We Went There: Pulp at the Armory

On a night where much of the musical focus was a few miles away, a *different* musical legend was gracing a Minneapolis stage Saturday night. While Farm Aid drew the americana set, UK legends Pulp showcased their place in the musical pantheon with a stirring two hour set at the Armory.

The band sampled on stage with black wacky waving inflatable arm men framing the stage, feeling almost like an art school flaming lips concert, showcasing a multi-level stag that saw the eight(!) musicians set up like a 70s prog band across the state. Then, as the band started out their set with “Sorted for E’s & Wizz,” legendary lead singing Jarvis Cocker strutted out onto the top center of the stage like the rock star he has always been.

Jarvis’ cool was on display early and often throughout the set as all eyes stayed on the magnetic frontman as he danced and strutted around the stage like a more literal Mick Jagger, always to the euphoria of the crowd. In a twist I wasn’t expecting, the group was backed by fairly impressive visuals that, frankly, they didn’t need as the music and stage show were plenty good.

The screen behind the group was occasionally used as set pieces for the stage (like when a virtual curtain opened to show a chandelier sparkling above Cocker before “This is Hardcore”), but otherwise was mostly landscapes and mild psychedelic fodder, really bringing the band’s eclectic catalog to life.

Early set highlights included band classics like the frantic synth-driven “F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.,” the galloping “Disco 2000” and “This is Hardcore.” This wasn’t just a greatest hits set though (although that would have been fine), but that band sprinkled in a bunch of songs from their solid new album More, including “Spike Island” and tour-first playing of “Grown Ups” paired with “Partial Eclipse” and encore closer “A Sunset.”

Throughout the night Cocker was the consummate showman, relegating the crowd with stories and a running gag about wishing he could run into Bob Dylan who was in town for Farm Aid and noting all of the random asides he would have told him.

Cocker; who mentioned he turned 62 just the day before the concert, was a slippery rock star prancing across the stage throughout the whole tour hours, jumping on stages, laying down before popping up on various songs and just generally being a magnetic presence. You could always sense it from the band (and any cursory reading of it would drive it home), but Pulp really are a sum of their parts, with a powerful band who seem perfectly happy to hide behind their instruments while their singer soaks in all of the attention with the gravitational pull of the sun.

Late set highlights included an acoustic “Something Changed” that started with an origin story of the bands reforming a few years back and jamming on the song to see if they “still had it.” As they kicked off the song, Cocker causally remarked that it’s clear they still did to a loud applause from a crowd that was eating out of the band’s hand throughout the set. Other highlights included the head bobbin, herky-jerky dark synths of “Do You Remember the First Time” and the timeless cool of main set closer “Common People,” a song that felt both classic and timeless.  

The band’s five song encore opened with the art-pop tension of “The Fear” with the inflatable people popping up again, with a slightly more ominous tone during this song. Joyriders into help the aged, a song which Jarvis asked for help from crowd as he claimed he couldn’t hit some of the notes. Another standout from the encore included “Like a Friend” that started as quiet, solo performance from Jarvis that morphed into a euphoric post punk celebration. 

The whole set showcased a band that has both the catalog and, amazingly after 40+ years, the chops to keep a small arena show captivated for over two hours. Long live Pulp!

You can see Adam’s outstanding full photo set HERE.