PJ Harvey – Live Review – The Piece Hall, Halifax
By Steve Crabtree, August 2024
Rainy Tuesday nights are becoming a bit of a thing in Halifax at the moment. But things are always a little better when PJ Harvey is in town.
It was the multi-award-winning experimental rock artist’s turn to headline The Piece Hall stage this time around. And the 6000-strong audience didn’t go home disappointed.
Harvey provided a first half set of acoustic-driven folk, which meant people were transfixed on her and this unique stage presence throughout it. She let the music do her talking, and began the night with ‘Prayer At The Gate’, before seamlessly shifting into ‘Autumn Term’ and ‘Lwonsome Tonight’.
In fact, the first nine tracks of the evening were taken from her 2023 album I Inside the Old Year Dying. And what we got out of this was a clear, crisp sound. The fusion of traditional and electric instruments worked nicely on the huge Piece Hall stage too. Then, bring in the lighting and LED display, and we had quite the dramatic feeling.
That was framed alongside tunes such as ‘A Child’s Question, August’ and its July counterpart made their way into the setlist. As did ‘A Noiseless Noise’, before the band performed ‘The Colour Of The Earth’.
“Mesmerising”
Thanks to the power of social media, I’ve seen tonight’s performance termed as mesmerising in some quarters and spellbinding in others. It was certainly that sort of vibe throughout the night, with an obvious crowd of PJ Harvey loyals, looking on in silent admiration. It provided something of an eerie atmosphere, and not one that I’ve ever witnessed at a gig before.
After returning to the stage for the second half of her set, Harvey injected a subtle amount of punk power into the show. ‘50ft Queenie’ was a classic well-received. ‘Man-Size’ and ‘Dress’ stood out too, taking us towards the end of a wonderful 20-song main set.
“A stark moon”
When PJ Harvey did talk to us, she did so to thank the crowd and tell us that she’d never played in this beautiful place before. If people were mesmerised by her show, the feeling seemed mutual to the surroundings she was performing in. And she’s not on her own here, with the majority of artists who’ve been here this summer saying similar things.
Her encore was a two-song affair, with ‘C’mon Billy’ and ‘White Chalk’ bringing the evening to a close, whilst a stark moon entered the sky behind the stage. Quite an appropriate way to end this evening.
We’re in the home straight of this year’s Live At The Piece Hall season. And it’s been a year that’s catered for every taste under the musical sun. PJ Harvey certainly played her part in that, and the sell-out crowd will no doubt remember this evening for a long time.
Images: The Piece Hall/Cuffe & Taylor
