ELECTRIC PICNIC: Jarvis Cocker Introducing JARV IS

Rock n’ roll or popular music or whatever we’re calling it these days needs more characters like Jarvis Cocker. There he is in the standard outfit, looking like a dishevelled substitute teacher in a slightly ill-fitting jacket and shirt that doesn’t owe him any money. Tonight is billed as Jarv Is so if you were hoping, like I kind of was for a slight return to that glorious Pulp headline show from back in 2011 that you were out of luck. That doesn’t mean it wasn't interesting in parts and you’d have to take your hat off to the sheer bloody-mindedness of the whole thing.

The first couple of songs are a cacophony of violin and pounding drums - there’s even a bit of harp going on at the back - behind Jarvis up on the monitor throwing those shapes that he has the patent on. There’s a debt, in these first songs at least, to Roxy Music’s ‘In Every Dream Home A Heartache’. He alluded to his two previous appearances at the picnic and then jokes “Do you remember the third time?’ Which gets a few of us excited, expecting that Pulp number, but it doesn't materialise. Songs like ‘Follow Me’ and ‘Children of The Echo’ - and I’m guessing at titles - get a kind of mutant disco groove going. ‘Must I Evolve’ tries to capture all of evolution in about five minutes, and fails. The mirrorball kicks in during “I Don’t Want To Lose You Agin’ which at least boasts a good tune.

During ‘Listening To House Music All Night Long’ he’s down into the crowd, touching hands. He then gets some hokey-kokey audience participation going during ‘Don’t You Know?’ Finally, ‘His N’ Hers’ coughs up a few memories although the bizarre audience question time "what are you scared of" is a bit odd - Sober people and Bran Flakes? You had to be there. He finishes out with a very good ‘The C**nts Are Still Running The World’ - as relevant as the evening news.

The crowd willed him on and went with him as much as they could but Jarvis was doing this for himself. Might it have been more appropriate as a theatre show rather than a festival spot? Sure, but there was something admirable about it too. We need more like him.