The alt-rock icon made a stop by Place Bell during her first North American tour in seven years.

By: Sun Noor

PJ Harvey made her return to Quebec on Saturday night, performing her biggest North American show to a packed arena at Laval’s Place Bell. Following the release of her excellent tenth studio album, I Inside the Old Year Dying, Harvey made a few appearances across the pond, as her global audience waited in anticipation. Drawing heavily from theatre productions, Harvey immersed the audience into this record, delivering a mesmerizing and nostalgic performance. A three-act play that had audiences glued to their seats.

Describing Polly Jean Harvey’s work as imaginative feels like an understatement. Conveying emotion in such visceral manner remains a constant in her oeuvres. From the youthful and carefree compositions on Dry and Rid of Me to her more reflective, political, and conceptual works such as Let England Shake and Hope Six Demolition Project, her records have always found a significance within the cultural zeitgeist. Naturally, her live performance feel just as well thought out but with an unassuming nature. Harvey simply lets the music speak for itself.

Alongside her band of consisting of her longtime collaborator John Parish on guitar, percussionist Jean-Marc Butty, keyboardist James Johnston, and guitarist Giovanni Ferrario, Harvey wasted no time in inviting the audience into the eerie world of I Inside the Old Year Dying. By the time the clock hit 7:59, the band members have all taken their places. The minimalist stage set up featured some benches and a desk placed near the centre of the stage, behind a dark backdrop with branches, a motif taken from her recent LP. She commencing things with the opening track, “Prayer at the Gate,” and continued to make her way through the tracklist. Act 1 (the first half of the show) was dedicated to bringing the album to life with a performance reminiscent of a play.

Poetry takes centre stage on I Inside the Old Year Dying. Naturally, her live performance follows suit. Harvey did not tone down the theatrics one bit, every movement felt intentional. She pranced her way onto the stage wearing a white draped garment with the scattered drawings of the branch motif around it during the first set, tying everything back to I Inside.... Underneath, she wears a white dress that represents vignettes from every tour stop in the form of small drawings.

I Inside the Old Year Dying being adapted from Harvey’s 2022 poetry book, Orlam, an epic poem that follows a coming-of-age tale, made for a unique onstage adaptation. The band performing the album chronologically enabled Harvey to literally act out certain scenes with her intriguing choreography. There was an apparent barrier between the performers and the audience as the musicians played continuously, inviting viewers into the world in which the story transpires. From the delicate title track to the raucous “A Noiseless Noise,” Harvey managed to maintain the energy in the room.

By the time Act 2 rolled around, most of the audience members went from swaying in their seats to getting up and dancing. This time around, Harvey dusted off her Is This Desire classic and fan-favourite, “Angelene,” delivering a stunning and emotive rendition. “Man-Size” was her desired Rid of Me track and the audience let loose upon hearing the opening chords for “Dress.” I’d be lying if I didn’t mention that watching a group of middle-aged men in the crowd run around the floor, fan-girling over those songs, didn’t make my night. Harvey’s lengthy set was culminated with a stirring performance of “To Bring You My Love,” which saw her take centre stage and fully embody the raw emotions.

It’s clear that PJ Harvey is undoubtedly a singular artist. A visionary who surrenders to the art, using performance as vessel for true self-expression.

PJ Harvey’s Setlist:

• “I Inside the Old Year Dying”
• “Prayer at the Gate”
• “Autumn Term”
• “Lwonesome Tonight”
• “Seem an I”
• “The Nether-Edge”
• “I Inside the Old Year Dying”
• “All Souls”
• “A Child’s Question, August”
• “I Inside the Old I Dying”
• “August”
• “A Child’s Question, July”
• “A Noiseless Noise”
• The Colour of the Earth (Band only)
• (Intermission)
• The Glorious Land
• The Words That Maketh Murder
• Angelene
• Send His Love to Me
• The Garden
• The Desperate Kingdom of Love (Acoustic)
• “Man-Size
• “Dress”
• “Down by the Water”
• (Encore)
• “To Bring You My Love”
• “White Chalk”