Hi all, new to this forum as I wanted a place to share my Pulp concert experiences.
I first saw Pulp was in 1986 in Hull with my sister. My sister was big into Pulp, and tried to get me into them as well. Unfortunately, this gig did not leave much of an impression on me and I did not really like Pulp's sound. I was more fascinated with their stage decor rather than with the songs which I thought were too gothic for my tastes. Now, granted, I did appreciate their sound, and appreciated them as a band, but it just wasn't for me. I also remember being intimidated by the band during this time, Jarvis was very tall and reminded me of Lurch from the Addams family (no offense to Jarvis). There was also some middle aged guy next to me who kept telling me that Russell looked like Hitler. My second Pulp experience was the one that won me over and left an impressionable mark on me. My second Pulp experience was in Halifax in 1991. I went to this gig with three of my friends as we had not seen Pulp for a while and it was cheap.
The audience were made up of artsy university student types, and as were the times me and my friends were all desperately looking for some ecstacy. We sat through a couple of support bands which we didn't really enjoy, and then on came Pulp, armed with hoola hoops and plastic balls. Jarvis was wearing a big wooly coat and was otherwise bare chested which we found very amusing. They started playing and the first song didn't hook us, but then they played Live On. By this time the chemicals had an effect on us and we were all dancing like mad in the corner. It was a really loud concert which I loved, and it sounded teriffic. I was really surprised by Pulp's new dancier direction and liked it a lot. Remember being really impressed by Steve Mackey's bass playing (may he rest in peace), which was a lot funkier than when I last saw Pulp. Unfortunately the gig kept getting interupted by a humming sound. They also played Live On again as an encore for some strange reason, but I was happy with that as it was my favourite song they had played that night. Was also really impressed by Countdown, which I went out to buy after the gig. Also remember being impressed with Jarvis and Russell's freaky dancing. Overall 10/10 Pulp are one of the best live bands I've ever seen.
Great story- I would have loved to have seen them in the early 90s, some of their best material was conceived during this period, you just have to admire how they just carried on without any success for so long and also for staying true to who they were- that's what I really like about Pulp