PULP at Wireless Festival 2011

By Jonny Byrne

Not even a biblical swarm of Green Fly could deter me from Hyde Park this Sunday for the 7^th annual Wireless Festival; not with Pulp headlining.

Admittedly I may be overreacting in regards to the Green Fly pandemic but they were out in force causing the thousands of festival-goers a real nuisance. Throughout the day the weather remained graciously dry, not that a spot of British rain would have ruined the atmosphere. Once again Barclaycard had managed to piece together a decent line-up to entertain what seemed to be a park full of Pulp fans. Metronomy played through a handful of their new album tracks, while occasionally dipping back into their best from 2008’s “Nights Out” and although the crowd in front of the main stage was relatively small for their set, they played it as though they were playing to thousands. They finished with new single “The Look” which had the crowd dancing with each other as though they were on a British promenade in the 1940’s. One of the highlights of the day was the high energy, crowd pleaser Neon Trees. Since the success of debut single “Animal”, the Utah rocker’s fame and following has rocketed, which probably explained why the Pepsi Max Tent in which they were playing was rammed full of doting fans, who in return were not disappointed by the faultless performance. Other highlights of the day were Swedish outfit The Sounds, who had trouble sticking to the strict no swearing policy enforced by the festival officials, as well as The Foals who drew in a massive crowd despite playing a slightly predictable and tame set. The Hives kept everyone’s spirits up as the afternoon drew on and the anticipation of the headliners began to swell and Grace Jones gave everyone a laugh as people made their way towards the main stage. In her defence she did end her show by hula-hooping for an entire song, which isn’t bad going at 63, or am I just being rude?

The crowd began to grow rapidly and after what seemed like an eternity the intro to Do You Remember the First Time? began and Jarvis swaggered around the stage as his fans screamed the chorus back at him. Nine years away from performing hasn’t affected the band in the slightest and the line-up from 1995’s “A Different Class” are playing tighter than ever. The set consisted of their best from “His & Hers” and “A Different Class” and was pieced together seamlessly with Cocker’s poetic monologues and interaction with the audience; he is one of the few musician that can take a festival sized audience and make it seem like an intimate gig in front of a select few. As the band paraded through classics such as Pink Glove, Mis-Shapes and Sorted For E’s and Whizz the sun began to set, which caused their trademark neon Pulp sign to illuminate the stage; the scene had been well and truly set. There was never a lull in audience morale, never a moment of uneasy silence between songs, not once did the band seem anything more than ecstatic to be playing again and never did the barrage of songs seem anything less than perfectly strung together. The crowd resumed predictable screaming throughout Disco 2000, which was faultless, while B-side Mile End continued the bands famed social commentary, uniting their fans. As the band worked through the set their energy increased, as did the eccentricity of Cocker’s monologues. Something Changed and Monday Morning slowed the tempo momentarily, which only added to the grandeur of the occasion. After playing Babies, which Jarvis dedicated to his mother and son, both of whom were present, and under a completely dark sky, the band played their final song, (no points for guessing Common People) to an entirely overwhelmed crowd. Of all the gigs I have been to, never has a band been able to encapsulate an entire audience’s emotional state and play to them as equals to the degree that I witnessed on Sunday night; I shouldn’t have expected anything less from Pulp.