First birdsong, then electric guitar: We were in Berlin for PJ Harvey’s second Berlin concert.
Candle on and go
On October 21st and 22nd, PJ Harvey visited the Admiralspalast in Berlin. The focus of the evenings is clearly: their current record I INSIDE THE OLD YEAR DYING. No support band should be distracting, no large hall should absorb the reverb. At the beginning of the second concert evening, the Brit made it clear that this capital show should primarily be about this work. The first part of the set was complete with the pieces that only finally made sense on the dimly lit stage.
Everything that seemed minimalistic, withdrawn from the listeners or even fragmentary over the length of the album, now came together live to form an XL total work of art with musical and scenic outsize. Polly Jean Harvey, surrounded by her four-piece band (including John Parish), repeatedly brought out new sound heights and colors, pulling herself further up with dance-like hand gestures – until she saw the sold-out venue as a feeling rather than a feeling 1.62-inch individual in her arms.
Adding to the whole thing: the countless bird calls that kept coming through the loudspeakers between the tracks, but also the stage design that seemed like a never-ending branching out. Plus Harvey’s shrine, where she sometimes lit a candle or took a short break. If I INSIDE THE OLD YEAR DYING is a statement of escapism, their live show presented itself as an invitation to perceive the moment in its entirety and with full attention. And their plan actually seemed to work: only a few cell phones could be seen lighting up in the hall and voices could only be heard as a minimal whisper.
The electric guitar, the people pleaser
But then the break. “The Glorious Land” cemented the end of the New Songs slide. The audience became noticeably more restless and the instrumentation became more dense. More demanding. Isolated claps and joyful squeals from the rows revealed that they wanted to get out of the red velvet seats and stretch, gesticulate more and take everything in stride, just like PJ Harvey had already been doing on stage for around 45 minutes.
The 54-year-old continued to make use of her extensive back catalogue. Played “Send His Love to Me,” “Man-Size,” “Dress,” “Down by the Water.” When “To Bring You My Love” started, there was finally the cathartic, collective rising from the seats. Even though the older pieces were in stark contrast to the songs from I INSIDE THE OLD YEAR DYING, the crowd seemed to be happy and happy to be led by PJ Harvey.
Everything found its place – the encores “C’mon Billy” and “White Chalk” also emerged as a clever common thread. The exuberant dancing, raising their hands in the air and singing along with their eyes closed made it clear that in the second part of the show the people pleasers relaxed a tension that they had previously skilfully built up. The electric guitar does everything.