You can't be a spectator - Thirteen observations from a Pulp concert in the year 2026

1) Jarvis has still got it.

2) Seriously, Jarvis Cocker has been getting up on stage for nearly 50 years now, and he knows how to work a crowd. He knows what shapes he can make in front of a blazing screen, he knows when to strategically deploy his arse wriggle, and the things he does with his hands can not be replicated by any other human being.

3) He can also bend like a motherfucker. 

4) I've been hoping to see Pulp live for more than 30 years ago, and they didn't disappoint, with a powerful and moving experience. It was everything I could have asked for, and so much more.

5) It was a very sensible gig - there was a 15 minute interval, and Jarvis threw tea bags into the crowd, and managed to make someone sitting in a comfy armchair look truly epic.

6) Bands that return to the stage after decades away can obviously be just phoning it in, but even with a few more wrinkles and a lot more grey hair up there, this felt like a band at their absolute peak.

7) Their brand new song - Begging For Change - was loud and fast and angry and very impressive, this is still definitely a band with something to say.

8) That new tune is coming out on a new War Child compilation, and that's the first I've heard of that, and I will most definitely be buying that on CD when I see it. That one that came out in 1995 was a game changer for me.  

9) At least half of the people who work in my office were there at the show - it's music for nerds and we are all very definitely nerds in public radio.

10) You can be 10m away from some dipshit letting off a flare in a crowded space and not even notice, because who looks backwards at a concert? 

11) There may have been a taste of AI in the background projections, especially since the band has dabbled in it recently, but it only lasted a second.

12) I was tempted by the Pulp beach towel in the merchandise trailer, but $70 was taking the piss.

13) I was not at all tempted by the white underwear under the glass. They didn't even have a price tag on that.

* All pictures taken by my mates Nik Dirga and Chris Walker, who made a great night even better