Music PJ Harvey and The National performed in Montreux VD

With the British rock icon of the 1990s and one of the best American alternative rock bands of the 2000s, indie rock dominated the Montreux Jazz Festival on Tuesday evening. PJ Harvey and The National played almost 40 songs together.

The question of whether rock has been erased from the posters of some music festivals was answered in the negative at the Montreux Jazz Festival with the lively and exclusive performance of the two bands. The concert by PJ Harvey from the UK and The National from the USA was the only date in Switzerland as part of their current European tour.

The summer evening began with Polly Jean Harvey. The 54-year-old has been in the business for 30 years. She is an icon of 90s alternative rock. Even in her early days, she was revered by musicians such as Kurt Cobain and Nick Cave.

After 2001, 2004 and 2016, she performed in Montreux for the fourth time. Four musicians played alongside her, including her most loyal accomplice John Paris. She began with tracks from her last intimate album "I Inside the Old Year Dying" - the title of which was inspired by Shakespeare.

Gentle and rebellious

Between gentleness and evocation, her voice wandered over pastoral, poetic, even biblical notes. Wearing a white dress with motifs from her latest album - tree branches and birds in black - she moved skillfully with theatrical yet minimalist gestures. The audience was enchanted.

In total, she played a simple and elegant 18 tracks from half of her twelve albums, if you count the two records with John Parish. And she offered rebellious moments, especially with songs from her first two wilder albums "Dry" (1992) and "Rid of me" (1993).

Sound cocktail from the USA

After just over an hour, the frontman of The National, Matt Berninger, took to the stage with his lascivious baritone voice and six musicians. It was the third appearance of the band from the USA in Montreux after 2008 and 2012, and the stage design was more sophisticated and explosive than at the previous concert.

Then it started with almost two hours of wild energy. The setlist included 21 songs from eight of their ten albums released between 2021 ("The National") and last year ("First Two Pages of Frankenstein" and "Laugh Track"). The band dedicated the song "I Need My Girl" to PJ Harvey that evening. The magic of their sound cocktail worked.

Matt Berninger constantly communicated with the audience. Twice he climbed down from the stage and walked through the crowd singing. The concert ended after 11.30 pm with "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks". The audience sang along to the full length of the song, accompanied by just two guitars.