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Post Info TOPIC: Pulp @ Bridlington - my review (spoilers!!!)


Street Operator

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Pulp @ Bridlington - my review (spoilers!!!)
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Hi folks! I've written up a review of the gig, it's a bit overlong but hope it makes for OK reading. There's stuff you already know in it, unnecessary context for people who don't know Pulp and all that jazz (we all know for example that Candida's been there since Freaks, or whatever), but thought I'd put it here for folk to read :)

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"What exactly do you do for an encore?"

Pulp first asked the question in 1998. They are about to answer it now, with Bridlington Spa about to play host to the first show of a new tour. They played here last in 1994; it's a long time since Pulp came to town. In fact, it's a long time since Pulp came to any town. Together again and gigging for the first time since 2012, there is a certain electricity in the air. Mystery support act Jennifer Reid adds to the sense of secrecy, arriving onstage to bring a slice of Lancashire to Yorkshire, delivering sardonic, unaccompanied ballads of her Rochdale homeland in fine voice. A very Pulp choice to kick things off, then. 

After what feels like an age, folk start to assemble onstage. The Elysian Orchestra, special and wonderful guests for tonight, hum menacingly for minutes. Now here are the Pulps: Mark Webber, Nick Banks, and Candida Doyle take to the stage. They're joined by Andrew McKinney, Emma Smith, and Adam Betts. Time suspends itself. And then, finally - finally - we hear a familiar voice from off-stage. He spies a boy. He spies a girl. And when the crowd spy Jarvis Cocker making his lanky way onstage, it doesn't quite seem real. 'I Spy' is a perfect opener. McKinney, splendid all night on bass duties, hums menacingly while the bound whips up a storm of sound. "It's just like in the old days!" Jarvis shouts, to the joy of his audience. He is on absolute peak form tonight; a lanky livewire in a claret velvet suit, vocally better than he was 20 years ago and with more charisma and charm than anyone else in the game. Silhouetted against the walls in bright red light, his shadow is huge and instantly iconic. He is a towering presence.

So too the rest of the band, whose individuality makes Pulp what it is. Candida beams from behind her keyboards, sequined skirt sparkling through the synths; after Cocker, she has been here longest, since 'Freaks' when they lived in a warehouse. She's Pulp's unsung hero, the architect behind much of its signature sound. Tonight her contributions are telling. Mark Webber, forever the new boy since he joined in 1995, is the engine room, darting between guitar and keyboards; his is the heavy lifting, and he is faultless tonight, creating both the most delicate and most uproarious melodies. And Nick Banks, huddled behind his drumkit, holds everything together, monstrous on the percussion.

Jarvis lobs grapes and Cadburys chocolates into the audience. "We're going to do some magical things tonight", Cocker promises, before leading all and sundry into a victorious 'Disco 2000' by dint of a clever clapping trick. The song is as good as it has ever been. But someone is missing. The tragic death of bassist Steve Mackey in March deprived the music world of someone especially creative and kind, and the loss is still undoubtedly raw for Pulp, band and fans alike, as well as the multitudes who came into Steve's path - for whom it seems they only ever had nice things to say. Mackey was one of Pulp's biggest innovators, working closely with Cocker in particular: the two were close, and their chance first meeting in London changed Pulp's fates, and both lives, considerably. So Cocker dedicates 'Something Changed' to his friend, in a fitting, no-dry-eye tribute. It's also played at weddings, Jarvis tells the crowd, and of course, for tonight the song is a slice of loveliness, delicately mixed with Webber's guitar melody cutting through perfectly. It is the last time they'll mention Mackey tonight, but his presence is felt later when, after Jarvis wipes both eyes during the opening orchestral swells of 'This Is Hardcore' -  Steve's favourite Pulp song - he stares steelily at the microphone in his hands.

After a suitably tender 'Dishes' demonstrates that Cocker's vocals have, if anything, enhanced in recent times, we move onto perennial fan-favourite 'Pink Glove': beautifully hammed-up, racked and ragged, Emma Smith's squelchy guitar melding with Candida's fizzy synths under the sweeping magenta lights. 'Sorted for Es and Wizz' begins with alien, gooey green light enveloping the Spa as the orchestra hoot and rattle toy instruments. As it turns out, Jarvis holds the audience's attention from the rear of the stage just as well as from the front; who'd'a thunk it?

Next is 'Hardcore', the orchestra picking up their instruments to weave such a rich, reflective duvet of sound that it's impossible not to be moved. Now, here's Jarvis, bent over in the usual shag-a-holic fashion, though he keeps things tasteful tonight. The song is monolithic, Banks' bass drum booming to as far as Filey while Webber rocks out with customary reserve. Banks clatters best of all next on 'Weeds', uprooted from 2002; it's a delightful surprise that the band choose to honour their underloved We Love Life album, as the splendidly dubby 'Weeds II' follows suit before blossoming into a riotous 'F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.'.

Now we're in the home straights. An almighty roar greets Jarvis's announcement of emeritus gig-opener 'Do You Remember the First Time', a song perhaps bigger than it lets on. An incredible performance follows. A single, brisk Dmaj7 chord is enough to elicit whoops of joy, for it heraldeth 'Babies'. A rainbow rain of confetti covers the crowd. And then Cocker whacks a humongous bass drum as 'Sunrise' takes off into the sky. An incredible ending... but of course there's an encore. It takes a while for Jarvis to calm down the crowd - earning a more-than-PG-rating in the process - but when he does, 'Like a Friend' flutters then flies.

Tonight, Jarvis tames his chatterbox tendencies, perhaps to make sure they fit everything in. "That's as much as I can tell you," he informs the audience, after explaining one song is about finding yourself trapped in a horrible situation. It's 'Underwear', by now graduated from album staple to genuine hell-raiser. "What song haven't we played yet?", asks the gangly frontman in velvet - the audience, as it turns out, do not provide the unified answer he is expecting, but they erupt nonetheless when the band begin. For, for the first time in almost eleven years, Pulp are playing 'Common People'. Bedlam prevails.

But wait! There's more: after leaving the stage, Pulp emerge for a third time. Now time for something even more special. Jarvis explained they've never played this one live before, and there it is, millennium-turn demo 'After You' resurrected again, first as a barnstorming disco single in 2013 and now replicated here to a fault, propulsive and powerful under a shower of blue and pink light. And they follow it up with an old classic, which Cocker dedicates to "all of you": a triumphant 'Mis-Shapes', even better in the flesh it would seem. Jarvis sweeps an arm out, directing the audience to Webber's solo, eliciting cheers.

Best of all is the next track, which really actually ends the concert. They opt for 'Glory Days', a latter-career highlight tucked at the tail-end of This Is Hardcore, a lyrical tribute to our epoch of un-progress whose words have aged immaculately. Here, tonight, it rises to colossal proportions, not just sounding like a single but a chart-topper. Cocker begins contemplative on the front-stage blocks, acting the part of broken man becoming re-electrified by monstrous music, newly-galvanised 90s Frankenstein, a mad scientist of massive pop prowess. It's alive! And how good does it sound from down front, Webber cutting loose at last as Jarvis's livewire sparkiness flows through the crowd. Pitch-perfect.

The band wave themselves off and the audience dissemble, disbanding through the confetti, some clamouring for setlists, others getting Cocker's chocolates in their paws. Tonight, Pulp took their dreams and made them whole. Oh, what a hell of a show...

 

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God, it was so good. I'll certainly remember the first time...

Also Mark smiled at me after Glory Days, still chuffed at that haha



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The Only Way is Down

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Pulp @ Bridlington - my review (spoilers!!!)
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Proper boss, that. You have a great talent for descriptive writing, plenty of winning music-journalism phrases in there.

This time 20 years ago, a young fella called Sturk Mardy or summat, was about to launch his Pulp bible. We may have found an heir to the throne (although Mark probably isn't finished, just yet!).

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Deep Fried

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Pulp @ Bridlington - my review (spoilers!!!)
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This is great - great way to encapsulate the night!

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Street Operator

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RE: Pulp @ Bridlington - my review (spoilers!!!)
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Eamonn wrote:

Proper boss, that. You have a great talent for descriptive writing, plenty of winning music-journalism phrases in there.

This time 20 years ago, a young fella called Sturk Mardy or summat, was about to launch his Pulp bible. We may have found an heir to the throne (although Mark probably isn't finished, just yet!).


Ahaha, as if! I'm not fit to lick Mr Sturdy's sturdy shoes!

This is very kind of you, thank you so much.

ChasingNewspapers wrote:

This is great - great way to encapsulate the night!


 Thank you!! I was absolutely buzzing afterwards and it proved difficult to process - at the pub I was just quietly typing up notes, trying to remember things. Helping to digest it all a bit.

One little Guardian moment from me - I called the orchestra the wrong name. They're the Elysium Collective.



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