PJ Harvey @ The Orpheum, 10/15/07

pj harvey at the orpheum PJ Harvey made a pitstop last night at the Orpheum, playing one of only a handful of shows to promote her haunting new album, White Chalk (review here). I knew this was going to be a special night when a scalper actually paid me face value for my extra ticket.

On entering, the sparse stage seems to echo the stripped-down nature of the new record. A keyboard, a cymbal, an autoharp on a chair, two small amps, and an upright piano adorned with Christmas lights and various knickknacks are assembled in a small, intimate circle.

This is the first time in memory that PJ has played a true SOLO show with no additional musicians. The performance is no less powerful as a result. Through all her various incarnations, PJ’s always been a compelling performer, and tonight is no different. Everything that makes PJ Harvey such a vital performer is here in full force – Her masterful dynamics, her ability to challenge expectations, and her talent for reinventing herself.

PJ takes the stage to rapturous applause, clad in a white Victorian gown similar to the one she’s wearing on the new album cover, only this one has several song lyrics stitched into the sleeves. She jokes that it could come in handy if she forgets the words to any of the songs.

In a sharp contrast to the depressed persona she embodies on White Chalk, PJ seems practically giddy. Throughout the 75 minute set, she smiles a lot, dances from one instrument to the next, and seems positively chatty. She engages the audience in conversation, asking when the Orpheum was built, and having the house lights turned up so that everyone can admire the theater's beautiful chandelier.

pj harvey at the orpheum

She straps on a Firebird and opens the show with a chilling “To Bring You My Love”. She follows it with “Send His Love To Me” before heading to the piano for a trio of new songs, “When Under Ether”, “The Devil”, and “White Chalk”. Her piano playing is rudimentary, and I mean that as a genuine compliment. When she adds harmonica to the coda of “White Chalk”, it nearly sounds like a Neil Young tune. Laid bare(r), the songs resonate on a truer emotional level. Vulnerable, but not maudlin.

She spends the entire evening flitting from one instrument to the next. “Down By The Water” and “Grow Grow Grow” are both reimagined on the autoharp. The latter suffering from the thin arrangement. She plays a beautiful version of b-side “Nina In Ecstasy”, after introducing it as one of her favorite songs, and wondering why she left it off of Is This Desire?

Despite the intimate mood and setting, this was not an entirely quiet concert. The setlist was peppered all the way through with raucous favorites, such as “Man-Size”, “Water”, and first song of the encore, “Rid of Me”. Each is played loud, and delivered with all the ferocity that you would expect from a full band arrangement. She barks and snarls her way through a nasty “Who The Fuck?”, and “Snake” is a blissful 90 second burst of pure punk pathos.

For the final song of the evening, PJ sits with an acoustic guitar, and plays a soft, soft “Desperate Kingdom of Love”. It’s so quiet, that the vocals are literally competing with the hum of the PA speakers. It’s a stunning, potent ending to an awe-inspiring evening.

pj harvey at the orpheum