Pulp: 26th November 1998 - Doncaster Dome (live)

Off we went up the motorway in our hire car, to land at the crazy pink neon leisure park environment of Doncaster Dome. Here, if you didn't feel like watching Pulp, you could have gone ice skating, roller blading, or swimming, in fact there was a notice pinned to the wall that I'm certain said, "The temperature of the pool today is...Pulp". Yes it was a funny place, Doncaster. Luckily we got there late enough to miss most of Eels, so were able just to stand in the school-sports-hall that was the main hall, just nipping to and from the dressing room to get refills (big mistake - why didn't someone stop me?). Made a nice change actually, it felt like the sort of place Pulp might have played three years ago, and I'm all for that - we don't like arenas!

I asked Nick if they were going to play We Are The Boyz, because I'd missed it at Manchester, and he said "No...but we might do something much more exciting". Ooh! Couldn't find a set list anywhere so within about three seconds forgot all about it. Never, ever, in a million years did I expect them to come out with Anorexic Beauty - I would have bet my backstage pass on it. It was one of those 'feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up' moments, and I just stood there with a massive grin on my face, wowing at the lights and the crowd, who were now split into two camps: the "OhmygodIcan'tbelieveit's", and the "What'sallthisaboutthen?'s". It was fab, I loved it. Good old Gareth Dickinson did his Jarvis bit again.