If back in 2022 I’d been told that for the next four summers going to see Pulp perform would become an annual tradition I’d have been as elated as I would have been surprised at the news. A decade after their initial reunion shows had run their course any sort of return for the band was welcome news, but I suspect even the most optimistic of fans wouldn’t have expected four years worth of shows as well as the unexpected and excellent new album More being thrown in.
Maybe it was this constant touring that meant the Wythenshawe Park show was announced as the band’s only UK concert date of the year, but with no promise of further activities booked in for the band there was real but unspoken fear that this could be the last time the band graced a stage.* Maybe those two aspects combined to produce what was one of the most enjoyable crowd experiences I’ve had in recent years, with friendly chit chat between gig goers and the delight and spectacle of the swathe of purple balloons released by audience members in the lulls between support acts. Or maybe everyone was just overjoyed that the forecast stormy weather which had threatened to give the evening a distinctly soggy feel had somehow stayed away.
* Ignoring the one final festival date they’ve still got scheduled in.
Unlike recent larger shows put on by nineties contemporaries the night wasn’t a nostalgiafest, with a forward looking selection of support acts present. Seb Lowe‘s performance drew on the classier side of indie with his violinist adding a touch of drama to proceedings, whilst Self Esteem‘s experimental pop and dramatic stage craft had such high production quality it felt like an audition to transition to topping bills in such shows in the future. But then came Pulp, a band who had on and off spent thirty years making such stages their own and they made all those years of experience count.
Just as they had at last summer’s secret performance at Glastonbury the band kicked off with Sorted for E’s and Wizz and Disco 2000, two songs whose lyrics were etched onto the consciousness of every nineties teenager and beyond – even those who missed out on 90s rave culture and the countdown to the new millennium. Even pre-fame singles like Razzmatazz resulted in delirium in the crowd as the bitterest of lyrics the band had written were hollered back with joyous delight by the crowd. With Jarvis in sparkling form the evening flew by – although yet again the catching a grape in his mouth challenge ended in failure yet again… after almost a hundred reunion shows has he successfully pulled it off yet?
If there was one minor criticism of the show it was simply that it was too short. Last summer’s two and a half hour marathon performances had spoilt us fans, giving extra space to dive into More‘s track listing as well as allowing a wide range of rarities to receive an airing, the ninety minute set felt slightly condensed – with live favourite Something Changed even unable to make the setlist. Whilst the night didn’t have any “oh my god I can’t believe they’re playing this” moments nobody though felt short changed as the band rolled through hit after hit.
The culmination of all those hits though was a saunter through an extended version of Common People, pulsing and growing in a manner that a song comprising of only two musical movements really shouldn’t be able to. After its final euphoric crescendo completing the show with a stripped back and mellow performance of A Sunset threatened to close the evening on a slightly flat note, but instead gave a tiny ray of optimism; after all, we wouldn’t get to witness a sunrise if the sun hadn’t gone down the night before.
With Jarvis going back on forth on stage about whether this was the end or simply a break we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds, though I’m sure like all fans I’ve got all of my fingers crossed that this wasn’t the last time I’ll see Pulp live. But if this did mark the band’s final major performance then the band who once sang but don’t you remember, that you once said, that you liked happy endings? will have signed off with the sort of epic performance that their career deserved.
Were you there to witness Pulp at Wythenshare Park? Have you witnessed Jarvis succeed with the catching a grape in his mouth challenge? Leave a comment below and don’t forget to subscribe or follow on Twitter for more live music reviews.
Pulp performed:
Sorted for E’s & Wizz
Disco 2000
Spike Island
Razzmatazz
F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.
O.U. (Gone, Gone)
Farmers Market
This Is Hardcore
Sunrise
Begging for Change
Do You Remember the First Time?
Mis-Shapes
Got to Have Love
Babies
Common People
A Sunset
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