Pulp at the Bowl

A little over two years ago, I met up with Allison in Glasgow to see Pulp headline the first day of the TRNSMT festival.  I thought then that it would be the only opportunity for me to see them live, having spent the group's 90s heyday in northern BC, a place where few musical acts ventured.  But no, I got to see them, and they sounded very very good.  Allison and I had a great time reliving the music of our twenties that day in Scotland.  And I was content.

And then I learned that they would be playing at the Hollywood Bowl. 

And, what?  It was scheduled for the two days after my return from Hawaii?  Yes, please!  Conrad and Van had planned to be away on a road trip this past week, plans scuttled by Conrad's surgery, so I bought one ticket and was thrilled to get to go.

At Chris and Allister's wedding late last month, I was seated at a table that included a couple I hadn't met before.  The wife, Uda, is a member of the same book club as Chris.  The husband, Aidan, told me that he was coming to LA for a concert and more.  What concert?  Why, the same one as me.  To be fair, he was coming because he is a big fan of the actual headliners, LCD Soundsystem (and I still shake my head that they were the headliners because even today, a day after the concert, I am not).  So we exchanged numbers and said we should meet up, and hey, we did! 

A drink on the Bowl grounds before the show, and then to our seats, which weren't that far from each other.  Aidan and I found each other at the break between acts, and since I was in a better location (not by much, but a little better) and since no one had claimed the seats on my one side, he simply moved to enjoy LCD Soundsystem next to me.  Curiously, he left after several songs, giving me a hug and saying good night.  He made it to his hotel fine, though, so I'll chalk it up to exhaustion or something and hope he enjoys the rest of his time in LA.  

I stayed through most of the set, but I bailed a few songs early to get a jump on the crowds that would be exiting and heading for the shuttles.  The LCD Soundsystem stuff was fine,

I moved a little, but the guy just didn't work the crowd (and maybe he didn't need to), and I felt like it was an odd fit with Pulp.  Ah well.

But Pulp!  As the opener (co-headliner?), they had a little over an hour and gave us a dozen songs.  Three from the new album, which I've been enjoying a bunch, and the rest of them familiar hits.  Of course it all culminated with Common People, and of course I knew all the words to sing along.  I thought they did a great set, truly. 

Oh, and yes, I bought a tshirt - I also got a lot of compliments on the one I wore to the show!

Van and I have a show later this fall, a group he's into, and I'm happy to go along.  The three of us have Herb Alpert (yes, he's still performing!) and Chanticleer later this year as well.  I recently bought Dan Mangan tickets for February as well.  Not a super-busy line-up of concerts, but it's fun that we have some things to go to.  It does mean an occasional late night like last night, but hey, seeing Pulp again was well worth it! 

TRNSMT 2023

So here it is, the big long post about the main event in Scotland.  Lots of ground to cover here.  Shall we begin?

I hadn't seen Allison in over five years.  By our recollection, it was spring of 2018 when last I was through Toronto and managed to connect with her.  So odd for someone who at one time lived two floors below me in Montreal.  So strange for someone who was my best woman at my wedding.  But the magic of messaging and Zoom have kept us in touch regularly these past years, happily.  So when I finally saw her outside the John Lewis in the Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow, it didn't feel like so much time had passed.  No, instead it felt like two friends heading off into the city to go hang out together.

And for almost ten hours, and with much music to enjoy, that's what we did.

Thanks to Van, I've now been to a couple of music festivals, but this was kind of new to Allison.  Going to a festival in another country was new to me, for sure.  I didn't know much about the TRNSMT festival prior to this - Allison was the one who told me that it is the successor to T in the Park, and some online reading since my return showed me that TRNSMT has not had the best reputation.  Glad I didn't have that to fret over until after the fact!

Unlike Coachella, I was able to buy for me and Allison a one day pass each (and VIP+ at that!),

which was good because we really were there for the Friday headliners, Pulp. 

Oh, we saw more than just that group, and if we'd been there all weekend, we would have made the most of it.

We got ourselves into the VIP entrance quickly,

made our way to merchandise so as to avoid missing out on things (I've had that happen, darn it), and then decided to pop by the second stage, the King Tut Stage, to see the act that was finishing up there, Hot Milk.

We caught the tail end of one song and then their last song of the day, which is probably their big hit, or perhaps "big hit".  I don't think they've actually charted a single.  You know, I liked the energy they had, but it's not music I'm inclined to listen to otherwise.  Still, happy to catch at least a quick listen.

From there we headed back to the VIP enclosure to take a short break and have a drink from the gin truck. 

Yes, a food truck that only served gin drinks, essentially only G&T of various versions.  It was nice to do.  We took those with us over to the main stage and from there caught Paul Heaton.

Back in the 90s, I was a fan for a while The Beautiful South, which, in turn, was founded by former members of The Housemartins.  Paul Heaton was one of the main songwriters and vocalists for The Beautiful South, and he's gone on to solid solo success in the UK.  Or perhaps "solo" - he's done a lot of work with former Beautiful South vocalist Jacqui Abbott.  She, alas, has had health issues, and so for this set he pulled in a local artist, Rianne Downey.  They did a great job of it together, and while I only knew the Beautiful South songs that dotted the set (plus Happy Hour by Housemartins), I enjoyed it through and through.

We stuck around for the next set, and that's when all the very young folks - mostly girls - streamed in.  Niall Horan, formerly of boy band One Direction, was up, and his fanbase was very present.  But you know, I've heard him interviewed on Q with Tom Power on CBC, and he sounds like a really good guy.  I'd heard a few songs before, and they were fine.  He delivered a decent set,

which sounds like damning him with faint praise, but it's more a reflection of not knowing his catalogue well.  I liked it, I have checked out more since the concert, but honestly?  I was more into the Harry set I saw at Coachella last year.  Sorry, Niall!

Allison and I had the great food truck dinner after that, and then decided that instead of catching any of the George Ezra, who we didn't really know at all, we would go over to see Dean Lewis. 

Apparently Catriona, Allison's daughter, really likes him.  I was startled to find when I got back home this past week that I had a song of his in my playlists because I didn't recognize his name or the music at all.  But we stayed for the last few songs of his set on the King Tut Stage, and then headed for the main event.

Ah, Pulp.  I am far from an expert on modern music (or any music), but I had my big Britpop phase back in the 90s.  Blur were my tops, and I liked Oasis (it doesn't have to be either/or), but Pulp were probably the third pillar of that musical time and trend, and I would put them second in my heart behind Blur (and I would move Oasis below some other groups like the Manics and Supergrass and perhaps even Echobelly and Sleeper, all depending on what we want to call Britpop).  I am sure Pulp came to North America multiple times, but I never got a chance to see them.  Now I did.  And, as an early landmark birthday present to Allison, now so did she.

We got deep into the front pit area, though not super deep.  It was fine enough for us, though.  The crowd had shifted to being a bit older.  We later found out that there were upwards of 50,000 in attendance. 

And it seemed we all knew all the words.

The curtains parted, and we heard the opening strains of I Spy.  Jarvis came down the stairs on the stage,

and we were off.  I knew every song, some better than others.  I sang along like everyone else.  There were surprises (Like a Friend and Sunrise) and some songs I wish they had done (Mile End, Joyriders).  They leaned most on the Different Class album, and that makes sense.  It was the big one, but it was also such a critical success.  And everyone had a good time with the whole set, start to finish.

TRNSMT was staged in the Glasgow Green, a park immediately east of downtown and adjacent to residential neighbourhoods.  As such, there was a curfew.  Pulp finished at about 10:51, I think, and we joined the thousands of people streaming out of the venue.  I walked Allison to the Queen Street station so that she could catch the train to the suburbs where she was staying with a cousin, then I headed on back to my hotel.  I genuinely had Pulp songs in my head, and even the next day I found myself singing out a few lines now and then.

It was a short trip - three full, non-travel days in Glasgow and that's it - but so worth it.  Sharing such an awesome concert experience with Allison?  Happy birthday to her, but hooray for both of us getting that.  I had a fantastic time.

Disco 2000

Singing along with the common people, so to speak, at the TRNSMT festival yesterday.  Another quick post with more to come after I am home from this adventure in Scotland.