Pulp, Belles Will Ring
Festival Hall, Melbourne
Friday 29th July 2011
Opening for Pulp’s first Melbourne gig in 13 years, Belles Will Ring had their work cut out for them. And unfortunately, the Sydney act’s Byrds/Zombies/Mamas & The Papas homage didn’t make much of an impression. All of the requisite twang, jangle, reverb, and other embellishment was in place, but there was simply nothing solid to hang it on. The set was so unengaging that only the closing song had the kind of sharply defined chorus that could jostle the band from its stupor.
Four bold neon letters and a bit of clever texting via lasers heralded Pulp and that lanky, unlikely sex symbol, Jarvis Cocker. He was wholly the frontman, hanging close to the front edge of the stage while the rest of the band stood stoic and removed. That gave the musicians a kind of secondary status, but that’s not a complaint. (I was reminded of how the rest of Blondie pales next to Debbie Harry in most images.) Despite an oddly bass-dominated mix, the music proved as workmanlike as Cocker was charming and – in his own way – swaggering. As so many songs embarked on their trajectory from observational archness to belting anthems, Cocker reaffirmed himself in the English songwriting lineage of Morrissey and The Kinks’ Ray Davies.
Free of any new album to promote, the reunited Britpop icons moved comfortably through their esteemed back catalogue, turning to deep cuts that are easily as vital to fans as the proper hits. That said, nearly all of 1995’s commercial peak Different Class got an airing. On the very same stage as their 1998 appearance, Pulp began an almost two-hour set with ‘Do You Remember the First Time?’ and ‘Joyriders’, both from 1992’s His ‘n’ Hers. The brooding ‘Bad Cover Version’ from 2001’s final album We Love Life went down a treat, and between songs Cocker recounted learning the term “bogans” and needing to swap out of his slippery shoes (which he soon did).
Then came a barrage of entries from Different Class: ‘Pencil Skirt’, ‘Something Changed’, an out-of-the-way-early ‘Disco 2000’, the appropriately positioned comedown song ‘Sorted for E’s and Whizz’, ‘F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.’, and ‘I Spy’, for which Cocker joked about his penchant for voyeurism in lyrics. ‘Babies’ from His ‘n’ Hers gave way to ‘Underwear’ and a welcome trio of tracks from 1998’s pitch-black masterpiece This is Hardcore: the suave dirge of a title track, ‘The Fear’, and ‘Glory Days’. Different Class closer ‘Bar Italia’ (“Move, move quick…”) then preceded the rapturous ‘Common People’, complete with violin and Cocker’s introduction of the band before the final chorus. It was strange to hear such an eternally danced-to song live after so many years, but it holds up – and then some.
And for the encore? The brilliant yet obscure ‘Like A Friend’ from 1998’s Great Expectations movie, which Cocker said was only the third time ever playing it. Hardcore’s ‘Party Hard’ was a nice bonus, but a truly ideal finish came with the burned-in-brain Different Class opener ‘Misshapes’, a fitting call to arms for the smart and tasteful misfits of the world.
Unlike other reunited acts, Pulp’s timeless lyrics make them sound not dated but permanent. A brainy, sexy, moody, funny band that’s always going to be there.
Doug Wallen
Pics: Leah Robertson