They say you should never meet your heroes, for me the equivalent is finally getting to see an act live whose music I’ve loved for a large part of my adult life. I’ve been a fan of PJ Harvey’s since Sheena-Na-Gig and have been with her every step of her musical metamorphosis. I have in the past been disappointed when finally seeing other artists live who I’ve developed a love for so I approached this gig with a degree of trepidation.
There was no support act, PJ came on stage with her band (John Parish, Jean-Marc Butty, Giovanni Ferarrio and James Johnston) just after 8 and played until 10ish playing a mix of her latest album, I Inside the Old I Dying with some of older songs. She played the new album in full before venturing into her back catalogue and the crowd received it all with the same level of fervour.
The new album is translucent, with a mix of styles and some big themes addressed while also creating an intense sense of intimacy and yet somehow feeling very chilled out. I was lucky enough to review it wheni t came out and fell in love with it then, live it was even better.
Live its amazing, PJ and her band use not just the music and her amazing voice but also the props, the stage lights, dance (very Kate Bush like at times) and constant movement around the stage to continuously challenge the audience, change our perspective and draw us in. I don’t think I’ve ever been as focussed at a gig as I was at this gig, at one point the whole thing became so intense and connected I may have lost focus on breathing. It was an ethereal experience with PJ demonstrating the full range of her voice and her mastery of a number of different instruments.
At one point she walked off stage and the band took centre stage, all at the front, meshing their voices in a beautiful performance which kept the crowd spellbound but then PJ returned and the crowds adulation only increased, her graceful movement around the stage, her total command of her songs, the tightness of the band and the totally human moment of PJ coming in too early on Down BY The Water but styling it out by acknowledging it but then doing a graceful wander around the stage to return to the mike with perfect timing all added up to a fantastic concert.
Several of her greatest songs were played but this was not a greatest hits show, PJ is a highly relevant modern recording artist who, rightly, has confidence in her new material and showcased it to the full. I may have been disappointed that a couple of my favourite songs were not played but that disappointment was heavily outweighed by just how good this gig was.
There was only a single song for the encore, a cover of Bob Dylan’s Black Eyes which PJ told us she’d long wanted to cover and now finally had a chance to do so. The highest compliment I could give her is that it could easily be one of her own songs, so perfectly did she take control of it and own it.
The only slightly down note of the whole night was the confusion at the end over whether a second encore was going to happen, the way things were managed suggested it was a strong possibility but eventually, after what seemed an age, the lights came up, which did prompt some boos as the crowd were having such a good time you could tell no-one wanted it to end.
So, at the start I mentioned that I approached this gig with trepidation, I really shouldn’t have, the gig was prefect, everything about it clicked, it was seamless, even the aforementioned early entry on one song just added to it. Polly Jean thanked us for making her and the band happy, I think it’s us that should have been thanking her for one of the best live gigs I’ve been to this, and many another, year. If you haven’t seen PJ live, if there any tickets left, go buy them now. You won’t regret it and I will definitely not leave it so long next time!
Words by Iain McClay
Picture: Hels Millington