CONCERT REVIEW: Pulp, Finsbury Park, London, England
- Robin Lapid
It seems as though Pulp might have finally been catching the whole backlash virus that's been wiping out so many of those one-word "Britpop" bands. Everyone pretty much knew that Pulp stayed around because they transcended that media tag, but it felt as though the band's Finsbury Park gig was a sort of welcome-back and "we still love you" performance. The audience's cheers declared that they weren't really there for Catatonia or Bernard Butler, but for Pulp alone.
Frontman Jarvis Cocker filled up the mammoth video screens on either side of the stage. He is charismatic and lithe, and his consummate finger-pointing poses and punctuated dance moves serve him well even in his mid-thirties. Beginning with "The Fear," from their latest release, This Is Hardcore, the band filled the set with properly dramatic renderings of new album tracks, mixed in with long-loved favorites. Cocker introduced a song which he said was about a woman on the outside pretending to be someone else. The crowd cheered wildly, to which Jarvis quickly added, "No, well, it's not the song you're thinking of..." as he began strumming "Sylvia." But he played "Common People" later, anyway, the pop anthem from Different Class.
The Hardcore tracks were certainly well-received, but the older tracks sounded more triumphant, including a bristlingly refreshing "Do You Remember the First Time?" that did justice to Jarvis's emotive stage presence. The rained-on festivals this summer were more like endurance tests, but who couldn't resist a warm London evening with the stars in the sky and onstage, bungee jumpers in the back, and the song "Sorted for E's and Whizz" as music festival commentary?
Then Jarvis, seemingly enchanted with the warm reception, came back out and played an encore to the encore, leaving crowd members who were heading out for the tube going "d'oh!" and scurrying back to hear "Something Changed." It was a modest capper to an enjoyable evening, but at least it proves Pulp always leave you coming back for more.
