How would the fanclub still exist? It's been a decade, Alex has moved on, half the members have had kids and split-up etc. At best it would be priority to mailing-list subscribers.
-- Edited by Eamonn on Monday 16th of July 2012 11:21:32 AM
Just considering the possibility for the above. And then I thought...would they be fan club only? But then I further thought...do Pulp even have a working fanclub anymore...?
It's more likely to be people on the mailing list isn't it? Don't think the fan clip exists but I might be wrong. I'm surprised they didn't use the mailing list last week really.
I imagine if there are any warm up gigs for Sheffield, they'll be in places they haven't visited in the UK on this tour (not including those you can travel to festivals and London from) so presumably Cardiff and Birmingham would be on there as warm up gigs
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Didn't you say things go better with a little bit of razzmatazz?
I don't really trust that mailing list. I never get emails from it, does anyone else?
I don't think I've had any emails from it since the Happy New Year one. I expect some hip media type who is in charge of PR type things probably assumes email is hopelessly archaic by now and only uses Twitter or Facebook or something I've never even heard of. I heard a news item recently about tickets only being available through those square bar code things smart phones use, on the grounds that absolutely everyone has one now! Well I don't for a start, but then I'm not between 18 and 30, so I probably don't count as a person. We'll be expecting personal letters in the post next!
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We'll use the one thing we've got more of, that's our minds.
Or it'll be like the Stone Roses one, announcing it hours before the actual gig and first come = first serve. (they even had to bring a CD / LP / Tshirt or something to show they were actual fans, otherwise they couldn't get a ticket). Which is an easy way to do it, but it sucks for people coming from far.
I certainly don't live at the same address as I did when a member of PulpPeople. I found out about the Sheffield gig from an alert friend who happened to be on facebook that morning. It's frustrating that they didn't email us first. They should use Bar Italia to announce a fans show! I wonder if Jarvis ever peruses the forum...
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If you didn't come to party then why did you come?
There was an interview, before the first recent shows, when he was asked about whether he was going to keep the beard and he said he wasn't sure, there had been forum discussions ...
It isn't obvious what the best thing is for them to do, those who did pick up last week's message were glad of avoiding the scrum that happens when everyone has been given plenty of notice, as did happen on Friday. But obviously for those who weren't able to pick up the tip-ofdf straight away, it's not a good thing at all. Even with that relatively low key announcement, it was on Radio Sheffield in about a day and I heard that interview with Nick replayed twice on 6Music news over the following day, not really feasible to keep things quiet these days. So the only other way is to have some sort of proof of fandom, like when football fans have to produce x number of match ticket stubs to get Cup Final tickets or some such thing. But that's not much help if you have to physically take that somewhere as someone has already mentioned, as with the Stone Roses techinique, or if you're simply not old enough to have acquired the requisite items back in the day.
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We'll use the one thing we've got more of, that's our minds.
It's so hard to strike a balance between getting the fans yet not letting word get out to everyone. I like the ticket stub idea though! Some bands do ballots or twitter competitions but even those methods won't guarantee the hardcore fans. I guess Bar Italia is the best option, at least for a heads up!
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If you didn't come to party then why did you come?
If the band were to take up your kind offer of announcing stuff here can you imagine the volume of traffic on the forum? That with all the trappings of the modern general public bringing with them their stupid points of view & a tidal wave of spam.
So... prior to BLUR's big semi-final olympic Hyde Park gig they are playing no less than FOUR small venue warm up gigs as well as a BBC secret show and just announced today a 100 club warm up gig.
It would be nice if Pulp could do something similar prior to Sheffield - as in a few announced, possible to get tickets for warm up gigs. Not sure how I feel about the 100 club/BBC style competition/ballot shows though.
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If you didn't come to party then why did you come?
Perhaps they could do akin to what Foo Fighters were doing when promoting their last album, announcing last minute gigs at tiny venues via facebook and twitter.
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Didn't you say things go better with a little bit of razzmatazz?
What have the Foo Fighters got to do with 'God hating fags' in particular? Kurt Cobain wore a dress? Or is just that 'all rock 'n' roll is homosexual'?
Echoing the concerns about the mailing list, every time I've tried to sign up I get sent to a page that doesn't exist. I've always just assumed it didn't work for everyone but now people are mentioning a new years email I'm concerned!
The idea of needing a ticket stub or something is cool but I reckon a large amount of Pulps audience now are 25 and under and wouldn't really have had a chance to collect anything like that.
Regarding the Foo Fighters thing I think they wrote some sort of parody the "church" took exception too. I remember something about the lyrics heavily concerning "man muffins"...
Think how many people have tickets from last years shows, surely you couldn't discount them for not being 'real' fans? As for me, I'm not really sure where my Pulp tickets are but I do know that there wasn't one for my first show and at least one other disintegrated due an excessivley sweaty concert of bopping. The only ticket I could lay my hands on is an aftershow party ticket. Maybe I could get away with a badge as I was never really a t shirt buyer and it definitely wouldn't fit me now if I had bought one 'back in the day'.
I don't think I have any tangible memorabilia except for my RAH ticket, the Wireless ticket was a scraggy sheet of A4 paper I printed out at home, all the albums I have are on iTunes with the exception of a CD of Different Class that lives in the car and I don't know where the box is. I don't go for t-shirts and other such merch either. Why should those with lesser resources who can't afford to fork out for multiple concerts be excluded? I wasn't really promoting that as an idea, more thinking aloud about what possibilities there are for getting tickets to genuine fans.
On the ticket reselling question, I am clearly very ignorant here, not having been a gig-goer until the lure of Pulp overcame my fundamental anxiety about it all. I always thought ticket touting was illegal and those blokes outside football grounds have to go and hide round the corner when the coppers come along. Large companies reselling tickets on their website are obviously not being in any way furtive about their actions, so how is that possible?
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We'll use the one thing we've got more of, that's our minds.
Has The Limit re-opened yet? Maybe they could do a secret show there. Apparently the new owners approached The Human League to play the re-launch but Phil and the girls were asking for too much money.
I found out about Sheffield in time to get pre sale tickets because I'm on gigs and tours emailing list. Nothing to do with fb or twitter, or even checking on here first. Just a regular email from gigs and tours telling me Pulp tickets on sale Friday, which made me come and here look.
With regards to reselling tickets, I'm going to see Blur in Wolverhampton and my name is printed on my ticket- I have to bring I.D. and the card I bought said ticket with along to the gig. That sort of thing may not completely put touts off as it would be difficult to check the identity of everyone going to a gig, but at the very least it vastly reduces the resell value of tickets as there is always a chance that the buyer may not be able to get in to the gig. So if something like that was in place for some small Pulp gigs then we'd hopefully be able to avoid the tickets all going to touts.
My daughter and her mates went to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Birmingham, and it said on their tickets they would need to show the card the ticket was booked with,which was a problem as they were all students and had booked on their parent's cards (of course). They decided to risk it and not one of them got asked to show the card.
Has The Limit re-opened yet? Maybe they could do a secret show there. Apparently the new owners approached The Human League to play the re-launch but Phil and the girls were asking for too much money.
Doesn't look like it's reopened yet and anyway it's not in the same place it used to be so it isn't really The Limit.
... why were they so desperate for people to stay and watch The Verve? Maybe they were The Verves new marketing team.
Slightly on-topic but last year I went to one of Adam Ants first come back gigs and ended up at the barrier. Que a 40 year old man and his wife telling me I (a 20yr old girl) didn't "deserve" to be at the front because "we bought Prince Charming the first day it came out!", intimating me and actually grabbing my arms until I moved. Unfortunately security didn't see and wouldn't do anything - when I told them I was scared for my safety and showed them the red marks on my arms one actually told me I was "free to leave the gig whenever I wanted". I later found out they had flown from Italy to follow Adam on every date of his UK tour. Got my own back when I gave one the wrong directions to the train station and he missed the last train - I know this because he complained on the Ant People forums about me!
-- Edited by Lauren on Thursday 26th of July 2012 02:57:42 PM
Im also going to see Blur in Wolverhampton and definitley if Pulp played smaller gigs/ warm-ups to the sheffield show then I think that would be a good idea.
Im also going to see Blur in Wolverhampton and definitley if Pulp played smaller gigs/ warm-ups to the sheffield show then I think that would be a good idea.
I am jealous of you. Just thought you should know :)
Didn't find out about the small Blur gigs 'til it was too late. Ho hum.
Im also going to see Blur in Wolverhampton and definitley if Pulp played smaller gigs/ warm-ups to the sheffield show then I think that would be a good idea.
I am jealous of you. Just thought you should know :)
Didn't find out about the small Blur gigs 'til it was too late. Ho hum.
Yeah, this Blur tour hasn't really been promoted all that much! I guess they didn't need to. I feel incredibly lucky going to this gig, having already seen Blur in a similar sized venue (Newcastle Academy) back in 2009- which was possibly the best gig I have ever been to.
I did get to see them about four rows from the front at Glastonbury back in, when, 2009? which was pretty special, but due to the crush my girlfriend wasn't able to stay near me, so it was a bit of a lonely gig.
Blur at Wireless wasn't great due to all the nobs around. They were very good at Leeds in '03 though, but even then, when I was in The Pit, the people around didn't move around for Popscene. Pah!
I've also seen them at Manchester Apollo ('03/'04?) which was seated and thus a bit dull.
And glimpsed them at V97, but wasn't impressed as I hadn't taken the then new album to heart back then...
Hmm. I've seen Blur rather more times than I'd thought!
Blur were brilliant in 09 at Glasto, one of the best headliners I've seen there, and it made up for 98, when I spent the whole time trying to see the band but a massive guy was in front of me and deliberately kept moving so I couldn't watch them. What a prick!
I missed about half an hour of Blur in 09, I ran off to see the Aliens, and hardly anybody was there. Poor Lone Pigeon complained that even his girlfriend had gone to see Blur!
Liltman, your story reminds me watching Darren and Jack from Hefner playing Hefner songs at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff a few years back. They were joined on bass and drums by two of the Wave Pictures and it was an amazing gig.
Unfortuntately, stood at the front (front centre) was a man of around 6'4" who stood, facing the band and chewing gum resolutely throughout.
Bear in mind
a) Clwb Ifor Bach barely has a stage b) Darren Hayman was playing a whole set of Hefner songs! c) Darren & Jack had played a few gigs on the tour - just the two of them - but only this and the previous night had featured a full band (with the rhythm section being manned by Hefner fans)
All in all, it was an amazing gig...but that tall, dull, chewy man permeates all of my memories of it.
Not always, Sir. I seem to remember the second Brixton Pulp-gig being entirely free of 'dickwads'. Likewise Blur at Glastonbury 2009 (for me anyway) was fine. These are just random ones off the top of my head.
Oh yes, and every single gig (bar one) at Indietracks. The exception was being on front row for Veronica Falls. The twee next to me put an umbrella up. I said "Do you think that's really fair to the people behind you?" He made a face like I'd just killed his rabbit, left his place on the barrier and disappeared.
It's rare for me to get annoyed by anyone at a gig because I ususally lose myself in it and don't pay attention to anything but the stage. But I'll make a special exception for a loathsome family at Glasto last year who made a circle of chairs up the hill by the Pyramid Stage during Paul Simon. The mum told her young son to tell anyone off who dared to get past them (to leave the field), and he duly did. Obnoxious little shit, but not as bad as his mum.
I remember at V98, people created a circle of fire around the back of the Verve's audience in order to stop them leaving. That sounds quite farfetched at this juncture, but I definitely remember it happening. Creating this was easy as a lot of the metal bins were already on fire, so it was just a matter of linking them up with more flames.
Not too big, and I wasn't in it, the family were messing about inside it. What really got me was they were being rude to people much older than them who just wanted to leave the field. It was really hot and there wasn't a lot of room to get out of there. I wish I'd said something but the dad looked like a bit of a nutjob. A circle of fire eh? What drugs were you on?!
I wish I had, if I wasn't so knackered I would have gone over to Hawley too. Simon was a big letdown wasn't he? I was in such a bad way on that last day, I basically dozed in a chair until the sun went down. The minute there was shade when Eels were on I suddenly came alive!
They treated you like that and asked you for directions?! Glad you got your own back, tossers. Two of the funniest people I've ever seen in a crowd were at the Pulp gig at Dalby forest. They were stood at the front near us for British Sea Power, dressed entirely in tweed and seemingly on ketamine.
Stephen, where you upstairs or downstairs in Clwb Ifor Bach? Personally, it's one of my favourite venues.
At the RAH in March, this dick decided he deserved to be up front and tried pushing me and my friend from our positions during Babies & Disco. Genuinely the worst person I've seen do that at a gig, most people try to do it subtlety (as in put their hand on the barrier to pull them forward) but I usually end up stopping them. My favourite for that was when I saw Muse at Wembley Stadium in 2010, I'd queued since around 5:30am and a French girl tried slipping her fingers through and stealing my spot during White Lies, so whilst I was jumping and enjoying the set, I slammed an elbow on said fingers, she yelped and moved away.
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Didn't you say things go better with a little bit of razzmatazz?
A guy I was next to when I went to see the Jesus and Mary Chain passed out on the rail and all these people tried to swarm his spot while he was lying unconscious instead of trying to help. I was like "Uh....really??"
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The trees, those useless trees, produce the air that I am breathing
I later found out they had flown from Italy to follow Adam on every date of his UK tour. Got my own back when I gave one the wrong directions to the train station and he missed the last train - I know this because he complained on the Ant People forums about me!
Also, the whole "deserving" thing, so what if someone hasn't been a fan as long as others for whatever reason. If someone is dedicated enough to travel and queue all day (like at RAH, I woke up at 5am to travel from Wales and queue all day), then they deserve that spot over someone who's been a fan for however many years but turns up at doors and expects to just be let onto the barrier.
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Didn't you say things go better with a little bit of razzmatazz?
Certainly, barriers are first come first served and people should respect that. 1st night Brixton I arrived normal time (well doors opening) and enjoyed dancing in the crowd. 2nd night we arrived early and got to the barrier. Halfway through Baxter Dury a young couple started weeding their way in initially with a hand resting on the barrier then as we danced coming in closer until we were all squashed up on the barrier. Very unimpressed but too polite to shout at them and potentially ruin our gig!
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If you didn't come to party then why did you come?
Steven, I'd have shouted. Or done the traditional 'elbow on hand' thing.
I've been second row a few times. Yeah it's frustrating that you're not on the barrier, but most gigs if you get there an hour early, you can easily get on the barrier. Being late and expecting to get there is just Stupid and Rude.
Also, the whole "deserving" thing, so what if someone hasn't been a fan as long as others for whatever reason. If someone is dedicated enough to travel and queue all day (like at RAH, I woke up at 5am to travel from Wales and queue all day), then they deserve that spot over someone who's been a fan for however many years but turns up at doors and expects to just be let onto the barrier.
This won't be popular, but I disagree. I would never have the cheek to physically pull someone off the barrier (the Adam Ant thing done to Lauren was outrageous), but the fact is in once you're in a crowd you have to accept that no one really cares who queued up at what time to secure the right to stand in a particular spot. And if you are near the front, once the gig starts there is going to be a huge amount of movement around you anyway. You just have to accept it and stand your ground as best as possible and get on with enjoying the gig. Sorry, but I am one of those who people who is very polite and well mannered in all other social situations, except when my favourite band is playing a gig. Then I am possessed with the desire to get as close as possible and no one is standing in my way. Without the use of violence of course. And I do leave the front barrier alone because it restricts your movement and stops you dancing.
Maybe I'm getting old but I really don't get this need to get to the front of gigs. I'd prefer to stand back and enjoy the music rather than getting jumped on by some idiot singing/shouting terribly along to the hits
Shotoki - if I can't get to the front, I'd rather be at the back than anywhere else. I like the front - you can see all the minutae going on that makes a gig so interesting, you can shout at the band (!) and sometimes you even get them holding your hand and singing into your face (a la Jarvis with Sheffield Sex City).
My main problem at the back is being surrounded by people who seem to not want to be there at all!
I understand that it means a lot to some people to be at the barrier so I'd never try to push them away - myself ending up at the barrier at Adam Ant was just 'cause I turned up early due to poor planing. I planned on moving to the back once it got a bit too sweaty and pushy for me and only argued out of principled really. You get some people who hold on for dear life. Some need to realised that once everyone starts dancing it can be difficult to control where you end up and as much as you love your sweet spot centre front it's not the end of the world if you move to make someone else more comfortable.
Thanks to surgeries I'm past it now and have to sit anyway -_- I'm always praying the row in front of me doesn't decide to stand.
Liltman, I think I made the right decision with Hawley over Simon, although I was worried about hearing Simon had done a full Simon & Garfunkel set or something. But, of course, he didn't.
Hawley and Duane Eddy were excellent. A full set's worth of dancing.
Shotoki - if I can't get to the front, I'd rather be at the back than anywhere else. I like the front - you can see all the minutae going on that makes a gig so interesting, you can shout at the band (!) and sometimes you even get them holding your hand and singing into your face (a la Jarvis with Sheffield Sex City).
My main problem at the back is being surrounded by people who seem to not want to be there at all!
Some good points there, I know the front has its benefits. I just thought RAH was surprisingly enjoyable sitting down and I hate all that pushing around (like at Wireless).
I'm definitely more on the side of the Westboro Baptish Church than Dave Grohl and his shitty post-grunge band with gurning dwarves in their videos. Everlong is the shittest song of all time, beyond even That Fucking Song by Elbow.
-- Edited by PaulTMA on Thursday 2nd of August 2012 12:49:23 AM
I like the front - you can see all the minutae going on that makes a gig so interesting, you can shout at the band (!) and sometimes you even get them holding your hand and singing into your face (a la Jarvis with Sheffield Sex City).
...or the "just as long as you save a piece for me" part of "DYRTFT?"
yes, they do. i wish they (or anyone) would've done a full video of "this is hardcore" from night one at radio city. it was truly, truly one of the most amazing/beautiful/spectacular things i've ever been witness to. seriously.
