Joan As Police Woman

Monday 12th August, Omeara, London, Joan as Police Woman. It’s a hot night south of the river, a stone’s throw from London bridge and even hotter in the venue where clearly the concept of adequate air conditioning hasn’t been fully understood. I hope it’s been fixed as I am back there tomorrow. Tonight it’s me and my good lady who is a newcomer to Joan.

It’s been a while, actually ten years, since I last saw Joan Wasser (aka Joan as Police Woman) and since then she has released some fine albums none more so than her latest ‘Damned Devotion’ which I think is a career high. As you would expect the set is largely taken from this album with a few oldies thrown in.

The first thing to say is the band are great. Understated but the perfect stabilising influence on Joan’s adoringly, quirky, scatter logical presence on stage. Beset by tech issues with everything from out of tune guitars, Nord keyboard not programmed properly, faulty AV box, sustain pedal not fixed to the flaw it all adds to Joan’s humanity and charm.

It’s an emotional night for Joan and the band, especially for drummer Parker Kindred who became a dad the day before. Citing this small venue as the perfect setting for the band, no offence, Royal Festival Hall, and there’s no one here tonight who would disagree.

There’s plenty of stories tonight between the songs as she reveals a lot about her life, her upbringing and her father who passed away a few years back.

The improvised light show, no set list for the lighting guy, provide the perfect psychedelic backdrop to the often scuzzy sound of the songs. Musically the highlights for me were the funky new song ‘Tell Me’ and of the oldies ‘Christabel’.

The stop start nature of the performance given the issues and the uncomfortable heat did take away something from the overall show but a good night nonetheless with a woman blessed with a great voice that I think has influenced some of the newer female acts like Florence Welch and Courtney Barnett. Sadly though I don’t think she has a new convert in my wife but the point of music is to share with others and sometimes it will click and other times it will not.

Until the next time keep on rockin y’all

Went along to see Joan As Police Woman at the Rough Trade East shop.

The far end of the shop was cleared and a tiny stage setup, in front of which we all gathered (I'd guess there was around 200 people there, maybe less).

Joan came on wearing a fake fur jacket and red leather trousers and sat at her keyboard (A guitar was also placed on the stage).

She said "Hi" and explained she would perform as much of her new album, "Damned Devotion" as was 'possible and appropriate' to her performing solo.

This equated to about 2/3rds and she sang for about 45 minutes.

I'm quite new to her material and I was very impressed with her voice in such close proximity, you could really her every note and even the whispered passages seemed on key to me (I wouldn't claim to have any professional skill in this respect, but there was no hiding place!).

The songs, too, were good with the familiar "Warning Bell" and "Tell Me" being accompanied by other tracks from the album.

For most of the songs, including those she didn't perform, she explained the background and what they song was about.

It was quite different to your usual, bigger venue performance and all the better for it.

Even better, we only paid the cost of whatever format of the album we bought (I got a CD for £10.99, others bought the vinyl for £19.99) and there was a chance to get Joan to sign them, but as I had a 2 hour journey home, I decided not to wait, as I'd really come along primarily to hear her and I left happy that I had.

Excellent performer, who I shall make a point of seeing again somewhere.

Wow! Just Wow!
I came to the concert with no expectations. I had heard the latest album and liked it, and when the gig was announced at "Gorilla" (a venue I'd never been too) it was too good an opportunity to miss.
Joan Wasser has an amazing voice bringing both power and vulnerability to her songs backed by tight and talented band. Her hour and half set played songs from across her career, many of them new to me, but most of them irresistible. The first 30 minutes the band rattled through many tracks from her last album before moving on to please her long term followers with many earlier tracks.
Through the evening Joan moves fluidly from keyboard, to guitar to violin and back again. Then finally, during the encore, the band go for a Barber shop quartet moment which had the whole crowd smiling and singing along. Fans are adoring and loyal and she interacts with them with the skill and wit of performer comfortable in a live setting. Indeed three songs in she breaks a string and, lacking a guitar tech, a member of the audience steps in to repair it for her.
I've seen a whole host of concerts this year but Joan as Policewoman is one that will live me for a while. I will be ferociously exploring her back catalogue and booking my tickets early when she tours again. As the lady herself declared before her last plaintive song. "Live music is where its at". And with performances like this, who could possibly argue.

So lucky to see Joan at Omeara, one of London's smallest an most atmospheric venues. Joan's voice was even more nuanced, subtle and powerful than it is on record, and she flipped with ease between playing guitar, keyboards and violin and recounting genuinely interesting and at times moving stories throughout the 2 hour set. This is definitely an artist to see live, up close and personal, if you can. Amazing gig!

Great show from Joan in Istanbul last night. I love her unapologetic awkward nature and her new album. Her song 'What was it like' made me cry IN A CONCERT!!!! Happy that some of her old albums were available for sale. I wish her all the best in her Damned Devotion tour.

Nottingham June 27th at Glee
Outstanding...gutsy...intimate...playing solo with piano, guitar and percussion box created her magic from very first breath - everything I dreamed of hearing, let alone her incredible vocals!
Such an amazing artist in my humble opinion

I attended the March 24 concert at Marghera Venezia. The main character and the band are very close-knit and show that they are immediately very engaging. Joan has a fantastic voice and is an authentic front woman. I advise not to lose his performance.

A lovely summer evening in Brighton watching a unique performer with a wonderfully engaging voice singing thought provoking songs from a back catalogue that must be the envy of many better known artists at a characterful venue. What’s not to like.

Joan and her crew performed a great gig at the Omeara. A nice little 300 capacity venue. I was really impressed with the band and material played.Some of the newer racks from latest album were really impressive grooves! Cheers!

Dieses Konzert war eins der besten die ich bisher gesehen habe. Joan war ernst, witzig, sexy und hat mich in Ihrem musikalischen Bann gezogen. Zauberhaft schön. 5 von 5 Sternen.
RockigeGrüße von Fredi