Pulp – Spark Arena: February 22, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)
Pulp brought their You Deserve More Tour to Auckland last night, a mere 28 years after they last performed in our fair city…and their first concert in five months.
I was at that show at the North Shore Events Centre in 1998 and I’ve gotta say, the band…and particularly frontman Jarvis Cocker…have improved with age.
Not that they put on a bad show the first time around…but this was something special.
In fact, its been a special year for fans of live music in Auckland. David Byrne got things rolling with a show I had suggested could be “best of 2026” only to be followed by stunners from Iggy Pop and Lorde.
And there’s Pulp.
Like Lorde, Jarvis and co got one of their biggest hits out of the way early.
After a robotic voice urged us to “Make some noise”, the 9 musicians who make up this live version of Pulp did just that, starting with Sorted For E’s and Wizz and straight into Disco 2000.
“Hi! Kia ora, Aotearoa”.
Jarvis’ te reo is rusty, but his heart is in the right place.
“Thanks for coming. It’s A Saturday, so shall we have a party?”
And the crowd went ballistic as Spike Island is dedicated to New Zealand.
So, no, there was no opening act, just two solid hours of Pulp.
And who better to MC the evening but Jarvis who, along with giving insights into the songs and the working of the band, threw a grape in air and caught in with his mouth, threw tea bags into the crowd, told his band off when they interrupted his banter and sang like his life depended on it.
Is there nothing he can’t do?
Core members of Pulp include Candida Doyle, Nick Banks and Mark Webber, who opened the second set with a stripped back version of Something Changed…as Jarvis offered to “give you an insight into how this tour started”.
There were shout outs to film maker Florian Habicht and playwright Simon Stephens, both of whom were in the house.
For me, the musical highlights came at the beginning of that second set, with The Fear (from This Is Hardcore) and The Hymn of the North, really connecting lyrically and musically.
That followed by the live debut of a new song, Begging For Change…just released two days earlier.
“First time ever!” Jarvis proudly announced before changing the tone…
“We have to calm down a bit”…tossing tea bags before playing Acrylic Afternoons from way back in 1994.
The set list was varied and fun..although personally I would have like more from This Is Hardcore.
There’s always next time, although hopefully we won’t have to wait another 28 years.
“We’re sopposed to finished in two minutes,” Jarvis told us, glancing at his watch after Babies…but it was more than 15 minutes later that Pulp cleared the stage after the inevitable Common People and then…
“One more, one more!”
Those were Cocker’s words, not the crowd as he dedicated A Sunset to Florian and sent us on our way.
Overall, the band, the sound, the lights were spot on…with just enough rough edges to make it feel live and spontaneous.
And Jarvis is…Jarvis..a man who, in spite of, or because of, his British heritage…has managed to become of of the most intriguing, entertaining and passionate front men of the last 40 years.
Marty Duda
Pulp Setlist:
Set 1:
- Sorted For E’s & Wizz
- Disco 2000
- Spike Island
- Razzmatazz
- Slow Jam
- E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.
- My Sex
- Underwear
- Farmers Market
- This Is Hardcore
- Sunrise
Set 2:
- Something Changed
- The Fear
- The Hymn of the North
- Begging For Change
- Acrylic Afternoons
- Do You Remember The First Time
- Mis-Shapes
- Got To Have Love
- Babies
- Common People
- A Sunset
