Live Review: Pulp @ Riverstage, Brisbane

Britpop royalty return to Australian shores for the first time in 13 years with euphoric 'More' tour.

Fresh from the release of their critically revered 2025 album More, Britpop rock royalty Pulp returned to Australia’s shores this Tuesday, 24 February, taking over Brisbane’s Riverstage for a night of euphoric, synth-soaked nostalgia.

Despite being their first Australian show in 13 years, Pulp have aged into this new era with grace, encapsulating a timeless, gritty vitality through their live show. The crowd showed up in hordes. We found ourselves encompassed by a fanbase spanning generations, all brought together by an equal appreciation of cynical sarcasm and exultant exhilaration.

The night started off with the dark tones of brooding Melbourne supergroup Bleak Squad. A collaborative project, the noir band features a stacked lineup, made up of Adalita Srsen (Magic Dirt), Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Birthday Party), Mick Turner (Dirty Three) and Marty Brown (Art of Fighting).

From the moment Pulp took to the stage with their first track Sorted for E’s & Wizz, the crowd settled into a swaying state of presence, much mirroring the large inflatable tube men bordering the stage design. There was a unanimous state of contentment; a collective state of neighbourly respect and a contagious sense of just being glad to be there.

Disco 2000 had every single person from the front of the mosh to the back of the hill singing in unison, grooving along as encouraged by the timelessly quirky charisma exuding from lead singer Jarvis Cocker.

His opening words were expectedly wry with UK wit: “My Name’s Jarvis, and what’s yours? I’m gonna call you Brisbane, is that alright? You alright, are you?”

The band made no secret of their UK roots, frequently referencing locations from their Sheffield hometown and, at one point, even projecting the classic British phrase “Alright” on the big screen.

This British sarcastic self-awareness just about drips off the stage, with Cocker referencing his own predisposition to “shout and point” multiple times. He sent regular chuckles rolling across the crowd in between tracks, including one such moment when he called out, “Would you like some tea?” before flinging teabags into the audience with all but an air of nonchalance.

That said, these moments were rather wholesomely interspersed with surprisingly warm poignancy, such as the declaration before You Got To Have Love, that love itself is what he has discovered to be the most important thing in his time on planet Earth.

Cocker was joined onstage by the core original crew of Candida Doyle (keys/synths/BVs), Nick Banks (drums) and Mark Webber (guitar/keys), with a band bulked up by five touring session players covering everything from multiple drum kits and bass to violins. The band itself was larger than life, and so tightly rehearsed you’d almost forget it was a live show - if you closed your eyes and moved your head just the right amount.

As the night continued to progress over the bed of achingly familiar ‘80s/’90s-infused synths and rock beats, Cocker carved the air up with his abstract, jagged arm movements, intermittently swinging the microphone around with all the magnetism of a lead singer who’s been owning the stage for decades.

Do You Remember The First Time? was a real highlight. There really is something deeply nostalgic about these tracks that makes you feel like a teenager, regardless of when you were born, and witnessing them live intensified this feeling even further.

Announced as the one Pulp song that people get married to, Something Changed was accompanied by a rolling slideshow from the band’s youth. It felt like a tribute to how far they’d come and a real testament to how deeply they still draw a crowd years later.

But there really is no questioning the standout moment across the entire set.

“Whatever shall we play next?” drawled Cocker, amid excited mutterings from the crowd.

As the familiar chords rang across the hillside, collective euphoria took over and didn’t let us go until the final strum. Released in 1995, Common People is one of those tracks that has aged like the finest of wine.

The heavens must have known too, because the very second it began to play, the sky opened up, lighting the air and sparkling our skin with the perfect amount of warm summer rain. Lightly drenched, wrapped in the soft scent of cigarettes and sweat, we leapt in exhilaration as a collective - a universal core memory without a doubt.

The night wrapped up with the draping of a red curtain, an original core band-led acoustic rendition of A Sunset and an earnest explanation that such a calm song had been chosen to close so we’d be ready to walk home “quiet and proper.”

All in all, it’s the kind of show that leaves you with that unshakeable, warm, nostalgic buzz reminiscent of the best moments stitched into the years of your youth. The kind of night you’ll think about long after - you don’t want to miss it.

The tour has only just kicked off in Australia, starting in Brisbane. Find the rest of the dates below: