I'm in! I can see Clemens, he's with a pretty girl, but he doesn't see me...
Of course he's front row full center, I'm a couple rows behind on the left.

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My PJ Harvey gallery

people are squatting all the orchestra floor now...
get up people!

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My PJ Harvey gallery

wow I have some POWER people just got up now...

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My PJ Harvey gallery

i thought you were gifted...... not sure @ what but i knew it must be something!?!?!?

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Snetta

Olivier hasn't posted in over an hour now. Something terrible must have happened.

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Click to see the PJ Harvey Gigography

LOL!

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"He intentado ahogar mis penas, pero el hijo de puta aprendió a nadar."

Faceplace • El Jay

... and just when you were looking forward to the live report

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'Good Golly, Miss Polly!'

Tonight in Paris she played pretty much everything that she has in store on this tour : all LES + bside + DBTW, The Sky Lit Up, Cmon Billy, The Devil, Big Exit. The encore was Meet Ze Monsta + Angelene + Silence.

Was it good ? Well, yes, of course, because her voice is perfect and everything is well played.
Was it surprising ? Not a single minute. I can't help thinking of these gigs in 2004 (and before that, but I was too young to attend), when every song could be followed by something completely unexpected. Tonight was good but with no passion. The beginning really lacked energy. The best moments in my opinion were Glorious Land, Bitter Branches, DBTW and Monsta because something seemed to happen between her and the audience.

After Silence the audience kept applauding and calling for her for more than 10 minutes. Even Marianne Faithfull (or her lookalike at the balcony) was applauding. She didn't come back, despite the screaming passion in the venue. Playing something solo (such as Rid of Me, as she used to do a few years ago) would have made everyone happy. There, after having applauded for more than ten minutes, most people seemed frustrated.
A friend of mine who was backstage told me that some members of the band were already exhaused - well, it has been 6 gigs - a bit early isn't it ? I really love her and the band, and I think this is her best record since ITD, but I left the Olympia with the feeling that she can do so much better live.

Just back from the concert. This was my first one, though I've been listening to PJ for ages. I'm really fascinated! It was a great experience, I stood very close to the stage, PJ looks stunning with her raven on the head, her voice is better than before I guess, she masters even higher notes pretty well.

As for the setlist it was the same as the first Berlin one. I heard all my LES favorites, cried out at Down by the Water, did some mad jumping on Big Exit, and went to heavens on the encores:
Meet ze Monsta => Angelene => The Silence.

Angelene is a very important song for me personally and she was so incredible this night! Anf right after she sang this bitter anthem The Silence, she sang it in that strict and sober manner, with little shimmer in the wrists, hours after I keep repeating these words:

I go to these places
Intending to think
To think of nothing
No anticipate

As for drawbacks, I just hoped she could communicate with public a bit more than simple "merci beaucoup", she was turned to her interior side maybe, though she did some hip-swaying on The Words that maketh murder. And I agree completely with elsinore as for the criticizm. I just was fascinated by my first PJ concert ever.

I'm sooo looking forward to Main Street Festival I'm attending this summer. Portishead in PJ the same day - what a bliss!

this has happened at every one of the three shows I've been to on this tour: after the encore the audience kept wishing for more, staying in place and clapping insistently and making more than ordinarily loud-noised acclaim (as if saying to the artist: "we won't leave until you play us at least one more song").

and this has grown more intense for each show. at the second show in Berlin there was a moment when it almost seemed as if this wish would come true, as the sound engineers kept sitting in their places, giving (at least me) the impression of waiting for some response from backstage.

but each time our hopes were extinguished when Buddy walked onstage and began turning off the switches, beginning with the little lamps on Polly's table (where she has the setlist and her glass of water).

what else can I say in the way of commenting on tonight's show? above all this: the sound quality was so much better here in Paris than it was in Berlin. both shows at the Admiralspalast were (in my opinion) of inferior quality simply because the acoustics was less than satisfactory. but at the Olympia the sound was really really good. still, I enjoyed the first show in Berlin a bit better, perhaps that was because of the novelty of the experience. (it's getting to be a little repetitive hearing all the same songs over again, night after night. though I cannot find it in my heart to complain. )

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I'd do anything
To see you again
I'd do anything

Well, I'd love the chance to hear the repetition.

She lacked energy? The band did? Both?

For me, I would want to see her perform the newer material and leave the past in the past. I'd love to see her play songs from the last three records as a matter of fact. They seem to go together in a way.

Thanks for the reviews of the shows. I love reading people's impressions.

I don't read French at all, but the reviews on the French PJ forum aren't exactly glowing. Using MS translator here, but you get the idea:
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.a ... tid%2c2%2f

Original page:
http://www.pj-harvey.net/component/opti ... 0/catid,2/

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JelqPcoaAB8"

I wonder how much of the negativity comes from those who want the Polly of "Dry" back?

This record was a radical departure for her.

I also wonder what the reaction to the last tour was because she did the same set at each show for that as well. It was like a "piece" and stood or fell on its own. This reminds me of that a bit.

I share the frustration of not getting a showy kinda concert. But the material on LES is so serious and important - it would be watered out by an encore of Rid of me - as I feel it is to some extent by Monsta... (but maybe would not be by Man-size ).
I understand why she - of all artists! - would like to say: Right! No more encores. What you've heard is my contribution. Go home AND THINK ABOUT IT!
Even stage banter would take the focus away.

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'Good Golly, Miss Polly!'

haha yes a CONCERT happened
I had a 4 hours drive home after the show so I didn't hang around (save for shaking Pollyphoniac's hand...)

I think that all the not-so-enthusiastic comments come from comparison with her previous sets, which is of course not how you should see this one. If you manage to forget all the past tours, this set is brilliant! Her voice is incredible, the songs from LES have so much more dimension live, and the band is simply legendary! (BTW, I nearly bumped into the 3 while walking out of the parking, told myself "wow this guy looks like John Parish" before realizing it was him...)

I also loved this concert for another reason: I had never been this close to Polly! All my previous PJ concerts were seated and I hadn't been really lucky with the seat. From the stage setup it was hard to guess where she would stand, but I was glad to see her stand right in front of me And because of that it often looked as if she was looking right at me while singing... gave me goosebumps at times

Despite what I said about forgetting the past shows, it's the oldies that I enjoyed most... singing along Down By The Water with the crowd, Big Exit, The Sky Lit Up, C'Mon Billy and especially Angelene.

As Pollyphoniac said, we were really hoping for a second encore. I was ready to stay and cheer on until it happened (the Olympia has seen strangest things...) but it didn't. I don't blame her.

All in all, I had a wonderful evening with Polly. People who want a repetition of her last tour (or any other) well, should've been there when it was time. I too wish I had seen her before 2006, but I haven't. Too bad. Instead I prefer to enjoy what she's giving us now.

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My PJ Harvey gallery