It was a hot night outside and an even hotter one inside Thebarton Theatre – no air conditioning and a couple of ceiling fans doing not much.
I saw a friend before the show started and we’d both been to a previous show of hers at Thebarton when PJ wore a yellow dress. Neither of us could remember how long ago that was but maybe pre-kids, so some time ago. Both of us were very excited to get another PJ fix.
I hoped she’d do some songs I know from my favourite album of hers ‘Stories of the City, Stories of the Sea’ – but not one did she do and in the end I didn’t care.
She came out on stage with her 9-piece band. They all stood in a row and did ‘Chain of Keys’ from the Hope Six Demolition Project album (her latest). I was sold.
For me having seen her however long ago it was, it was quite different but spectacular nonetheless. The hour and a half they performed went far too quickly and before I knew it they were off stage before coming back on to do 2 more songs.
Last time I saw her in her yellow dress it was great, but quite different. She played the guitar and had nowhere near the 9 band members she had this time. This time she played the saxophone for some songs and made holding a saxophone between songs look really cool. She held it alongside and upwards as if it was a talisman she was showing off.
A friend later thought that she was a bit aloof on stage. She may have appeared that way but it wasn’t just a woman with a band singing some songs. It was a show. A show that has stuck in my mind nearly a week later. I think that was how it was supposed to be.
We walked out of the theatre and it had been raining. Actually it had been quite stormy and we were completely oblivious of what was happening outside. We had experienced our very own perfect storm.
