In November 2021 I went to my first ever gig: JARV IS, the latest solo project of Jarvis Cocker, with songs that were destined for the stage such as Must I Evolve?, Am I Missing Something?, and House Music All Night Long. Bonus points for the man himself coming down to shake the hands of people at the front, including yours truly, in a bit of post-pandemic buzz. Extra bonus points for chucking blueberries out to the peckish and telling us the story of Laika the space dog.
Yeah, it was a good night all round but being a Pulp fan I had resigned myself to the thought that this was as good as it was going to get. While it would have been lovely to hear Jarvis bust out some classics like Disco 2000 and Common People (Or Babies as one drunk bloke who kept stepping on my heels repeatedly requested), it was a time of looking ahead to the future and not the past. Again, it’s post-pandemic, we’re on to pastures new, and plus it might get a bit daft singing in your late fifties about standing in a room with a lady in her underwear.
So imagine my surprise when in July last year Jarvis turned round and said Pulp were reuniting.
Come November, I went through twenty of the most nerve wracking minutes of my life as I secured two tickets for myself and my Mum (We agreed the night the reunion was announced that we would go together). Along comes July again, it’s Friday 14th and we’re off to a very damp and miserable Sheffield. Expectations are as high as the water levels on the road outside our hotel. 9pm draws nearer and nearer and still the truth just won’t sink in no matter how hard I try to tell myself it’s happening.
I am going to see Pulp. I am going to see my favourite band. I am going to see what they do for an encore.
Here’s some of the highlights.
I Spy
The screens on each side of the stage helpfully tell us that this is going to be the 553rd gig by Pulp. Historical. The text boxes hype us up. Once satisfied with the noise we’re making, the curtains pull back to reveal the band. A familiar droll drone whispers “I spy…a boy” and then, with an entrance that would give WWE’s Cody Rhodes a run for his money, Mr Cocker himself rises from beneath the stage. Let the mayhem begin.
Disco 2000
Mark Webber plays that oh-so-familiar guitar riff and from that point forward no seat in the building is filled as everyone is on their feet ready to dance to Disco 2000. The moment is punctuated by some streamers. One gets stuck in the rigging above the main floor but who cares, we’re too busy dancing and singing about meeting at the fountain down the road. Five minutes later, once we’re finished and ready for the next round, Jarvis laments that before the year 2000 even rolled around “they f*cking filled [the fountain] in!”.
Something Changed
Earlier this year we tragically lost Steve Mackey and Pulp elected to play their most romantic number as a tribute to their fallen friend. Deservedly so.
Weeds
Why couldn’t people have given more of a shit about We Love Life? Weeds was a surefire single and hearing it live certainly proved that.
F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E
Speaking of things that sounded awesome live. In fact I’d argue that this sounded better live than it did on the LP, as Jarvis helpfully guided us on how to clap to the beat, and the percussion was punctuated by good ol’ fashioned lasers. Worth noting at this point while we’re all dancing throughout the arena, Jarvis isn’t slacking off either. He’s going to turn 60 later this year yet he can still do his signature gyrating like it’s 1995. That man can move.
Sorted For E’s & Wizz
Half the show was in the performance from Pulp. The other half was in the presentation that accompanied them. This was the peak of the latter for me; the aforementioned lasers, colourful beams of light sprawling throughout the arena, all helped match the trippiness of the song. But there was one major piece to this particular puzzle.
This is where I should mention that Pulp have had a few friends join them on this tour. Giving the show a bit of extra grandiosity were the Elysian Collective on strings. And indeed they gave their best performance of the night on Sorted…, as they all donned bucket hats and flailed their arms in the air like they were at Glastonbury. Absolutely hilarious.
This is Hardcore
Well this had to be part of the setlist didn’t it? It’s Pulp’s best song.
Common People
Ditto.
If you know me you know I can’t sing for toffee. I always seem to be in orbit around the right notes. But with thousands of people all singing along too I had no choice and no f*cks to give. This is likely the only chance I’ll ever get to belt out Common People at a live venue so by God I am taking the chance. It was the cherry on top of the cake that was this magnificent night.
Glory Days
That being said, Pulp had a bit more to offer us before heading home for the night. Having seen previous setlists in the build up to the show I had been a bit confused and slightly deflated at the lack of Hardcore-era tunes (After all the tour was built around the phrase “What exactly do you do for an encore?”). But this being their homecoming, the band had to give us something special and that was Glory Days, a song they used to sign off in the most poignant way possible. Combining the song with clips of the band from over the years, going all the way back to when Jarvis was in a wheelchair, Pulp ensured there were few dry eyes in the room.
The text on the screens promised us that this would be a night that we would remember for the rest of our lives.
Truer words have never been spoken. Or typed, rather.
A-Side Glance 