Concert Review - Tumblr Posts
It's been one year since my Arctic Monkeys show on The Car tour. It was everything, from the moment they started with Four out of Five. It was such a HOT, sweltering night in Philadelphia at the Mann Center and dropping into the velvety lounge mood of TBHC felt so right. We even got One Point Perspective in the encore!
In the spring and summer leading up to the show I'd converted from a casual fan who was fond of early singles to, well, Tumblr. 🤣 AM was not my “oooh this is my band” record. I'd lose my mind if I heard Number 1 Party Anthem but I'll just smile if I hear Arabella, please don't @ me! I really fell in love with Alex's songwriting because of the newer work. I expected a lot of AM songs with the 10th anniversary of the album, and we got that. That's what the young (so young, god it made me feel old) crowd wanted and they got it. For me, it was just amazing to see Sculptures, Mirrorball, and Body Paint. And reaching back to FWN, I got Florescent Adolescent (my karaoke favorite!)
To date it's the most I've ever paid for non-festival concert tickets and I still wish I'd paid more so I could have been in the very small pit and seen them and Fontaines DC up close. It’s amazing that Arctic Monkeys are still together and making good music after 20ish years as a band. Seeing them was a gift, and if you're on the fence when a future opportunity arises, just GO!
I had the opportunity to buy a show poster, and had my heart set on it…only to find that night's design to be THE ONLY ONE I DIDN’T LIKE FOR THE WHOLE DAMN TOUR. But, I got the poster from the next date directly from the artist and I love it. I love classic film and the Hitchcock's Vertigo vibes really work for me.
If you're looking for a print from your show, I recommend going this route! I found a bunch of this tour’s artists’ shops. So if you are looking for something, I may be able to help- just dm me!
Keep that mirrorball spinning!
On seeing Pulp's 555th show
I spent Friday the 13th 2024 at the enormous, ornate Kings Theater in Brooklyn, worshipping at the altar of Pulp. Miraculously, I was super close, center left stage, 3 people deep from the boundary rail. The crowd was not as engaged as Chicago, and the fans nowhere near as chatty. But to be eye-contact close to Jarvis Cocker? SWOON-WORTHY.
The set has been pretty similar across the tour, but I got two happy surprises. One was incorporating OU into the set! My original copy of Pulp Intro on vinyl (in all its 1993 glory including a fanclub postcard) is one of my favorite possessions. OU is a really fun pre His n Hers track. And honestly getting that + Razzmatazz + Like a Friend hit my sweet spot.
Second surprise was the debut of another new song, Got to Have Love. I didn't try to record it because my phone sucks and I wanted to be in the moment. It was good, and moreover it was fun to see the band working through new things. Being close to the stage allowed me to see how the core band members interact. It was a joy to see Mark, Candida, Nick, and Jarvis playing off each other. The additional touring members really added a lot to the sound. You could tell that everyone on stage wanted to be there and was having fun. I'm looking forward to listening to the other new tracks, but between this and Spike Island I'm hopeful we have a new album and more touring on the way.
The performance was electric, and seeing Jarvis dancing and commanding the room in all his awkward, graceful, sleazy, seductive glory was everything. He may be 61 years old today, but he hasn't lost a beat. I got actual chills during Hardcore. He murdered that song. Britpop = dead (not that Pulp ever was Britpop to me, as a fan who found the band later and grew up in a part of the US that barely heard Blur on the radio!)
This video isn't great quality, but please enjoy this snippet of I Spy. It gives you a sense of how Jarvis interacts with the crowd and how dangerous Pulp feels compared to its peers. It was magical.