With the likes of Blur, The Charlatans and James all touring, you can be forgiven for thinking you've been transported back to the '90s. But that's exactly how it felt at Cardiff International Arena on Wednesday, July 12 when Pulp took to the stage to play to a sell-out crowd.
Fronted by the charismatic Jarvis Cocker, the Britpop favourites played this very venue in 1996 but those who were there back then - myself included - would probably never have thought the band would return almost 30 years later and actually give an equally electrifying performance.
After initially splitting in 2002, Cocker and co have not only proved to be the masters of comeback, they are every bit as good as they were during their '90s heyday (they formed way back in 1978) and some would argue that they're even better now.
As the band - who recently played alfresco gigs in Scarborough and at London's Finsbury Park - prepared for the opener, letters flashed up on the giant screens either side of the stage. "Make some noise," they asked the fans, who needed no encouragement. "We hear you," Pulp responded before the curtains opened and Cocker, wearing a velvet suit, dramatically ascended on a moving platform onto the stage against the backdrop of a full moon.
After starting with I Spy it was straight into fan favourite Disco 2000 and Mis-Shapes before the pace dropped a little when they performed the glorious Something Changed in tribute to bass player Steve Mackey who died earlier this year at the age of just 56. Cocker told the crowd: "This song is a straight forward love song. Many people have told me they got married to this song. This is for Steve."
Throughout the evening we we treated to all the goodies like Sorted For E's & Whizz, This Is Hardcore, Babies and Do You Remember The First Time? and the ever-changing backdrops, images and even confetti brought a riot of colour to the show.
Cocker's voice sounded as strong as ever against the fine performances from the band and the other musicians on stage, including violinists. At one point, Cocker was even throwing sweets into the crowd "just in case you haven't got enough energy" but this definitely wasn't the case as the fans - both original and a younger generation - lapped it up.
The curtains came down after Sunrise but Pulp knew we wanted more and returned for an encore which included everyone's favourite track, Common People.
At the start of the gig, the letters on the big screen also told us: "This is a night you'll remember for the rest of your life." I still remember the 1996 gig as being one of the best I've been to and, decades on, they didn't disappoint.
Pulp were the latest in a long line of music superstars to perform in the city this summer and among the other names were Blondie, Sting, Coldplay and Beyonce. Welsh legend Sir Tom Jones has a string of dates coming up at Cardiff Castle starting on Friday, July 21. Read more about that here.
