| PJ Harvey
To some fans of PJ Harvey, one of the essential elements of the band's appeal was the spiky, aggressive guitar playing of its leader, Polly Jean Harvey So Harvey's dismissal of her former rhythm section, her expansion of the touring band from punkish power-trio to a six piece touring unit, and her own abandonment of guitar was cause for some concern. But Harvey's sold-out Sunday night show at La Luna showed that the 25-year-old Englishwoman has the right idea. Downplaying the abrasiveness of the style that made her a critical favorite on her first two albums in favor of an artier approach, she achieved a far greater variety of moods and textures. Without a guitar to otherwise occupy her, she was botha mesmerizing stage presence and a powerfully expressive vocalist. Harvey already has created an impressive persona, an alluring character based on a balance of frankness and mystique. Small and rail-thin, but with huge, striking facial features, Harvey seems at once modest small-town girl and flamboyant star. Coy yet seductive, nurturing yet vengeful, her voic, lyric themes and stage manner reconcile conflicting psychological states with dramatic flair and emotional gravity. Her previous approach, a kind of noisy, angular rock minimalism, was incisive yet limited. It gave a forcefulness to her often blunt discussions of sexual politics, but it took such material no further than had some lesser-known predessors, most notably the early-'80's British band Au Pairs. The expanded band, though, gives her a much broader palette. With two guitars, two keyboards and drums the new PJ Harvey possesses a chameleonlike power. Shifting from sich disquieting such as "To Bring You My Love" and "Down By The Water" to supple, danceable grooves to snatches of the old snarl and bite, the backing quintet ably supported Harvey's theatrical excursions. Her singing has increased powr, flexibility and subtlety (a credit to recent opera lessons, apparently), and she moves with a coiled sensuality that suggests both the feline and the reptile. Though the 75-minute performance left afew fans grumbling in want of more, Harvey did plenty in that time to prove both her taents and her instincts. Opening the show was Tricky, formerly a singer for the British club music outift Massive Attack. Using a variety of dusky textures and understated grooves, his band created a darkly inviting atmosphere that worked especially well on the unlikely cover version of Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos." --Marty Hughley |
