PJ HARVEY

Perth Concert Hall
Friday, January 13, 2012

Taking on the personas of soldiers and observers floating above battlefields, iconic British singer-songwriter PJ Harvey presented an unvarnished and unromantic view of war on Friday night at the Perth Concert Hall, her first Australian performance since the release of her 2011 Mercury Award winning album Let England Shake.
Dressed in a deliberately rumpled yet grand floor-length black crinoline dress, black leather corset and a headdress of ebony feathers, Harvey opened the show with a slightly quicker version of the title track from Let England Shake.

From there, she commanded the audience’s attention, leaning into her autoharp with her pale skin shimmering under the spotlight trained on her as she stood alone on the right side of the stage, as though to emphasise her observation from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, her impeccably precise waistcoated band (comprised of former Bad Seed Mick Harvey, John Parish and Jean-Marc Butty) was gathered stage left; she would sometimes step back into the shadows as songs were introduced, only nearing the microphone when the time was right.
The effect was heightened by Harvey’s delicate singing voice – which ranged from a soul-plumbing alto to a high-pitched yowl – and by her extravagantly literary lyrics, which are packed with pastoral imagery, showy rhymes and archaisms.
Tonight’s performance more than proved that although Harvey never quite cuts loose she does rock out, and those more observant audience members may have caught a glimpse of sexy high-heeled black leather boots under her flowing skirt as she swayed sensually in the darkness at the back of the stage.
Every song from Let England Shake was played, making for a setlist that was heavily weighted toward recent material. Although the tunes were preoccupied with themes of patriotism and the harsh price that love of country can exact, Harvey never came off polemical and appeared far more pensive than strident. The Last Living Rose and The Glorious Land particularly, excelled in showcasing her unique brand of scary force and beautiful restraint.
Yet even though her sense of control rarely wavered, she still suffered a false start on The Words That Maketh Murder, from which she and her band recovered flawlessly.
A few selected cuts from her back catalogue were also folded seamlessly into the Let England Shake aesthetic, with the phantom wail of Dear Darkness (from 2007’s White Chalk), the earthy seduction of Down By The Water (from 1995’s To Bring You My Love) and the unfettered rawness of Pocket Knife (from 2004’s Uh Huh Her) particularly sympathetic to the bold-yet-vulnerable mood Harvey was attempting to cultivate.
Much to the disappointment of some of the more vocal fans, the gifted chanteuse didn’t offer a great deal in terms of audience interaction and refrained from uttering a single word to the audience until the encore, during which she quickly introduced the band in soft, polite Dorset tones before cranking up the distortion for a liberating blast through a three-song encore of Oh God I Miss You, Angelene and Silence. It was a powerful way to end what is sure to be one of the most visceral performances of 2012.

_JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD