Pulp – Radio 2 In Concert Review

Just an hour after performing deep cuts like Seconds and We Are The Boyz, Pulp returned to the BBC Radio Theatre for a second performance. Not quite a matinee show, more like a warm-up for the lucky dip of crowd members who had muscled their way through the raffle. An apology from guitarist Mark Webber would soon follow, issued to those unlucky fans who tried their luck on the door, as opposed to the dignitaries and famous faces who got a first glimpse of More songs on UK soil. Sour grapes, sure, but at least Radio 2 In Concert has those who do not live in the capital city, and those who did not sneak through the air vents of BBC Radio Theatre, covered. A fine performance for Pulp fans gasping for More. Jarvis Cocker and the band, the veterans of the group and Jarv Is… newcomers, are in brilliant form.  

Pulp has always managed to take people to places and spots in history that no longer exist. Be it Spike Island, another riff on memories from The Stone Roses’ gig, or the could have been relationships heard on another new track, Tina. There is a slight focus on the fresh material, the More tracks, and rightly so. They hold their own among the classics, the Common People and Disco 2000 cuts, which were inevitable in an intimate venue such as BBC Radio Theatre. Cocker and the band sound confident in the new material, with lead Spike Island especially thrilling. A flatlining crowd cannot stop the power Pulp has on stage, and with the band set for sold-out arenas with a startling capacity, the group may be about to have their moment in the spotlight. A second wind which rushes them to an urgent spot like their Glastonbury Festival headline spot. More has that potential, and it blurs so well with the classics.  

Inspired performances of Something Changed and This is Hardcore rarity, Dishes, highlight just how nice of a set Pulp has. What makes the cut, what gets left behind on the Encore tour, is yet to be heard. A few casual guesses can be made, but if Pulp were to perform this exact setlist, night after night, there would be some very happy fans indeed. They look more confident of their performances, not just in introducing phenomenal new songs like Tina, but in relying on those classics, like Do You Remember the First Time? and Sunrise. Pulp specialises in what could have been moments, the songs which relay memories featuring those who barely register the moment. But passive time for one is the observant future of another. That is the beauty Pulp has captured both in studio and on stage with More.  

A great tease of More, of the hits which have yet to make it to that regular slot on stage. Dishes was dumped after Bridlington Spa, perhaps rightly. Who knows what is to come? A few of the songs featured during this Radio 2 In Concert performance feel like surefire staples of the setlist to come. Spike Island slots right in there, a classic in its own right, while Got to Have Love has the thrilling danceability, the hint at F.E.E.L.I.N.G. C.A.L.L.E.D. L.O.V.E. and the energy which comes from it. More marks a new light for Pulp. They have raised the bar. Few can return to the studio decades on and say they have done the same. Pulp has also provided a shot of adrenaline to their spirited live performances, as seen throughout a magnificent set at BBC Radio Theatre.