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Today there are not many popular figures aged 43 that still have a cultural significance with youth, yet as the Plug over populates with fans young and old it's obvious Jarvis Cocker is still one of the most respected men in music. For example, tonight's show is the second sold out date in the singer's hometown since his previous performance eight years ago. During this time the Britpop icon has spent many years slowly dissolving all ties with the Steel City - until tonight. Tonight Jarvis is desperate for us to like him, he's nervous, and even he knows, as he bounds onto the stage confidence galore, that there is a slight chance Sheffield may reject him, the way he did the city.
But of course he does not show it, announcing "Its Chinese New Year today. The year of the rooster, which lets face it may as well be the year of the cocker- so beware!" as he flounders around the stage without a care in the world, almost like a caricature with his oversized glasses and flannel shirt. As he kicks, literally into 'Don't Let Him Waste Your Time' he proves to the audience that he can still provide the trademark moves from the nineties as his voice appears to be completely out of synchronisation with his body.
During 'Big Julie' Cocker towers over the audience, his tall skinny skeleton twists one way to the next as he delivers dance moves that would make anyone else look the equivalent of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, but Cocker looks the essence of cool, delivering jumps that would have Ricky Wilson green with envy. Also his performance brings the debut album to life as each song receives a boost through Cocker's deliverance onstage. His constant enthusiasm for the songs along with his friendly banter with the crowd creates the perfect package for fans.
However Cocker does have a tendency to patronise the crowd as he mentions recent planning changes in Sheffield, that are either old news or the wrong information, and these anecdotes do also appear a little rehearsed as he checks old northern slang with the audience. Through this barely two songs are played in succession, showing Cocker's slight nerves as he paces the stage. And as he returns for an encore of 'Running The World' followed by Talking Heads' 'Heaven' the audience take a collective inhale on the off chance of an old song, but instead as he decides to nod towards the Human League's 'Being Boiled', it's hard to understand how anyone could reject Jarvis Cocker.
As he adds to another Sheffield memory he finally exclaims, "I don't know why I'm saying this really, I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I can move to big old London, or to Paris but my heart's still here, and its my lame way of trying to connect." But what he doesn't realise is that there was no need to connect. Tonight's performance sold out, not because of Jarvis' stance on Sheffield but because of his music, his persona, and his effortless charisma onstage and he, above all people should not have to worry about that.
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