutes of going crazy, my wife wouldn't let me into bed until I cleaned myself up because I smelt so bad a true testament to how much i enjoyed myself.
Sultans Of Ping *****
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