PJ Harvey Roll Call

Agree…PJ was wonderful. Her voice was so on tonight.

Unfortunately, so were the people standing around me. They talked through every fuckin' song. I kept thinking, "Why are you here?!?" So I probably didn't get into the show as much as I could have because of those dumb fucks. But it was a great set. There were a couple of folks near me who flew up from Florida to see her and they loved the show. :)

Well, I guess I'll be the dissenter then. This was one of the most disappointing concerts of the year, and I go to ~50 concerts per year. The audience was the most anemic I've experienced at the 9:30 Club in quite some time. They could barely get enough energy to applaud at the end of the concert. Pathetic. The only time the audience got animated was when PJ came back out on stage for the second and final encore. I put part of the blame on it being an early show on a weekday, but I must say that I thought PJ's performance was lacking energy and passion. Her voice was excellent and the band played very nicely, but there was something missing. Part of it is the material. Her most recent album (which I like quite a bit actually) doesn't quite have the same raw energy as her early albums, but she seemed almost too rehearsed and was more concerned over her levels than actually performing through most of the first set. The concert finally started to get good with the last song of the main set. The first encore rocked and was quite good. The second encore was uninspired.

I got the sense that the audience was pretty lame as well, but I was right up front, dead center and everyone around me was very animated and into it. Enraptured might be a good word. I thought the whole show rocked like a mofo, esp. the road warrior bassist. As far as the new material not being up to previous stuff, I disagree there. "Who the Fuck?" was pure venom, and "The Darker Days of Me and Him" was great…very intense I thought. All in all, I enjoyed this concert very much but sometimes you have to factor in where one stands, who is around you, what the sound is like in a particular spot, etc. Luckily, I was able to enjoy the show on all levels. Here's the setlist, which I was able to snag :)

Fountain (amazing opener I thought)
50ft Queenie
Who the Fuck?
Dress
Evol
Victory
My Beautiful Leah
A Perfect Day Elise
It's You
Good Fortune
The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore (brilliant)
Cat on the Wall
Uh Huh Her
The Letter
Me-Jane
—————————–
I Think I'm a Mother
Reeling
Meet Ze Monsta
Big Exit
—————————–
The Darker Days of Me and Him

And PJ was wearing her yellow 50-ft Queenie dress tonight.

Maybe the concert would have been better if I had been up front. I saw a couple people up there that seemed to be enjoying it. For what it's worth, I was a quarter to a third of the way back from the stage, dead center, and I didn't see this venom of which you speak. I suspect I was pretty close to where Random Citizen was actually… The sound was impeccable tonight, I thought. No complaints there.

I have a feeling you're right there…generally speaking when you're right up front you can ignore the audience…it seemed like Polly was having a good time overall, but then again, so was I :)

were you just to the left of the sounddesk? I was there as well - the people from Florida were very chatty but were kinda funny as well

Originally posted by Random Citizen:

Unfortunately, so were the people standing around me. They talked through every fuckin' song. I kept thinking, "Why are you here?!?" So I probably didn't get into the show as much as I could have because of those dumb fucks. But it was a great set. There were a couple of folks near me who flew up from Florida to see her and they loved the show. :)

Originally posted by brennser:
were you just to the left of the sounddesk? I was there as well - the people from Florida were very chatty but were kinda funny as well

Yep, I was standing next to them. I guess I didn't mind their chattiness because they were really into the show. The other folks were just annoying.

Originally posted by Random Citizen:
And PJ was wearing her yellow 50-ft Queenie dress tonight.

From where we were standing, we couldn't tell if this was a pic of the Virgin Mary or Rosie O'Donnell.

I enjoyed the show and I was at the front of the bar close to the stage. I thought the audience was lame but I wasn't exactly jumping up and down either. I was just sittin back, sippin' on some captain and cokes and enjoying the show. I could see her every time she comes to town.

Because people have so much more energy at 11 pm on a weeknight than they do at 7?

Originally posted by Darth Ed:
Well, I guess I'll be the dissenter then. This was one of the most disappointing concerts of the year, and I go to ~50 concerts per year. The audience was the most anemic I've experienced at the 9:30 Club in quite some time. They could barely get enough energy to applaud at the end of the concert. Pathetic. The only time the audience got animated was when PJ came back out on stage for the second and final encore. I put part of the blame on it being an early show on a weekday, but I must say that I thought PJ's performance was lacking energy and passion. Her voice was excellent and the band played very nicely, but there was something missing. Part of it is the material. Her most recent album (which I like quite a bit actually) doesn't quite have the same raw energy as her early albums, but she seemed almost too rehearsed and was more concerned over her levels than actually performing through most of the first set. The concert finally started to get good with the last song of the main set. The first encore rocked and was quite good. The second encore was uninspired.

I had a great time. I thought she was really good. I usually tend to get bored by the end of the night, if I'm not too familiar with the performer. Not this time.

It was the kind of sold-out show I hate though. Very crowded (probably because her soundboard was taking up too much space) and very little movement from the crowd. It's hard to stand perfectly still for 2 hours. Move the slightest bit and you're bumping into at least 2 people.

Great show though.

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Because people have so much more energy at 11 pm on a weeknight than they do at 7?

[/QB]

I was thinking the same thing. :confused:

At the risk of sounding like a headbanger (not like I care!), I do have to admit that I really wanted to rock out a couple of times but felt as though I would get some dirty looks or angry words from people around me since nobody was moving. Not that I think I'm obnoxious when I move around (I always try to be respectful of my neighbors), but during "Who the Fuck?" and "The Whores Hustle" I thought it was just shredding music and I wanted to go with it. It would have been fun if people got more animated and let loose a bit.

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Because people have so much more energy at 11 pm on a weeknight than they do at 7?

I think people at 11 have been drinking longer. Lots of people were talking about how they had to haul ass from work to get there.

I was in the back and it was a great show, her voice fantastic. I think it being early and the pressure of having to be done at a certain point took away a little from the performance, but I was happy. I don't see how you can jump up and "rock out" and still keep such an incredible voice.

I hope Critters Buggin was bullshit. They sound it.

i was there.. in the front.. i was really into it and was moderately crazy lol since everyone else around me were stone. lol

my review:
http://www.livejournal.com/~fishhookandline

ohh yeah + i was the kid who's camera's flash kept going off. i couldn't help it.. it did it on it's own [it was a disposable, + i didn't press the button or anything] i was lucky enough not to get it taken away. i already developed them.. probably put them up sometime soon!

Overall, it was an excellent show with a great set list that had songs from all parts of her career. (I personally hate those shows where artists insist upon playing all of the new album and ignore the older stuff.) I would have got more into it if it had been later just because I had to get up so early to get my hours in at work to get to the show on time, but overall I had a great time.