I'm not a big fan of show reviews. "The lights were colorful, the music was loud, the band was good."Unless the band lights themselves on fire, what is there to write about? Then I realized that my show reviews couldn't be much worse than the other stuff that I have been barfing out onto page the past few years. And hey, the P J Harvey/ Ben Harper show last Sunday at the State Theatre really rocked.
First of all, P J couldn't have picked a better opener. Guitarist/ vocalist Ben Harper, joined by funketeer Juan Nelson on the bass, 19 year old drum prodigy Oliver Charles and percussionist Leon Lewis Mobley, played tracks from their earthy, eclectic Virgin release, Fight For Your Mind.
With songs ranging from the funky "Ground On Down" to the ultra-reggae "Oppression", to the more minimal and acoustic "Excuse Me Mr.Ben" and the crew consistently held the attention of even the most dieĐhard P J fans. The fact that Harper is a master of the Weissenborn (a hollow necked slide guitar) doesnŐt hurt. The fact that Mobley is a master percussionist doesn't hurt either.
With Harper sitting down to play guitar for most of the set, and the volume set well bellow the State's usually blaring level, it was definitely an atypical set. It's obvious that Harper chooses to hit you with his songs more than anything else.
If you are looking for fruity hippie rock that you can jam at your next frat party, Ben Harper's Fight For Your Mind is not it. If you want sincere, potentially classic songs with a lot of rhythmic flair, Fight delivers. And catch the next live show too.
For some reason, I deceived myself into thinking that the primarily college crowd was going to be annoyance-free. When P J hit the stage, all my hopes were drowned in a sea of testosterone.
With quite a few fists waved in the air, shouts of "I love you PJ!" and "take it off, baby!" I was trying to remeber when Polly Jean opened for Van Halen.
In actuality she opened for Live a few weeks ago, so that explained all of the krazy "moshing" and "body surfing" that makes everybody feel so alternative nowadays.
Regardless, P J and her gang of five (two guitarists, a keyboardist, a drummer and a bassist/ keyboardist) played almost all of her latest Island release,To Bring You My Love, and rocked in the strange ways that only P J can rock.
It was a nice change to watch a performer who wasn't "too cool" to be on stage, for even through P J's heavy, 80's dose of make-up, it was easy see her happiness. Carefully sauntering around the stage in a Madonnaesque outfit, she delighted in flashing little glances at a few select male apes, making them whoop with pleasure. And she played the frantic "50ft Queenie", the thumping "Meet Ze Monsta" and the eerie "Down By The Water." Could you ask for more? Whoop! Whoop! MR