15th AUG 2003 - Eden Project - ST AUSTELL, CORNWALL UK
To Bring You My Love
Dress
Good Fortune
Oh My Lover
50 Foot Queenie
Missed
Joe
Snake
Water
Big Exit
Who The ****
Sweeter Than Anything
I Think I'm A Mother
Man-size
Me Jane
The Whores Hustle & The Hustlers Whore
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Angelene
A Place Called Home
The Dancer
Rid Of Me
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Shame
Hook
Ecstasy

PJ Harvey (Guitar/vocals)
Rob Ellis (Drums/Percussion)
Mick Harvey (Bass/Organ)

PJ Harvey / Elbow - Eden Project, Cornwall

This must surely be the most stunning concert environment anywhere in the world, and the ticket price included admission to the sub-tropical domes which are already the UK's top visitor attraction. Add in the lack of queues, the fresh air, the Cornish pasties and two great bands, and you have the sort of bargain that the average gig-goer never experiences.

After Elbow had played such a quietly honest, reflective and generally inspiring set that a good half off the audience will certainly go out and buy their new album, the stage was set for PJ Harvey's first UK appearance in two years (apart from the traditional warm-up in Bridport the night before). In situations like this, expectations and hopes are so high that it almost hurts.

Elbow, with their brass and backing singers, had proved that more can sometimes indeed be more, but with PJ Harvey, less has always been more. The return to the trio format has been dreamed of by fans for years, and with Mick Harvey and Rob Ellis being so unobtrusively spot-on, this was the Polly Show in a big way. Within a few songs, it was obvious that this was to be her first-ever "greatest hits" set, which brought the already warm-hearted audience to a state of ecstasy. Opening with a quadruple whammy of "To Bring You My Love", "Dress", "Good Fortune" and "Oh My Lover", Polly demonstrated a willingness to present her fans with exactly what they so crave to hear. In a performance spanning every album she has made (plus two enticing new songs in the middle of the set, entitled 'Who The Fuck' and 'Shame'), she demonstrated how the stripped down format can actually benefit the songs, rather than detracting from them.

There were so many facets to this show that it's very hard for a reviewer to convey them adequately. Who else could sing decade-old songs with such freshness and conviction? Who else could have musos drooling over her beautiful guitars and vintage amplification? Who else could ever carry off an outfit which makes your average tennis pro look like a Victorian prude, yet still not lose a hint of dignity? I guess everyone present had particular favourites they were waiting for. Mine were "Water" and, oh joy, a first encore of "Angeline". But not one second of this event (and that included the lengthy between-song tuning-up sessions) was anything less than totally compelling.

A uniquely brilliant artist has returned to bring light into everyone's lives. Welcome back.


THANKS TO OLIVER GRAY

review published in LOGO magazine (UK) and also AMPLIFIER magazine (USA)