Øyafestivalen: Pulp Review

You can always remember the first time. The second, too. Certainly the third. The fourth? Of course. Pulp is as memorable as it gets and a few months away from touring has not changed their immense quality and command of the stage. Stand there in your poncho, your hair flattened into a stale and receding mess from Oslo weather troubles. But the spirit is alive. Jarvis Cocker and a reunited Pulp, who enter year two of their Encore… tour, are as fighting fit as ever and thrive on their interaction with a crowd going wild for the appearance of songs they have not played in over a decade. Such is the case for those in the packed Øyafestivalen crowd. Line the fields with those who squeal for O.U. and brace yourself for the well-placed fear of missing out echoed online.  

We have been there before. Those who heard Bar Italia in Italy or Bad Cover Version in other parts of the world will know the unique feeling of being gift-wrapped a rare occurrence. Even then the hits which form the foundation of this Pulp reunion, the I Spy opening into magic clapping to summon Disco 2000, maintain their credibility. They are as fresh as they were in Bridlington many months ago. Mis-Shapes make way for the Intro deep cut and how fitting a choice it is. O’s to the one side, U’s to the other of an up-for-it audience writhing around in the palm of Pulp’s hand. Mark Webber is in uniquely fine form here, seemingly unbothered by the disposable camera grabbing shots of him for a scrapbook he may never see. 

Band members old and new are in immense form. Candida Doyle and Nick Banks are the firm hands guiding new blood Andrew McKinney and Emma Smith through, the pair is now well-seasoned with what it takes to prop up the heavy-hitting likes of Sunrise and This is Hardcore. Cocker is in tremendous form, offering the audience another tease of The Fear and, bizarrely, his solo track Pilchard, before a euphoric turn with Common People. He jokes of slowing it down early in the show for fear of having a heart attack. Such is life on the big stage. While the band may be reduced with the Elysian Collective absent, they more than make up for it in the form of Adam Betts and Richard Jones, firm multi-instrumentalists key in the forming of all these hits. They may not control the weather, but it was a nice touch for Pulp to bring on the end of the harsh rain with Sunrise.

With time to spare and a nod of approval from the band Cocker and company launch into Glory Days, as fitting a track as ever for a generation seeing the world around them crumble and be expected to toe the line as it happens. This is Pulp in sharp form. They have been in good order since they decided to get back together and the one constant running through their performances, bar the consistency of their hits, is the feeling of suddenness to it. A chance to take it to order, rather than for granted, appears. Webber once said he would turn his back on the audience at gigs in the This is Hardcore era, but seeing a new wave of fans, those who were still chewing pencils and crying about SAT results at the call of a first reunion must be quite a treat. Pulp is a treat, as expected, and Oya Festival kicks off with a pitch-perfect headliner.