.pj harvey @ brooklyn steel

Polly the Great <3

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present. PJ Harvey's northeastern tour coincided with my spring break, the stars couldn't have aligned more perfectly. I was kind of nervous going to Brooklyn solo but I troopered through. The venue (recently opened and my first time being there) was not that far of a walk from the subway station and incredibly easy to find. I arrived at Brooklyn Steel around 3:45. There I noticed the same fans in the front of the line that were there for her Terminal 5 show in August. I believe I overheard them claim they have been waiting since 1:00. Secretly smirking I could not believe I was sixth in line! How amazingly awesome. In New York people line up early and are very pushy / gung-ho about their spots. Philly is a lot more low key. With a little over three hours to kill, I managed to just about finish half of a book. The weather wasn't too shabby which was great!

Inside the venue they had metal detectors to walk through and buckets to place your bags in. I tried to get through quickly and managed to drop my wallet on the way in. Nice right? The venue has an industrialized feel and the barricade was kind of far from the stage. I nabbed a spot to the right of PJ's mic. This time it was in the center of the stage compared to the far right like it was in the past. Managing a decent rail spot I could not believe it. Then the waiting game began. The doors opened at 7:00 and PJ did not come out until 8:45. It felt like forever but when those lights dimmed a smile spread across my face.

The concert went by so fast! She played The Hope 6 Demolition Project in it's entirety practically with a mix of Let England Shake and a few White Chalk songs. I'll admit I cried when she played "Talk to You" because it reminds me of my Grandmother that passed away when I was 9. So Polly, you got me in tears! Towards the end of her set she played "Down by the Water" "To Bring You My Love" and "50 Foot Queenie." The most annoying thing that happened in the audience was two girls tried to push their way up to the front towards the end of her set. One of them was drunk crying pretty obnoxiously yelling out between wails and tears "I LOVE YOU PJ!" My friends all laugh when I impersonated her at my birthday brunch. Finally she got cocky and attempted to push in between this guy and myself on rail. I took one look at her and said "NO WAY!" as she backed off. 

The encore was a mystery as PJ changes it up at each show. She played "Near the Memorials" and then the big surprise "The River!" I LOVE Is This Desire and out of all the times I've seen her, hearing that song was a first. The entire night was so amazing I love her so much and her stellar band of 9. Here's the set list....

SET LIST:
CHAIN OF KEYS
THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
COMMUNITY OF HOPE
ORANGE MONKEY
LINE IN THE SAND
LET ENGLAND SHAKE
WORDS THAT MAKETH MURDER
GLORIOUS LAND
WRITTEN ON THE FOREHEAD
TO TALK TO YOU
DOLLAR, DOLLAR
THE DEVIL
THE WHEEL
THE MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS
50 FT QUEENIE
DOWN BY THE WATER
TO BRING YOU MY LOVE
RIVER ANACOSTIA
------------
NEAR THE MEMORIALS
THE RIVER

When the show was over I waited by the rail hoping for a set list. One of the stage hands told us that at Polly's request they do not give out set lists so we all left. Thankfully I waited a bit before Ubering to my friend's in Brooklyn. Grateful to have a place to stay overnight! Totally ready for day #2 of Polly.