PJ Harvey, the trailblazing alternative musician and singer has announced she is going back out on the road after a seven year hiatus from traditional touring.
Supporting her wildly creative 2023 album I Inside the Old Year Dying which is based on her 2022 novella-length epic narrative poem Orlam, Polly Jean will begin her tour at Primavera Sound in Spain in June and bop around some European festivals and theaters before crossing the pond to perform in North America.
The tour ends at the Greek Theater in the hills of Hollywood, California in October, leaving a trail of attendees, no doubt in awe and with many questions.
Last summer Pitchfork gave the album a ho-hum 7.9 and said, "her verses depict an upbringing presumably something like her own but heightened by fantasy, juxtaposing the mundanities and seasonal rhythms of rural youth—school days, farm work, sexual awakenings—against a blend of horror and magical realism."
PJ also released the video for "Seem an I" which, no offense, didn't feel like much love or effort was put into.
The book-length poem reportedly took 10 years to create because, in part, Harvey had to learn a dying language from her birthplace. So then why short shrift the video?
Also, if all one is going to do is run in slow motion for the bulk of the video, people are just going to think about Wax's classic video for "California" directed by Spike Jonze - which seems simple but is quite complicated.
What will the tour be like? Perhaps something like when PJ performed at The Roadhouse London in September of last year.
Here PJ and Colin Morgan sing the title track of the complicated new album. But watch as she totally embodies each twisted line of the tune. She's an amazing performer capable of making magic out of anything.
It could also be a more spared-down collection of musicians like what she did in November for NPR's Tiny Desk.
There it was just she and one other musician and some sound loops from her album. It worked!
In November four of the five numbers she performed for NPR were from the latest record.
PJ has had a fantastic career of making truly original, emotional and groundbreaking music where she seems to not only set herself apart from everyone else, but also from her own successful past in an attempt to constantly reinvent her sound like a poet continually changing styles.
Even the way her relationship with alt rock god Nick Cave ended in 1997 was unbelievably poetic.
"I was so surprised I almost dropped my syringe," he said.
Don't be surprised if these dates sell out quickly. People love PJ, for good reason, and her live shows never disappoint.
As Jeff (above) can attest to, tickets for the European leg are already on sale. North America pre-sale begins today. Get your tickets on PJ's website.
06-01 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Barcelona
06-06 Porto, Portugal - Primavera Sound Portugal
06-07 Madrid, Spain - Noches del Botánico
06-09 Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands - Best Kept Secret 2024
06-12 Bergen, Norway - Bergenfest 2024
07-04 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter
07-06 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival 2024
07-12 Carhaix, France - Les Vieilles Charrues 2024
08-07 Oslo, Norway - Øyafestivalen
08-08 Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
08-10 Helsinki, Finland - Flow Festival
08-13 Berlin, Germany - Zitadelle Spandau
08-15 Charleville-Mézières, France - Cabaret Vert
08-18 London, England - Gunnersbury Park
08-20 Halifax, England - The Piece Hall
08-22 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Custom House Square
08-25 Paris, France - Rock en Seine
09-11 Washington, D.C. - The Anthem
09-13 Philadelphia, PA - The Met
09-15 New York, NY - Terminal 5
09-16 New York, NY - Terminal 5
09-18 Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall Fenway
09-21 Laval, Quebec - Place Bell
09-25 Toronto, Ontario - History
09-26 Toronto, Ontario - History
09-28 Detroit, MI - Masonic Cathedral Theatre
09-30 Chicago, IL - The Salt Shed
10-02 Minneapolis, MN - Palace Theatre
10-06 Seattle, WA - The Paramount Theatre
10-07 Portland, OR - Theater of the Clouds
10-10 San Francisco, CA - Masonic
10-11 San Francisco, CA - Masonic
10-14 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
