PJ Harvey 2016 tour

You've completely exaggerated everything I've said, but hey - what're ya gonna do?

Reminder: I liked the show. I wasn't complaining about PJ's lack of comments/"thank yous".

Just made an observation and was curious to get input from those who knew her live shows better.

Didn't realize I'd hit a nerve!

 

Good show overall - didn't make me a fan but I thought it was a well-done performance, albeit one with no apparent spontaneity.

Perhaps this phrase as a possible "but for" modification to the performance conclusion seems to some to incorporate the "spontaneity" as necessary to a totally "well-done performance." Speculation, but it can be read that way from my perspective. Only my second PJ show, the other last year in NY on this tour, and it just seems that's the way this series of performances were intended. Her "moves" were different from NY, for what that's worth. For me, it's cool, and I enjoyed both. She puts it out there, and you like it or not, no pretending some relationship exists that doesn't. I THINK she tries to weave a spell, for the lack of a better term, and "chatter," banal or not, would arguably run counter to that goal.

I was in front, and a lady two seats from me (who immediately left after the main show and well before the encore) kept yelling stuff like, "Say something, Polly Jean!"-that got annoying.

On a possibly related note, I hung around, just to see if she would come back out like she was said to have done on a couple this tour. and folks asking for the setlist were admonished that the stage crew couldn't do that. That setlists were distributed in NY-don't know if it's the venue OR maybe PJ is just getting to be a snot.

 

Not really meant as an insult. I see lots of artists who put on heavily-choreographed shows, so I don't require a loose, freewheeling "anything goes" performance from everyone.

I do think the lack of apparent spontaneity for PJ's kind of show is a surprise, though. It's one thing to time a show to the last second if you have 10 dancers and synch the songs to video backing, but PJ does none of that, so the apparent pre-planned nature of the whole thing surprised me.

Could the "no spontaneity" comment be a criticism from someone else? Sure, but from me, it's just an observation!

Yeah, that's a good thought, though doesn't the fact she talks some counter it? Or maybe she timed the show so that the parts where she speaks - with band intros being the big one - don't interfere with the "spell".

And FWIW, I don't insist everyone be a chatterbox on stage. I remember when I first saw NIN - Trent didn't say anything for the longest time, and I liked that, as I thought such an aggressive performance would feel "soft" if he yakked with us. I was disappointed when he did say something!

That was no lady - that was ME!

 

This still doesnt answer why you mean it is so important that she chats,and talks during her show. As said. I just think speculating in stagefright,and other things because she dont act like you expekt her to is a bit disrespectful to a great artist.
Maybe she think it interfer with the dynamic of the show? Maybe it doesnt fit the "stage persona" she is in this show? I dont know,and i dont care.

 

Where did I say I thought it was "important" that she chats during the show? Fact: she chatted less than pretty much any other artist I've seen live, and I was curious to know if this was typical.

I never said that she HAD TO talk and that her lack of chit-chat harmed the show.

Wondering if she has stage fright isn't "disrespectful" at all - again, this is someone about whom I don't know much so I was curious about her history and how the show I saw fit.

You're churning insults and disrespect where none exist...

 

It looks that way,when you start speculating in stagefright/critisism, it just seemed like it was important to you. And if you screamed at her,and tried to get her to "say something Polly Jean" it also looks important to you that she do.

 

LOL! And I'm not taking your observation/question as slamming or such. Personally, I liked the NY and Wolftrap shows as presented.cwd

 

No, not "important to me". One more time: I was curious about the show and how it connected to her other performances. Nothing more, nothing less - no "ulterior motive" to criticize PJ...

Dude, I didn't yell ANYTHING at the stage, much less "say something, Polly Jean". When I claimed I did so, that was a joke!

 

Thanks! Man, if I'm getting this much blowback as it is, how bad would it have been if I'd disliked the show???

 

After years of seeing almost nobody in concert except for the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan, I'm use to concerts where the artist doesn't talk to the crowd. It doesn't bother me at all.

 

Did she even intro the band at Terminal for the NYNY show last July?

 

Was that the first or second night? Seriously, I was in such a trance I was zoned for a lot of the show.cwd

 

When I saw her (last year), I thought she/they brought the songs to life on stage. It was not a situation where they were playing songs note-for-note from the albums. Or at least it did not seem that way which is what counts.

It does not bother me if an artist does not chat with the audience. It does not bother me if they do chat if it is interesting or adds in some way to the entertainment. It does bother me if I am starting to think that they are talking too much and should shut up and play. This last happens from time to time (can't think of an example of the top of my head).

 

Second night I believe (the night I was there).

 

She introduced the band at all 4 shows I saw.......both Terminal 5, Brooklyn, and SummerStage.

I'm sure she has the whole tour.

 

My bad. Thanks. Although I think the band is tremendous, I guess that shows how much I valued vocalization by PJ, above and beyond the songs.cwd

 

Agreed with your conclusion. Sums up what I wished to express.

 

Perspective does matter!

How chatty is Patti?

 

I absolutely loved the Wolf Trap show. It was one of the most amazing concerts I've ever been to. I was very close to the state and I experienced those very annoying women who keep yelling for her to talk. I seriously wanted to slap them.

It's not true that PJ never talks to the audience, she has been chatty on some other tours.

It's just that the nature of this particular tour is more like a theatre piece, than a typical rock concert. Actors on Broadway don't stop the play to chat to the audience. This tour focuses mostly on songs from The Hope Six Demolition Project and Let England Shake which are both very political serious albums. I really think if you are singing a whole bunch of songs about war, genocide, terrorism, poverty and drug abuse, it doesn't really work to stop between songs and chat it up with the audience and make jokes and talk about what you had for lunch or what kind of eyeliner you use. It would totally break her character and destroy the spell the whole audience was under.

She introduced all the band members and thanked the audience at the end, so I didn't think she was at all rude.

 

I saw her show last night at a big festival ( but she was headlining ) .
It was mesmerizing .

 

what diemaudit said...

 

That's great and I believe that it was mesmerizing. I see that last night show from Rock En Seine, Paris was also streamed on the internet and now has been uploaded by someone.
I haven't yet unfornately seen PJ Harvey live in concert, but I hope to see her someday. I really hope

 

Been at Budapest's Sziget Festival two weeks ago where I caught her for the second time in my life and have to tell, while leaving, I was both stunned and dissatisfied. She did deliver a really inspired show - regardless the location (certainly served better if it was staged at a much more intimate venue than an open air main stage of a festival), - but I found her set a bit repetitive, especially considering her quite eclectic and beautiful discography full of songs still holding out in today's awful political setting which she did not incorporated to the current setlist. I respect her artistic stand creating this very setting and vibe, including a band which was also quite something but it did not worked in my view as it should have been. The reference she staged of the drowning migrants was beautiful for instance but the needed impact, or call it catharsis got lost in the relative sameness that I have experienced throughout her set (in spite of the fact that I do love Let England Shake from a to z, not to mention her early cult albums). Hope in the near future she will get back to some of her more profound, in-your-face performances with a smaller scale band, where the impact is not lost on the altar of theatrics.