Do you remember the last time?

One of my first gig going experiences was V 96, a present for my 16th birthday. Living in the middle of nowhere my sister had the job of accompanying me on the Solid Entertainment coach to Staffordshire for the day. It was a Brit Pop era special, headlined by the triumvirate of Cast, Supergrass and Pulp.

It was an eyeopening day in many respects. It was the day I stopped believing that everything Radio 1 told me was true when I realised Cast were truly rubbish. It was the day I began an ongoing relationship with Denim, Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. And, of course, when I fell even more head over heels in love with Pulp.

Pulp, along with Kenickie, were my all time favourites of that era. I did like Blur but Damon's cocky Southern blokey attitude left me a bit cold. I liked glitter and dancing and the thoughts of nightclubs and pulling. Pulp were Northern and proud, and clearly looked like they spent far too long in second hand shops and reading books, yet somehow they still went to nightclubs and managed to pull. There was hope for me yet.

Like the rest of the planet, I paid to see last year's Blur reunion and their massive instant sell-out Hyde Park gigs. The let-down of that was huge. Partly because I had seen them at Glastonbury the week before - a tremendous, end-of-festival, tear jerking moment - but also because the Metro reading, band-waggon jumping, beer bottle throwing crowd did not make for a great time. All the bits I liked about Blur seemed to get lost in the crowd, reduced to drunkenness, singalongs and swagger.

So, with the news of Pulp reforming, I was itching to get out the pussy bow blouses and velvet jackets and see them again. But the disappointment that it was to be in Hyde Park! I don't want to sing along to Sorted for E's and Whizz in a crowd of thousands without irony. I want to see Pulp in a little gig venue, preferably one with a floor like in the video of Disco 2000. I wanted there to be space for just me and my teenage dreams/musical snobbery - or, at most, a few similar kindred spirits. It seems I'm not alone in this desire - unlike the Blur gigs which seemed to sell out almost instantly - the Pulp tickets are still on sale.

Perhaps I'm wrong - and no doubt by the time the gig comes around in the summer I'll have purchased a ticket, paranoid on missing out on something really special - like their legendary 1995 set at Glastonbury. Somehow I'm doubting whether a Barclaycard/Wireless gig can create that same magic.