Stood there on the windy main stage of the Barcelona-based festival, Primavera, is Pulp in comfortable quality. Their return to the stage after a decade of silence is welcome. This is What We Do for an Encore has been a riot. New tracks like Background Noise and a refitted Hymn of the North have caused a deserved buzz. Now is not the time to keep it fresh but to keep it consistent. Jarvis Cocker and the rest of a new Pulp outfit know this. Their step onto the stage at Primavera is folded neatly into the hits and odd rarities of their latter works. For those who heard them on the UK leg of their tour last year, their Primavera performance will settle well as a spark of wonderful memories. For those sat at home, staring at the screen fatigue washes over, Pulp at Primavera will serve as a wonderful wake-up call.
Pulp has been camera-shy in their few festival appearances until now but not even the plucky powerhouse from Sheffield can contend with Amazon streaming rights. Their show goes through a few minor changes and instrumental focuses are made which benefit the sound. The Elysian Collective is given a broader and deeper part in the mix which makes for booming backing vocal additions. I Spy remains a less-than-obvious opener with enough power to set the mood of the show. Dark orange and sly affairs make for an intense beginning and in this instance, the percussion from Nick Banks and Adam Betts sounds refreshed. Cocker is in the usual, staggeringly good form. He has adapted his voice well and moves around the apparent vocal fatigue with breaks and shifts to the tempo of these classics. Breathless and intense it remains and the likes of Pink Glove and Weeds sound exceptional here.
All those usual hits are filtered through with the same introductions they were given at shows in Sheffield and Manchester. Disco 2000 still begins with the now-expected magic clapping. Mark Webber and Candida Doyle bring the bulk of the energy with their instrumental pieces here. A few minor changes to Sunrise and the depth of the guitar work can be heard by those who have listened to the We Love Life closer daily for the last few years. Ultimately, Pulp at Primavera is a continuation of the massive achievement the encore tour has provided. Almost no changes to the setlist bar choosing the set closer, this time Razzamatazz, to speak of. But it works as a block of hits, sprinkling in a few lesser-loved but equally well-worked tracks like Weeds. Don’t expect any changes to the setlist, but expect a consistency heard by very few bands.
When Pulp headed back on stage a year ago there was a slight worry of the quality they would hit. A scattering of performances from the 2011 to 2013 touring schedule highlighted a reinvigorated love for the tracks. A decade out to tinker with different pieces of work is what the band needs. Pulp’s return is a massive one. A new generation to experience some of the best works Cocker has put out there. Their Primavera performance dodges the teething issues of the Coachella crowd Blur suffered through earlier this year and puts Pulp on an energetic tier of their own. Classy and rugged like all the best of their performances. For those who heard them in concert last year this is no different. A thankfully booming setlist where the highlights are, of course, found in the visual display and empowerment still lingering on Common People. Now give us The Fear.
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