PJ Harvey concert review and other bits

[estephen@netcom.com (E. Stephen Mack)]

I saw PJ Harvey in concert last night.  It was an amazing show.

PJ Harvey is an English group headed by Polly Harvey.  She's
currently touring the West coast of the U.S.  Last night she played
at the Warfield in San Francisco (it was her second appearance there
in the last seven months).  The concert was sold out.

PJ Harvey's music is quite different from Kate's, but this is the
only music group I read so I decided to post here.  I wouldn't
compare Polly's voice to Kate's, but Polly definitely can
sing very loudly and effectively.  (That was very diplomatic,
wasn't it?)  Her first album, Dry, contained the U.S. hit single
Sheela-Na-Gig and the British hit, Dress.  Her second album, Rid
of Me, has been out for five or six months, and is a little less
accessible and quite a bit more thrash-like.  (But still brilliant,
in my opinion.)  Definitely give Dry a listen.  I'm certain
you'll like it.

Concert: Polly played guitar and sang on left stage, which was
fortunately the side I was on.  She had a drummer and a bassist
and that's all she needed.  It was a fairly straightforward
show: some new songs at the beginning, then some material from
the first album and the new album, maybe twelve songs in all.
She is a very dynamic performer.  My only complaint would be
that the material in concert was almost too close to the
how the album sounded.  The new material is VERY strong: I
think her third album will be her best.  She moved us an
audience.  As we filed out at the end, every comment I
overheard was positive.  PJ Harvey is definitely someone to
look out for.


*** In other news:

MJM@ZYLAB.MHS.CompuServe.COM (Mike Mendelson) writes:

> I picked up a copy of the Utah Saints Something Good CD-5, which,
> for a single, sure has lotsa stuff on it.  Anyways, I had not heard
> SG, which for those who just emerged from hibernation is based (loosely)
> on, and uses samples of Cloudbusting in the mix.  But I like it!

You and I seem to be in the minority around here...


> In general, I would much rather see these types of mix-things be
> done using good music as a basis rather than junk music.

I agree.  The problem is that imitations and samples are taken to
be an insult to the original artist -- IF the sampler is no good (in
the opinion of the listener, of course).

For example, Vanilla Ice's use of the David Bowie/Queen bit from
Under Pressure...   Still makes me shudder.


> I think the guys from Utah have captured some essence from Cloudbusting,
> some optimistic, positive energy (NPI) from that song.

This made me laugh.  Sorry.  It was just so literal, like if you were
reviewing the Cranberries' new album by saying "These tart little red
fruit sure can rock!"

As far as I know, Utah Saints are just one guy, J. Willis, who's from
Leeds (or at least his management is).  Note the "Correspondence/
Merchandise" address in the liner.


*** In other other news:

Picked up Robyn Hitchcock's newest album, Respect.  I must say I like
it a lot.  This film director and his crew from the Nile region
sure can rock.

I've seen Robyn in concert twice over the last year, so I've
heard the new material live.  But on CD it's even better.  The
Wreck of the Arthur Lee is one of the most moving, bittersweet,
evocative songs he's ever done.  And Railway Shoes is just as good.
If you prefer the "Balloon Man" side of Robyn, Wafflehead will fit
your needs.  Steve...recommends it.  Both thumbs up.


*** A random observation:

I am constantly amazed at the difference between a person's singing
voice and their speaking voice.  I heard Tasmin Archer speak on the
radio and I couldn't believe it!  Her singing voice seems so pure
and unaccented-newscaster-non-regional-standard-ey, but her speaking
voice is...quite rural.  Yorkshire, is it?  In contrast, Polly Harvey's
singing voice seems very American (she reminds of Exene of X, actually).
But her speaking voice is nearly posh, every syllable articulated.  I'd
guess she was from central London.


*** And finally a desperate plea:

I don't own two VCRs, don't know how to convert PAL to NTSC, and
can't understand even a single sentence of the postings here
detailing (in far too much detail) what's going on between Jorn
and Chris.

HOWEVER...I'm one of the unflaming majority who would
just like to send someone some cash and a tape in exchange for
the Aspel interview and maybe Rocketman if it's available and
not too much trouble.  If you can help me PLEASE send me email.
I'd be glad to give you a sample tape of PJ Harvey, for example.


--
E. Stephen Mack      estephen@netcom.com

Not much of a quote, but...:
   [really great guitar and some lyrics you can almost but not
   quite decipher] -- PJ Harvey