Review: Pulp @ Sheffield Motorpoint Arena, 8/12/12

Unofficially dubbed as their final gig (for a while at least), tickets sold out almost immediately for this event and it was expected to be something special. And something special it was.

‘Do You Remember The First Time?' kicked off the night's proceedings with a bang. Cocker and Co oozed the effortless cool that they have done so well to maintain for the past three decades. Seeing them on stage, it's easy to see why they've inspired so many artists to pick up instruments, write and make music.

For a band like Pulp, an arena in Sheffield wouldn’t be hard to fill. However it’s easy to lose the true magic of a performance when you’re sharing the moment with so many others in such a vast, commercial surrounding. This was not the case at all on Saturday. Jarvis interacted with the crowd in such a way that the whole set felt personal and intimate – like being at a party with all your closest friends.

The band treated us to almost every track on the iconic 1995 album Different Class - the roof being raised by favourites such as ‘Common People’ and ‘Disco 2000’.

At one point Jarvis took the crowd on a journey through time back to the early days of Pulp by playing their 1983 debut hit ‘My Lighthouse’ - for which former Pulp members including his sister Saskia joined him on stage.

The gig also marked the first occasion that the band has ever performed 1999's 'Born To Cry' live, with Richard Hawley making one of several guest appearances on guitar.

Explaining that special stage effects weren’t available when the band first started gigging, Jarvis decided that he wanted to take it back to basics – cue rolls and rolls of toilet rolls being streamed throughout the arena with excessive use of the smoke machines.

The latter end of the twenty-four-song set included ‘Razzmatazz’ and ‘Mis-Shapes’, finally ending with a ‘Something Changed’. After the last remaining pieces of paper confetti floated down from the ceiling, the house lights came on and the band all gathered on stage for a group bow. Rapturous applause erupted through the whole arena.

It's safe to say we witnessed a little piece of history that night, Pulp cementing the fact that they truly are of a ‘Different Class’ – and one that's yet to be matched.

Words: Jo-Anne Waddington

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