Pulp Setlist

Sorted for E’s & Wizz
Disco 2000
Spike Island
F.E.E.L.I.N.G. C.A.L.L.E.D. L.O.V.E.
Grown Ups
Partial Eclipse
This Is Hardcore
Sunrise
Something Changed
O.U. (Gone, Gone)
Do You Remember the First Time?
Mis-Shapes
Got to Have Love
Babies
Common People
— Encore —
The Fear
Joyriders
Help the Aged
Like a Friend
A Sunset

Jarvis Cocker knew he’d be on stage in Minneapolis. On Saturday night. And so would Bob Dylan.

One of America’s greatest songwriters would be at Farm Aid, of course: two miles away, across the river, at the football stadium. But that didn’t stop Cocker from rehearsing what he’d say if (when) he ran into Bob. “Do you like empanadas?” “I have a five-foot tall champagne bottle in my hotel room.” “Wear the proper boots if you’re going to walk to the grocery store in the rain.” (Cocker apparently fell down in the entryway of an area Trader Joe’s – on his 62nd birthday, no less.)

Pulp‘s charming frontman disclosed all of this to us over the course of a captivating two-hour show – one that betrayed no sign of his advancing age (62 years and, now, one day). The touring version of Pulp (ten strong, with many of them switching instruments and roles throughout the night) sounded phenomenal, whether picking tracks from 1995’s Different Class or 2025’s More. If you haven’t heard it, More has every bit of the hilarious, absurd, satirical songwriting Pulp had perfect in the 90s (when they were mentioned in the same sentences as Oasis and Blur as Britpop Bands That Might Conquer the World). The evening was full of Pulp’s most popular driving, high-energy danceable pop, albeit with their signature winking cultural critiques.

It’s hard to make the Armory intimate, but the momentum did briefly slow down – for a subset of the band attempting what they called a “recreation” of the living room where the core members reunited to consider recording new music (and embarking on this latest tour). This was called back more than a couple times – reminding us all that Pulp doesn’t need to be on tour. Nothing about this is promised or indeed very likely: an even more special treat.

The Armory has ample room for an enormous video screen, and that presentation supported the show remarkably well. At times, lush: red curtains, impossibly large chandeliers, and kaleidoscopes of Golden-Age-of-Hollywood dancers. Then, distractingly beautiful: ultra-high-resolution animated landscapes (calling back to More‘s album art), and a fitting high-def space-travel motif for “Grown Ups” (a More standout). But also, futuristic: parts of the show captured headshots of crowd members, and animated those, or recreated silhouettes of action on stage. Finally, moving: during “Babies”, the screen showed bits of Pulp’s 1992 video for the same, but also scrapbook cutouts of the era. Truly nostalgic.

But Jarvis Cocker steals this show, jumping up on amps and down from stairs, dancing somewhat hesitatingly, sometimes erratically, but fully intentionally. Our crowd (leaving generous space at the back of the venue) was rowdier than I anticipated, up until the global smash “Common People”, where the audience erupted just as anyone might expect. A five-song encore after that was beyond my wildest dreams, and I couldn’t believe they pushed through such a marathon show. The energy came down again for the closer, “A Sunset”.

The always-compelling Hamilton Leithauser got us started. He’s been to Minneapolis a number of times before, including a 2012 Walkmen show that left me saying “I am never going to pass up an opportunity to see this guy live, ever again”. I’ve broken that promise a few times, but his performance is still can’t-miss. While his solo work coasts a little more smoothly than the chaos of the Walkmen, he still pushes his voice in ways most rock vocalists don’t. Half of his ten songs came from his excellent collaboration with Rostam (2016’s I Had a Dream That You Were Mine) but the new album is also top-shelf.

Pulp and Hamilton Leithauser play Red Rocks on Tuesday – Pulp and LCD Soundsystem are at the Hollywood Bowl on September 25 and 26.