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| PJ Harvey,
Shepherd's Bush Empire |
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| Live,
Dan Wolff,
19 February 2001 |
Rating: F5
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Polly Jean Harvey walks onto the stage by herself stage for the first time in London in over 3 years wearing a sequinned red dress and does a solo rendition of Rid Of Me which has the same effect as a ten ton bomb dropping-devistating. Even the wankers at the bar stop talking and the whole venue is instantly gripped, and will continue to be for the next hour and a half. P J Harvey is playing the first of 3 sold-out-in-a-flash shows to promote her best album for years, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea.
The basis of the show is from the new album which seems to suit the crowd well judging from the deafening applause that greets every song. Wicked Tongue, This Is Love and Good Fortune all sounded great on record but go into overdrive in this live environment. Even when she plays Down By The Water and Send His Love To Me from her weakest album,To Bring You My Love, they are given extra vigour. Polly herself seems genuinely taken by surprise but takes it like a true performer thanks to her new found confidence. Although she is the star of the evening, a lot of credit should go to her new backing band, including the multi talented Rob Ellis on drums and keyboard, who continually switch instruments and hold the show together even when it goes pear shapped slightly during Big Exit.
Fans waiting for Thom Yorke to show up to duet on This Mess We're In probably would have forgotten about him after her solo rendition sounded even better. Older devotees were rewarded with 2 songs from her 1992 debut Dry; frantic versions of Hair and Sheela-Na-Gig got even the chin-strokers jumping up and down. Two encores later and she was gone to leave everyone more than satisfied. The U.K.s' answer to Bob Dylan? No... Much better.
SUN 11 FEBRUARY
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