Pulp at OVO Hydro, Glasgow Review

Pulp are back for more, with More, because we wanted more. Those italics are doing some heavy lifting, as are the deep pockets of this green jacket, containing what worldly possessions you can bring into the OVO Hydro. A phone and a wallet, mainly. No grapes. Jarvis Cocker provides the grapes. And chocolates. Pulp provides the songs. Many. More. An incredible show to start the tour, filled with not just More but the “more” of what fans were wanting. Deep cuts, the hits mixed around. A few omissions here or there to make room for the new stuff. That balance is crucial. Candida Doyle shared that there were fifty or more songs tested in rehearsals, and what we as audience members can assume, we sweaty, common people with numbers marker-penned onto our hands, is that these are the best of the encore. 

Much like the band showed on More, the contractions and attractions of Pulp are ever-changing. Bringing Help the Aged in requires some audience participation, as Cocker admits he can no longer hit that gorgeous high note. But in admitting that, rather than trying and failing to persevere, he inhibits the spirit of Grown Ups. He’s ripening, and that’s alright. Much of the show is about that, about memories and what we make of them in the present. Informed by those memories, Pulp are unafraid to dig deep into their discography, pulling out the likes of The Fear, Seconds, and O.U. (Gone Gone), each is a true beauty for the seasoned fan. Seconds, in particular, is one of many delightful surprises. A song which didn’t make the cut for His ‘n’ Hers finds its footing in a sold-out crowd. The same occurs for the new songs, too, with More just a day from its release, yet learned verbatim by the Glasgow crowd in time for a touching sing-along of A Sunset.  

Spike Island and Got to Have Love, the two singles from Pulp’s latest piece, slip into the set with ease. Two contemporary titans of their work, which hold their own alongside the danceable hits like Disco 2000 and Common People. What works best of all is the familiarity in those larger performances. Cocker still rises from underneath the stage, not peeking through curtains with I Spy but telling us that, yes, he is here to perform, his silhouette bursting from the cutouts and kicking off into one of the many elbow-throwing Pulp tracks. The ensemble is exceptional, too, instrumentally slick and, to the tinnitus-riddled ear, not a thing goes wrong. Mark Webber, Candida Doyle, and Nick Banks joining Cocker out front for a gut-wrenching performance of Something Changed is exactly what was needed for the second act.  

This is not a victory lap for Pulp. They have much to celebrate, their new album an outstanding showcase of how a band with a long streak of quality can still surprise even a passing listener, but there is more to look forward to. An interval is what Pulp provides, twenty-two songs split over two showcases with a bit of a breather in the middle, as much for the band as it is for those in the crowd. Those pre-Common People teases from the last tour, the hint of The Fear or Acrylic Afternoons, those are finally made good on. The biggest Pulp tour, and, perhaps, their very best. Everything flows perfectly – the slower moments with Farmers Market, the intensity of a setlist staple like Do You Remember the First Time?. A powerhouse of a show, one which shows Pulp has much more to give after this album, after this year. We can only hope.