We Wanted More… And We Got More!

Only four months ago, I was sat in a Gail’s café with my best friend, panicking because we had not received our presale codes for Pulp’s tour for their latest (and best yet) album More. After hours of refreshing our inboxes, we were starting to lose hope. That was until one of us had the genius idea to check our spam folders (which we should’ve done about three hours earlier), and then finally found what we were looking for. Which then led to us frantically trying to contact our moms to help us get tickets.

Cut to June the 19^th, at 8PM, and there we were, about four or five rows from the front, ready to finally see the god of tweed in the flesh for our first times ever.

I recently had a Snapchat memory from about four years ago come up, and it was a picture of me in my GCSE drama class (is this me revealing I used to be a theatre kid?), not writing my portfolio, but instead watching Britpop music videos. I even remember that that was the day I learnt Jarvis’ choreography- or rather, pointing and shaking his hips at the camera- to the Common People music video. I still tend to pull out those dance moves when the song plays.

Now, if you had told 15-year-old me that she would one day see Pulp live, she would’ve gone insane. If you had told me in January of this year, I still would have gone insane!

We were blessed with gorgeous weather in the city, reaching about 30 degrees, and the sun was blazing, giving me reason to put my orange-tinted, Jarvis-esque sunglasses to good use (I would have worn them either way, I bought them specifically for the gig)!

After meeting my best friend and her mom, my excitement clearly blinded me, because it wasn’t until I was IN the queue, that I realised that there were official merchandise stands outside, which could have saved me so much time compared to me standing in a crowd, rather than a queue, deciding what t-shirt to buy once I was inside the venue.

I had consulted the Pulp Official Fanclub Facebook page community chat (try saying that five times fast) the night before to see what time would be best to queue to be closer to the stage. I wasn’t desperate to get to the barrier, just close enough to see the band in the flesh. I hadn’t waited this long to see my favourite band via a screen. So, we joined the queue at around half past five, with doors opening at six, and we had a perfect view!

 If it wasn’t already apparent, I LOVE Britpop music, and most of my favourite musicians came about in the 80s and 90s. Whilst it is AMAZING that I’m still able to see my favourite artists after they have been around for so long, there’s no doubt that these gigs attract an older demographic. I’ve noticed from seeing artists such as Johnny Marr, Liam Gallagher, and Blur, that occasionally, there are members of this demographic that can be, what’s the word I’m looking for… pricks? People who believe that in a sold out, 15,000 capacity venue, that they are the only people in the room. People who try to dampen other audience member’s experiences.

And how lucky was I to encounter some of these people at the Pulp show?!

Let me set the scene: it’s around half seven, the room is filling up, and I’m sitting on the floor whilst I look after my friend and her mom’s bags as they went to the toilet. Also, I should add here, that I would understand why things escalated if I was the only person sitting down. But there were HUNDREDS of us sitting down! It was thirty degrees outside, and we’d already been standing for almost two hours, so the crowd all seemed to have the same idea and rest our legs.

And then it started. The pusher-inners appeared. I’m sure people pushing in is a huge pet peeve for a lot of us, and even more so as it’s something that can’t be stopped. I was sat with a lovely group of girls around my age whilst I was waiting, and they also seemed annoyed at these people shoving through. My friends came back, and I had my back turned to the stage whilst I spoke to them. Now, the main pusher-inner, as I’ll call her, kept shoving me from behind, until I stumbled forward from her pushing, and so I turned around. Not to say anything, but just to make her aware that there was someone right behind her. But like I said, there are just some people out there who try to ruin other people’s concert experiences. I then get yelled at for “being too close.” Miss, you’re in a packed-out arena, you’re going to be close to people! And then she was accusing me of being at fault, as I was sat down as they pushed past! I can assure you; they probably would have had to push past another 75 people sat down before they got to me. I told this pusher-inner, to just “pack it in”- we’re all here to have a good time! But in response, I got called a C U next Tuesday by her friend, which was certainly unexpected!

But unfortunately, as I’m sure many of you will agree, you get these kinds of people at EVERY gig. In retrospect, it just adds to the nights and the memories. Me and my friend have since laughed about it, being like, “remember when that lady called me this…”

Anyway, that’s enough of that. Rant over! Shall we move onto the main event?

Although I was initially disappointed to find out that Pulp wasn’t having any opening acts, it turns out that they really didn’t need any. I’ve been to a fair few concerts at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, but Pulp dominated that stage more than any act I’ve ever seen; not only at that venue, but at ANY venue, and in comparison, to EVERY other show I’ve ever attended.

I already knew how the band would appear on stage, and how Jarvis would make his entrance, but nothing could have prepared me to see it in real life. A nod to the Different Class album cover, Cocker posed amongst cardboard cutouts of keyboardist Candida, drummer Nick, and guitarist Mark, before coming to life as he sang the first lyrics to Spike Island. I was hysterical. I think I just fell into pure shock that the band I have worshipped for the entirety of my teenage years were standing right in front of me. I never thought the day would come!
Upon reflection, the only way I can describe how I felt in that moment was as though every single time I had ever listened to Pulp in my life played back in my head. The highs, the lows, the parties, the cries. They don’t know this, but they’ve been there with me through thick and thin. And they’ll continue to be. It was as though I was just overwhelmed with gratitude for the coolest band ever to have soundtracked my life!
The setlist was INCREDIBLE. You know with some gigs, artists will play a mixture, but then leave all their hits until the end? This wasn’t the case with Pulp. For example, we had Disco 2000 as the fifth track, coming right after Sorted for E’s and Wizz and before F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. Or maybe, every song of Pulp’s is a hit, so they can play them in any order possible.

In my previous post about the listening party for More, I mentioned that Farmer’s Market reminded me a lot of Jarvis’ own song Big Julie. And hearing it live was incredible to experience. Jarvis had introduced the song before he played it, and he described how it was about a struggle to find love. That deep message combined with the beautiful construction of the violin playing in the background actually brought me to tears. There is no other way to describe Farmer’s Market other than that it’s the definition of beauty. We were serenaded with seven songs from More, and I’ve come to the conclusion that my three top favourites from the new album are Farmer’s Market, Tina (Tinaaaaa), and Slow Jam.

I cannot fault the production quality, either. This wasn’t a gig, it was a theatrical performance. It was an experience. The song that I believe was best for emphasising this HAS to be This is Hardcore. Now I love watching music videos, and This is Hardcore’s video is perfection. It tells a story, sets a scene, develops a tone, and, overall, completely mirrors the grittier, darker sound of Pulp in 1998. And, 26 years later, the band can still epitomise this in a live performance. Jarvis climbs to the top of the stage and lounges in a large leather chair, sips on what I like to assume would be a glass of whiskey, and glares at his audience as the sharp violin and piano begin. And to tie it all together, of course there were projections of showgirls dancing behind him.

The first half ended with Sunrise, and then we were given a choice between two songs in the fifteen-minute interval. And, I must admit, I believe the Birmingham crowd were the most blessed with their song options than any other city on the tour yet: Like a Friend… or Razzmatazz. My jaw DROPPED to the floor. Razzmatazz? Really? ALL DAY I had said, “I would love them to play Razzmatazz, but they definitely won’t.” Well, the Pulp gods clearly listened, and it seemed all 15,000 of us in the crowd wanted the same song. His ‘n’ Hers (the deluxe edition) is my favourite album by the band, and so I felt so lucky to hear something from it live that wasn’t Babies or Do You Remember the First Time? Although, I was still really impressed with Acrylic Afternoons.

Of course, we ended with Common People, and that was an experience in itself. It was like the EXTENDED extended version, with Jarvis coming to the barrier, pointing a camera ray gun at the crowd, projecting us onto the large screen as the common people he wants to live with. And of course, I threw out the dance moves that I learnt all those years ago. It was the perfect way to end on a high, although don’t you think it’s quite ironic to be singing a song called “Common People” when tickets to see that song be performed were pushing £90…?

Despite that, I personally believe that we got our money’s worth. Like I said, this was theatrical. It was an experience! Some artists you may go and see will stand on stage and sing AT you for two hours. Pulp couldn’t be any further from that.

I do believe we missed out on some major tunes, such as Underwear, Lipgloss, and I Spy, but it was still a 10/10 gig. Wait, that’s not a fair statement. It was a million out of ten! Whether he’s 31, 61, or even 101, Jarvis Cocker will always be one of THE most well-regarded frontmen of our time. Well, I say our time, but it’s been for the past two generations! He has such a presence which says, “this is MY stage”… but also “it’s OUR stage.” Although there’s a barricade between us, it seems as though he has as much of a good time performing as the audience does listening. Not only did he, but the entire band, surpassed my expectations, and those expectations were already really high.

All I can say now is what I’ve already said before. I thought this after hearing More for the first time, but especially more so after seeing them perform: Pulp a an absolutely TIMELESS band. Although it’s been 47 years since the band formed, they’re not dated in the slightest. There is at least one song for everyone, and people ranging from my grandparents’ age to young children would enjoy their music. And the crowd certainly proved this too.

I don’t know what to expect after this tour, or if we will ever receive anything more after More. But whatever we get, it’s obvious that Pulp will only ever get better and better and better.