Arghh!!!!!!!!!!

September 26, 2008
Joan as Police Woman Cues the Beauty
Oh the smoky soul…That was my initial musing as Brooklyn outfit, Joan As Police Woman kicked off a mesmerizing performance on a wet, wet night within Delancey’s favorite setting for sounds, Bowery Ballroom.There was only warmth in the room though, as Joan Wasser – clad in a black rippled jumpsuit, golden space boots and sporting a fro the size of a small planet – led her band through the many moods that her songs so richly capture. Sampling the pieces from her breakout album, Real Life and June’s release, To Survive, Joan and co. showcased a spectrum of her classic soul experimentations, incorporating swollen baselines, deep grooves and often enough a sadness illuminating every note.Behind her sequin-skirted keyboard, Wasser performed a particularly captivating version of ‘To Be Lonely’, with the chords and her ethereal voice combining for a tender, heartfelt offering – summoning it seemed the melancholy of a rainy night. ‘Start of My Heart’ provided similar emotional depth, with Wasser’s lyrics exploring gratitude, grace and hard-won new beginnings. She didn’t get too caught up in the introspection of it all though, joking all night with audience members about her love of Whitney Houston and New York. She also seemed touched when one spirited audience member shouted: “ ‘To Be Loved’ is my wedding song. My gay wedding song!” Joan was honored. The building got happier. And when Wasser picked up her various guitars throughout the set, soul-diva transformed into a sort of Lady-Hendrix, impossible to look away from. Particularly memorable was when she delivered an alternately scowling and whispered version of the Hendrix opus ‘Fire’. She joked that other audiences in the country had loved her “new song”, quick to explain the tune’s real origin for any resident dimbits. In what was the last show of the group’s US tour, there was a lot of love in the room yet it erupted when ever cheeky, ever blasé songwriting genius Rufus Wainwright joined Joan for a passionate, celebratory rendition of ‘To America’. Quite a moment. Two mystical voices combined for an ode to hope: Rufus emphasizing his Obama button and Joan reaching greater heights with every word.**** The girl next to me was in tears by the end. Divine times people, divine times…

****Ok kill me now for living on the west coast. It's just no fair people, I tell you! Joan Wasser and Rufus both live in New York. Whats a California gal to do?

Move to New York!? Hmnnnnn...