Like an extrovert who can’t quite look you in the eye PUP gave themselves a soft launch, with frontman Stefan Babcock joining Illuminati Hotties for a song during a support slot which was easily good enough for top billing. Co-ordinated in block-colour outfits the Los Angeles indie darlings delighted a crowd only slightly smaller than the one PUP attracted, and one peppered with their own merchandise. Band leader Sarah Tudzin might have been having the most fun of anyone in the venue, leading a mass singalong to ‘Frequent Letdown’ and just generally not embodying the name of the track in any way.
Neither did opening band Goo, whose British indie rock was beautifully delivered, and the headline act couldn’t be further from it – after enjoying a couple of tracks from latest album Who Will Look After The Dogs? the crowd fully erupted to the singsong punk rock of ‘My Life Is Over And I Couldn’t Be Happier’. The energy remained near boiling point throughout a jam-packed set which saw PUP’s trademark happy/sad belters interspersed by wholesome moments of connection and unity.
Babcock gratefully accepted a letter from a delirious fan in the front row which he promised to read later and probably did, proudly carrying it off stage at the end of the show, and shortly afterwards informed us that he and the band had enjoyed dinner at Bristol institution Chilli Daddy. In a world where relatability has become a commodity online, these four Canadians genuinely do feel like people you could go for a beer with and have a lovely time.
A case in point – halfway through fan favourite ‘Morbid Stuff’ Babcock called an abrupt halt, ditching his guitar to rush to the aid of a crowd surfer missed by security – he reprimanded them to “pay the fuck attention”, and they spent the rest of the evening earning their keep containing the frothing mass of bodies in front of them. And that mass of bodies, its devotion and its catharsis, is what makes PUP so special, a band seemingly desperate to make it about anyone except them.
When they promised to “do something for ourselves” it was simply to romp through ‘Bloody Mary, Kate and Ashley’ off the back of a rusty run-through at soundcheck, a decision begrudged by absolutely nobody. Fittingly, the night’s crowning moment was a supercharged rendition of ‘Reservoir’ with Tanisha Badman from Goo on guitar (she learned the chords two hours earlier) and Illuminati Hottie-in-chief Tudzin outdoing Babcock as the best frontperson on stage – probably exactly the way PUP wanted it.
Words by Joe Ponting
Pup official
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