PJ Harvey Lets me Shake.

On Thursday, April 14th, PJ Harvey played a show here in San Francisco at the Warfield theater. I had never been to the Warfield, and I had only seen Harvey once before after Uh-Huh Her was released, at a free show in Amoeba in Hollywood. Aside from the obviously drastic change in scenery the show was a completely different experience. Harvey had managed to morph herself and her performance from the punk inspired queen of alternative rock into a kind of ethereal harrowing ghost of a neo-jazz vocalist.

The space is so large it's hard to imagine the space being filled with anything other than a full orchestra or a loud rock band, but Harvey managed to inch herself into every corner of the theater with just herself and three other musicians (including frequent collaborators, Mick Harvey and John Parrish) and her new collection of beautifully understated, purposeful and indefinable songs. Her new album "Let England Shake" is neither akin to her previous piano heavy release of the hauntingly crooning "White Chalk", nor is it very comparable to the old screeching guitar rock she broke into the music scene with nearly twenty years ago. "Let England Shake" is somewhere in between, making it feel like hallowed ground to someone like me who treasures uniqueness and exploration in artists. Pulling off such a transformation is no easy task, but she accomplished it in strides.

The stage was bare, but a cluster of instruments off center for the musicians. Harvey herself had her own microphone on stage right where she would stand in her almost puritan-like dress, with a hairstyle that looks like it belonged to the Goth from Whoville, switching between guitar and an autoharp. The stage set with her aside, as well as the dim, purposeful lighting gave the impression of an intimate jazz bar, even though I was forty feet back and thirty feet up in the balcony.  She opened with a few of the unique songs from "Let England Shake". I would try to describe them here, but they are unlike anything I've heard from any other artist. What I found most impressive was how she was able to compliment her new songs with songs that were released almost fifteen years ago, and make it all sound like one cohesive piece. In addition to the full play list of her new album, she sang two songs of "White Chalk", "The Devil" and "Silence", which she deftly hit all the notes to! She also performed classics such as "Down by the Water", "C'mon Billy", "The Sky Lit Up" and "Angeline", all which were slightly tweaked to fit with the new very tight songwriting she exhibits. This ability to make a singular experience covering songwriting from almost her entire career shows that he maintains a connection with her history as an artist, but is always looking for new avenues to navigate.

I could go on forever about how much I love PJ Harvey. I love every single one of her albums, all for very different reasons. What I love most about her though is that she always keeps you guessing what she's going to do next.