Pulp’s glory days are now; Jarvis Cocker & co dazzled at Brooklyn shows (Night 2 pics, setlist, full video)

Pulp‘s “This is What We Do For an Encore” tour is full of theatrical moments: props appeared at various points throughout the show, including a disco ball, a chandelier and lounge chair, video intros, audience participation moments and more. But all you really need is Jarvis Cocker, one of the last true rock stars. A lanky nerd sex machine in tailored corduroy and oversized specs, Jarvis held court at the gorgeous Kings Theatre for two nights, dancing nonstop, jumping on and off the risers, singing prone on the floor. For much of it he was cast in in silhouette where his exaggerated moves and gangly thrown shapes could be seen from the back rows of the balcony. Cocker, who turns 61 on Thursday, may not be the glammed up Britpop pinup he was in 1995, but he has lost zero of his appeal. Neither have Pulp.

For the most part, Saturday was the same dazzling show Pulp have been playing on their EU festival dates this summer and North American shows this month: opening with “I Spy” and “Disco 2000” from Different Class and finishing 16 songs and two encores later with “Glory Days” from This is Hardcore, with not a dull moment in between, and at least a dozen showstoppers any band would kill just to have one of. There was the high drama of “F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E” and “This is Hardcore,” the pure euphoria of “Disco 2000” (with Jarvis leading a handclap into and the entire place bouncing up and down), back-to-back His N’ Hers classics “Babies” and “Do You Remember the First Time?,” cheeky non-LP single “Razzmatazz,” and of course “Common People” which ended the first encore, brought the house down, and had the entire place dancing along and singing too.

With two nights Kings and probably more than a few fans who went to both, Friday and Saturday’s shows were just a little different. It was guitarist Mark Webber‘s birthday, and at his request they played “Bad Cover Version,” after which the audience spontaneously sang “Happy Birthday” to him, and the first song of the second encore was “Spike Island,” a song about an infamous Stone Roses show in the ’90s that was debuted in Chicago last week and was played for a third time on Saturday. “I think it’s going over pretty good,” Jarvis said in an intro, and I’d have to agree.

The expanded lineup of Pulp for this tour — Jarvis and longtime members Mark Webber, Candida Doyle, and Nick Banks plus new members Emma Smith, Andrew McKinney and Adam Betts — sounded fantastic, really brought their glammy cinematic songs to life, and seemed to be having a great time playing them to big crowds of adoring fans, many of whom never thought they’d get a chance to see Pulp live.

“Spike Island” is one a number of new songs Pulp have been playing on this tour and all of them are good. It seems like we’re going to get a new album, which would be their first since 2001, and which is not something I would’ve ever predicted. So it is not all nostalgia. “These glory days can take their toll / so catch me now / before I turn to gold,” Jarvis sang on the final song of the night, but I’d argue Pulp are still very much in their glory days.

Check out photos by Stephanie F. Black from Kings Theatre Night 2 (including opener Escape-ism), along with full fan-shot video of the show and the setlist, below.

Check out pics and setlist from Kings Theatre Night 1 here.

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SETLIST: Pulp @ Kings Theatre 9/14/2024 (Night 2)
I Spy
Disco 2000
Bad Cover Version
Something Changed
Pink Glove
Weeds
Weeds II (The Origin of the Species)
F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.
Sorted for E’s & Wizz
This Is Hardcore
Do You Remember the First Time?
Babies
Sunrise

Encore:
Like a Friend
Underwear
Common People

Encore 2:
Spike Island
Razzmatazz
Glory Days