Sultans of Ping pictures and review: Jazz-free zone as Cork heroes make triumphant return
The Sultans of Ping on stage at Cork City Hall on Saturday night. Picture: Noel Sweeney
It was a triumphant return to home soil for the Sultans of Ping as they performed an hour-long set at Cork City Hall on Saturday night. This gig was the first time in 31 years that frontman Niall O’Flaherty and his crew had returned to the City Hall stage to bring back their music to long-time fans, but also allow a new generation to experience their band live.
It was chaos, sweaty bodies and pints swinging in the air, as O’Flaherty took to the stage with a sparkly black suit, commanding the crowd to sway and walk in his way. While the audience was dominated by older Sultans fans who probably remember the band from their 1990s heyday, there was also a contingent of younger fans peppered throughout the venue.
The gig was one of the first to sell out for a busy Guinness Cork Jazz Festival weekend, and the Sultans had even issued an Urgent Public Announcement on Saturday, warning attendees not to expect "even an essence of jazz" at City Hall.
After decent support slots from and The Naildrivers and Flywheel, the Sultans took to the stage shortly after 9.15pm, cranking the bass and diving into The crowd instantly spun into life, with hoots and cheers of excitement.
O'Flaherty - who works as a history professor by day - is still quite the performer. “I can see some of you have travelled from across the border, across the continent. We have to thank you,” the singer said.
As he moved around the stage, he then pointed at a random individual. “Not you, you look like you travelled from Douglas,” he joked.
The guitar riffs and drums exploded at City Hall, while they performed some of the favourites, including and There were also some golden moments where O’Flaherty played the harmonica.
As it led towards the end of the set, the crowd thought they were about to get the band’s most famous song before the encore, especially by the way O’Flaherty egged the crowd.
“We’re going to play the last song of the night, and it’s my favourite song,” he said. However, a random person in front of the audience gets ahead of him and apparently reveals the song title.
“Everyone knew you would spoil the moment I revealed what my favourite song was,” O’Flaherty said, before declaring that they would finish the set with
The did return to the stage to end the night with the classic hit from 1993 about the famous missing sweater. Overall, a great celebration of the band's legacy and a fun gig that really did manage to avoid even an essence of jazz.
