Pulp are scheduled to play on the San Miguel stage at 01.45, after Belle and Sebastian, so make sure you grab an afternoon siesta if you are going. Full listing on the festivals website.
Yeah, saw this yesterday. Gotta love the way things don't get going til late over here!
We should use this as a meet-up thread. I'm just going the Friday and Saturday. It would be great to to put names to faces in between all the music. We could have a BarItalia meet-up to watch the Pulp performance together. Anyone got the materials to make a nice big banner? Bearing in mind it's his 50 birthday in a couple of days, I'd like one displaying a message to Mr Senior saying: ''Happy Birthday Russell. You are the one.''
Right...so who is coming then? It'd be a shame if there were a number of us there and we didn't meet up, especially considering this is quite a small and friendly community! And speaking from very recent experience - the first two Suede album gigs at Brixton this weekend where I met some people who were on their own and we ended-up having great nights; it can be a good laugh.
The fact that I may be going alone unless my friend gets time off work has nothing to do with any of this obviously ;)
I am! Sitting on an airport runway waiting for the plane to take off. Captain said it won't be for another hour and we were already 45 minutes behind. Only for pulp is this worth it.
I have arrived in Barcelona now, i am definitely up for a meetup. Talks earlier were doing it at Sala Razzmatazz, but it might be a bit too busy after the show on friday?
A trip to Sala Razzmatazz would be good, but better to meet somewhere quieter perhaps.
I know a few good bars in Barcelona, but none anywhere near Parc del Forum. Maybe meeting inside the festival site could work? If anyone has been before and can suggest an easy to find place, failing that, those of us going Thursday could find a place and post on here before Friday.
Yeah, meeting inside the festival beforehand makes more sense, starting off anyway. I'm just going the Fri and Sat so if anyone ones to meet on Friday evening inside, let me know. If you are going on Thu Deebs, like you said, maybe you can suggest a landmark that we can all meet at on the Friday.
Oh and please give advanced warnings of **spoilers** from the Toulouse gig Deebs...you lucky thing.
Ok, I've no internet access for a couple of days now but if no one has sorted a time/place by Friday I'll post one on here. I'll even wear a Pulp related T-shirt so I'm easy to find!
Good point about spoilers. How much/little do people want to know?
I want to know everything, but perhaps it's better to start a new topic with 'spoilers' in its title. Some people don't even wanna know what songs they played or if Jarvis had a beard.
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This is the sound of someone losing the plot, making out that they are okay when they are not. You're gonna like it, but not a lot.
I am inevitably going to look and spoil everything but perhaps a "spoilers" thread would be a good idea so that I only have myself to blame when I do look!
Yeah, please just start a new topic with all discussion of the Toulouse gig, especially the setlist. I'd rather go to Primavera not knowing what songs I'll hear. Best that you decide the meeting place Deebs as you'll be there from Thursday, the start of the festival.
Still can't believe tomorrow night they'll be back together on stage again.
I'm leaving for Barcelona in the morning. Deebs and whoever else is going, PM me your mobile and I'll be in contact tomorrow, hopefully I'll get internet access somewhere before the festival. I'll probably be there from about six so we could meet inside any time after that.
I've done quite well avoiding the Toulouse set-list thread...all those responses suggest it was a good one I'm guessing?!
Ok I´ve found a spot to meet. Totally unimaginative but right in front of the gate where they scan your card is a Smint/Myspace blue tent. Anyone up for a Primavera Bar Italia gathering meet there about 7.30pm. Would be great to see a few there to watch Pulp with, I watched Grinderman on the San Miguel stage tonight, all the while imagining what Pulp are going to be like. Should be fantastic!
Eamonn will PM you my number. Yeah there are far more positives on the Toulouse gig thread than negatives. Some great reviews and video footage there aswell, once you have got Primavera out the way you´ll have plenty to see. Don´t worry, I´ll keep my gob shut about the gig until after Pulps set!
Thanks Deebs. PM sent. Hmm...far more positives than negatives. Pulp's first gig in years, with Russell in-tow and I heard they played for nearly two hours. Are negatives possible?! Maybe if they didn't play much post-Russell stuff I suppose...can't think of anything else unless they didn't sound good. Anyway...enough worrying about that! See you tomorrow!
Furthermore, Jarvis has been the whole evening in the primavera sound. I've seen him in the vip zone and going to several shows. Lots of people wanted photos with him and the situation has been very embarrassing.
Furthermore, Jarvis has been the whole evening in the primavera sound. I've seen him in the vip zone and going to several shows. Lots of people wanted photos with him and the situation has been very embarrassing.
Curiously, the schedule does not include Pulp. Either an oversite (unlikely) or Pulp have a clause in their contract preventing festival webcasts. In which case: money-grubbing bastards.
Curiously, the schedule does not include Pulp. Either an oversite (unlikely) or Pulp have a clause in their contract preventing festival webcasts. In which case: money-grubbing bastards.
Dang. That's a bugger. Mind you, I'm out tonight so wouldn't have been around to watch it.
Bar Italians going to Primavera...we are counting on you for some nice footage!
More details at a later time (or hopefully Eamonn will get in first!) but to satisfy the impatient it was a shorter version of the Toulouse setlist tonight, minus OU, Joyriders, Acrylic Afternoons, Countdown, His n´Hers and Mishapes. They ended with Razzmatazz which made up the entire encore that followed Common People.
So just the hits tonight really which on the face of things sounds not as good as Toulouse, but then the atmosphere and crowd reaction...just wow!
We were near the front and the place went ballistic for Pulp, it was even a little scary during the first three songs. Belle and Sebastian, on a couple of hours before Pulp played an excert of Common People during one of their songs as homage to Pulp.
One of the more interesting aspects about Pulp mark 2 is that all the new retrospective fans know all the words to all the songs, regardless of whether they were a big hit or not. More to follow later if not provided by others but another very special Pulp night.
-- Edited by Deebs on Saturday 28th of May 2011 04:10:45 AM
It looks as if they will stick with the same set and just vary the encore depending on time available and which songs they want to play to different crowds. Maybe also dependant upon how many songs they can physically perform in the early hours of the morning at their ages!
One special moment happened for a couple at the front when Jarvis came down to talk to them and announced that the guy had a question to ask. I presume she said yes! Jarvis also made comment about a protest in Barcelona where the police had apparantly gone in with batons. There was a big ´Spanish revolution for the Common People´banner, or something similar being held up throughout the set.
Wow...been away from internet land since Thursday night, avoided the Toulouse talk so had no idea what to expect at Primavera.
Met up with Dave (Deebs) from this parish on Friday evening. We decided to stay after Belle & Sebastian even though there was a 90 minute wait for Pulp at the main stage. I thought we'd be able to inch forward to the front but dozens of other people were happy to play the waiting game too. Nevertheless we had a good vantage point, about ten rows back in-line with Russell. As we waited we decided to rehearse ''Happy Birthday'' for Mr Senior. Started to spread the word among people beside us and I thought we had enough voices to be heard. Myself and Deebs also started singing Pulp songs much to the amusement of people around us, and we even took requests at one stage!
The build-up consisted of laser-light messages beaming across a curtain in front of the stage, in a similar vein to those expressed on theofficial webstie (Is this a hoax? Are you ready? etc.), also translated into Catalan which was a nice touch. As the iconic neon P U L P letters were being erected the crowd began to get excited. The tension in the build-up was really something...and eventually at 01.45 am the band emerged, behind the transparent curtain that the messages had been displayed on (not quite the Venetian blinds at Edinburgh 1999 but a nice effect), and as the band became visible, it really was quite a sight. Russell, smartly attired as usual in natty white jacket, in particular.
The crowd were ready to go absoloutely ape and as DYRTFT began, the jumping up and down began in earnest. We lost all our new friends as the moshing caused mass dispersal so I knew the birthday singing would probably be a lost cause now. There was no let-up during Pink Glove and as the hits kept coming the crowd just went ever more mental. Having relocated Deebs we attempted the Happy Birthday song, and could hear a few new acquaintances join in but unfortunately not loud enough for Jarvis to stop and pick-up on it.
The set has been discussed a lot on the Toulouse thread, expecting to hear anything but a DC-heavy show was naive I suppose. Party Hard/Help The Aged and maybe one more from We Love Life would have been nice but reunions at festivals = hits and everything Pulp played sounded fantastic. Couldn't believe it when Bar Italia came on, I never would have expected to hear that. The one downside was the sound quality at the start wasn't the best, not loud or clear enough, especially Jarvis' vox. Then again, with thousands screaming along to ever word, perhaps that was just how it appeared to me.
The 90 minutes (and there was a tight curfew in place on every act unfortunately) went by far too quickly. Between being over-whelmed at seeing them all together after so many years and the moshing for most of the first half of the set, it was hard to take it all in really.
One interesting thing that I hadn't considered was the production values involved. Very high-end. The PULP neon letters as mentioned before, but also the screens at the back which began to display a stripey-stockinged pair of legs with roller-skates as Babies began, and periodically repeating other stills from the promo (David combing his gel-sodden hair, the boy and girl slurping the milkshake etc.), and Disco 2000 had the dancefloor lighting-up tiles effect going on....really quite astonishing to see, especially after watching a black and white Pulp live clip the other day from 1985 of a pub's stage in Chesterfield being draped in toilet roll.
The end of the line intro into This Is Hardcore was Russell's queue to take a breather, great to see a Hardcore song (THE Hardcore song) get quality recognition and equally to see Sunrise being given a deserved run-out and reaction (and Russell returning during it).
Jarvis' stage movements were even more 1995 than '95. At one point I thought it was a bit over the top, but fuck it, the man was enjoying himself and deservedly so. I was a bit surprised by the extra guitarist (Leo Abrahams who wrote and played on Brett Anderson's last solo album). Perhaps selfishly I thought that it should just be the six of Pulp on there. Seeing 3 guitars and bass on certain songs seemed far away from the Intro/HnH set-up of the band. But for a live festival sound I suppose it was necessary.
As ever with Pulp and Jarvis the only shame was that they couldn't play for longer. Really, a night to cherish and I'm glad I saw them here especially among other mad Pulp fans from across the world. Myself and Deebs chatted to people around us who had come from Russia, Japan, Italy and even York, especialy to see them. And when I woke-up in my hostel yesterday morning (or was woken-up more accurately) I met a Mexican girl, only 18 who had come especially to see Pulp and had even joined in with our Happy Birthday singing!
Quite shattered now (other highlights of the weekend included PJ Harvey, Battles and The National), too much to check this post for typos but hopefully it's ok.
Great write up Eamonn. Can´t wait to watch the clips when I get home, it won´t let me see them from the hostel PC. I´ve got a little of my own footage to upload when I´m back in the UK.
What is the difference between Man United and Pulp?
Just as a small note of interest... I saw Belle and Sebastian at The Roundhouse this evening, and Stuart Murdoch spoke briefly about how he had seen Pulp at the weekend in Barcelona, and about "how much they had learned from Jarvis" and that everyone can try, including them, but will always live in his shadow. A nice little tribute I thought!
-- Edited by LeoVK on Monday 30th of May 2011 12:49:55 AM
Just as a small note of interest... I saw Belle and Sebastian at The Roundhouse this evening, and Stuart Murdoch spoke briefly about how he had seen Pulp at the weekend in Barcelona, and about "how much they had learned from Jarvis" and that everyone can try, including them, but will always live in his shadow. A nice little tribute I thought!
-- Edited by LeoVK on Monday 30th of May 2011 12:49:55 AM
Aww I love B&S- I read that after playing stars of track and field at Primavera he said something like "It's just occurred to me, that wont be the last time you hear the word "knowledge" rhymed with "college" this evening!"
hey guys, i'm new on here, but have been following pulp around since i moved to london from toronto in '97.
i was also there. being back in london today makes it all seem like a big dream, it was so surreal. like Eamonn i thought it was over in a second and it was a bit hard to take it all in. it was just incredible to see them again, i don't think i have ever been so excited for anything before!
being only 5'2" makes festivals like that a bit rubbish for me, unless i'm a bit further back i can't see anything. so unfortunately i wasn't close to the front, but had a good view of the whole stage from further back. the sound back there was i thought good, and i also had space to dance around and sing loudly without having to worry i was singing badly in someone's ear!!
it was amazing, the only complaint i would have is that they didn't play enough, which is always going to be the only problem! it would have been great to hear anything from separations (gutted to hear they played countdown in toulouse..), or bad cover version, or like a friend, or, or...... but saying that, it was so exciting to hear i spy and bar italia. i also thought jarvis maybe didn't speak as much as usual, but that could have been down to the strict time slot or also because he didn't want to alienate the spanish crowd by speaking too much in english...? i think it will probably be different at the uk festivals.
anyhow, i'm so glad i went, and now cannot wait for wireless, and then reading! and maybe somewhere else in between!
-- Edited by debi on Monday 30th of May 2011 05:56:21 PM
That's awesome! I feel less weird about the gigs now that I know he does actually play on one of the songs they wrote after he left. Did he play at the start of Hardcore or just stand on the stage?
You were quite close to the stage! I hadnt paid attention to time and at 1.42am i was still ordering a beer at the opposte of the stage. That was a good gig despite the fact i was very far away and that i barely could see the screens. Next time, i won't do this mistake again and will take my glasses :)
Does anyone know of any audience recordings having surfaced? I've got plenty of video footage for the Fuss Free project below, I just need a decent quality full length source for the audio... was it broadcast on any Spanish radio stations? Fingers crossed...
Like the font on that mock-up DVD, not so much the Jarvis pic.That b&w shot taken of the band and Jarvis mid-air jump at Primavera would be absolute boss.
Like the font on that mock-up DVD, not so much the Jarvis pic.That b&w shot taken of the band and Jarvis mid-air jump at Primavera would be absolute boss.
Maybe this guy has recorded the whole show : http://soundcloud.com/adyo/ ?
Turns out he recorded the majority of the show (not the best sound quality but I might be able to improve it) and has promised to get it to me - cheers again!
I'm now in possession of a full audience recording for Primavera! Quality isn't as clear as 'Le Bikini' but I can definitely work some magic on it. Now for the hard part...
It's in limbo for the meantime - there's several weeks worth of work involved in assembling all the various footage, and I don't have the spare time that I used to...
I was also put off when I discovered one of the previous efforts was being sold at a record fair. Some people are scum!