Pulp at Pitchfork?
http://festival-outlook.consequenceofsound.net/fests/view/473/pitchfork-music-festival

I thought Coachella was more likely, if even they come here at all.

OMG

http://productshopnyc.com/htdocs/2011/01/pulp_to_headline_pitchfork_fes.html

More pulp at pitchfork rumours.

Not happening :(

http://www.avclub.com/chicago/articles/pulp-is-absolutely-not-playing-pitchfork-music-fes,50055/

Marty is also thanked on the sleeve of Further Complications. My guess is he was Jarvis' booking agent for his solo shows in the States, so is by default Pulp's US representative.

WAH!

Pulp was listed on Paradigm as far back as 2009.  I saw them listed when I was poking around their site in hopes of finding any Coachella leaks or clues.  Paradigm does not post artist tour dates and availabilities like Windish, Ground Control, etc.

I did. They wouldn't confirm anything.

They also said that there were still no plans for US dates which was different from their response about Glastonbury. I didn't get the impression that they were dangling the possibility either.

I'm dealing with Lisa, not Marty.

Bort wrote:

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Not even Coachella? That's a bummer :(

And last-minute rumours of Pulp at Coachella are swirling like crazy, naturally. Guess we will find out in a couple days.

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Ok. Lets break it down.

Without an album to promote or a label to support them, I can't see Pulp playing in North America unless someone offers them a huge sum of money. Festival backers are going to be very cautious about paying Pulp the headliner fees when Pulp's drawing power in the North America is so difficult to gauge.

The Pitchfork Festival is a tiny festival (basically a glorified street fair with an indie-schmindie line-up). They don't even have advertising or corporate sponsorship. I'm sure they want Pulp, but there's just no way Pitchfork can afford them. If Pulp should choose to play Pitchfork it will be an act of generousity... or unless they want to do some more sessions with Steve Albini.

I reckon there are 3 festivals in North America that could afford Pulp: Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza. (I was going to add Virgin Fest, but I'm not sure if it's still active?)

Coachella likes to model itself after English festivals and loves headlining UK bands. I'm sure they are aggressively courting Pulp. The problem is that Coachella takes place in April, which may be too soon for the band. Also, Pulp might not want to play their inaugural gig in America, where they're not sure how they will be received... unless of course they see it as a good place to get their sea legs back.

Bonnaroo isn't Pulp's environment at all. The festival gravitates toward alt-country artists, although they did host Radiohead a few years back. I bet Jarvis would love to play Bonnaroo since he's become such a country music aficionado in recent years, but I can't see the festival going for it. Pulp's fans won't have any interest in the rest of the line-up, and the country fans won't have any interest in Pulp. I could see fan-on-fan violence erupting.

Lollapalooza is the most mainstream of the N.A. festivals, and there is no way they'd choose Pulp as a headliner. Lolla goes for the Top 40 artists (expect Lady Gaga... and Kanye West is a perennial favourite), although the fest has managed to cull together some impressive line-ups for the secondary stages in the past. If Pulp were promoting an album I could see them doing Lolla, but I can't see why they'd bother to travel all the way to Chicago to play a small stage for a small paycheque. Lolla doesn't give a damn about Pulp and they aren't going to shell out good money for them. 

Now let's consider dates.

CONFIRMED FESTIVALS:
Primavera Sound - May 26-28
ISle of Wight - June 10-12
Wireless Fest - July 1-3

LIKELY FESTIVALS:
Glastonbury - June 24-26


Coachella April 15-17
Bonnaroo June 9-12
Pitchfork Festival July 16-18
Lollapalooza August 5-7

Bonnaroo is right out. It conflicts with Isle of Wight.

Pitchfork seems awfully close to Wireless Fest, and would seem a letdown after the massive thrill of Glastonbury and Wireless.

Coachella's dates work and it does look like the most likely candidate. But again, it may be too soon for the band to pull themselves together, and why would Pulp perform their first show in America?

Lollapalooza's dates work, but again, there is no way they'll get a headliner spot.

Who knows, they might surprise and play both Coachella and Lollapalooza. You can never really predict what Pulp will do.

P.S. Why would you want to see Pulp at Coachella when the tickets cost an extortionate $300. Might as well fly to Europe and see a proper show (and other proper things) for that price.

-- Edited by Fuss Free on Monday 17th of January 2011 11:46:47 AM

I really, really hope they do some warm up gigs in the UK (and give priority tickets to people on this site ;) )

Am going travelling at the start of June so can only make Primavera. The cost is one problem, but the difficulty of dragging a friend or two out to Spain to see Pulp is another.

My problem is I'm going to be in Spain - Barcelona, even! - the WEEKEND BEFORE! :(
I fly back on the Monday. Don't have enough holiday or money to extend by 8 days & buy tickets :(

BUT if there's still tickets left for IoW when I get paid on the 27th of this month I WILL go to that.
Fingers crossed please, people!