Kevin Bronson on April 19th, 2011

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Who: PJ Harvey at the Outdoor Theatre
In 3 or Fewer Words: Let Indio shake.
I’ll Remember This Until: Polly Jean is on the Coachella Stage where she belongs. Note to Conor Oberst: This is what you do when you have a new album you believe in. PJ Harvey’s first-ever Coachella appearance – pretty surprising, given her stature over the past two decades – wasn’t the career retrospective that often becomes the default approach when acts play the festival. Instead, Harvey dug deep into the recently released “Let England Shake,” playing seven songs from the muted, striking meditation on war and her homeland. For the occasion, she looked like some faerie queen of Albion in a long white gown and feather headdress, leading with autoharp on the deliberately muffled, semi-acoustic arrangements of the new music. The weekend’s final show on the field’s second-biggest stage also included some older favorites, highlighted by three from “To Bring You My Love.” Throughout, Harvey seemed slightly restrained, and at one point she took a quick shot of throat spray, suggesting that she was pacing herself to get her voice through the 50 minutes intact. Even so, there was never a moment that didn’t ring with the artistry and urgency she’s always embodied.
What I’d Tell My Friends Who Were Waiting for Kanye West to Start: Like the sign held up by a fan said, “PJ Harvey Is the Real Closing Headliner.”
– Richard Cromelin
Photo by Scott Dudelson