pj-au

i recall back in the day the first concert i ever saw. it was almost big country, with their eponymous hit song (but what do you do for a follow-up? keep changing the name of your band?), but i couldn’t quite clear that hurdle with my parents in time. however, this did pave the way for my actual first concert, which also ended up being my favorite band growing up, those oddly unattractve australians, men at work. i remember my dad driving me all the way up to lansing just to see them, the money that i kept in my shoe leaving a green spot on my sock, and some kid asking me the next morning, “how was inks? how was inks?” and i replied, “uh, ok,” before i realized that he was asking about the opening act, the little-known INXS.

so after all these years, who was just happening to play sydney while we were here and we had to go get tickets to see?

well, pj harvey, of course.

she was playing her first headline tour here, and we caught her first of two shows in sydney, this on at the enmore theatre. although we didn’t decide to do it and bought our tickets just five hours before the show, we ended up with great seats, in the third row right behind the standng section, which basically meant that you also stood like everyone else, but you were higher than the regular standing people and they couldn’t crowd you on account of the actual chairs. which means we got a great view of polly jean, who was wearing a white “pj harvey” t-shirt, and had a little purse with the initials “PH”. and a kick-ass dress with animal from the muppet show across the front.

and yes, it was wonderful. we missed the first few songs because we were eating at this incredible restaurant called edna’s table, where they serve delightful dishes using indigenous recipies and native ingredients. hmc had the emu as an entree and then enoki mushrooms wrapped with wallaby as a main, while i opted for the sesame-covered crocodile and the seared kangaroo.

the next day we went to the zoo to see everything we had eaten, which is probably better as that way you won’t feel bad during your meal.

on second thought, i think my first concert might have been to see the fixx. i’m not sure the story works quite as well that way, though.

(pictures of sydney in the gallery…)

Posted at December 2, 2004 4:40 PM