Joan As Police Woman
11th June 2022
Hollywood Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand
Review by Bridget Herlihy with photography by Doug Peters.
With a career spanning across three decades, New Yorker Joan As Police Woman (aka Joan Wasser) really needs no introduction. The singer-songwriter has become critically acclaimed and widely adored for her genre-defying sound and distinctive voice, and having seen her perform live it is immediately evident why.
Joan first – and last – visited our shores in 2019 as part of her ‘Joanthology’ tour after many years of trying to get shows booked in Aotearoa as part of Australasian tours. This saw Wasser playing a solo set of career-spanning songs. Since then, while touring was not possible (for obvious reasons), she released an impressive three albums: ‘Cover Two’ (2020), ‘The Solution Is Restless’ (2021) and ‘Live’. This four-date tour, concluding at the iconic Hollywood Theatre in Auckland on Saturday night, saw Joan bring her three-piece band along for the ride to deliver a ‘jazz brunch’ style show of two sets.
An eclectic sold-out crowd filled both levels of the Hollywood to enjoy an ideal way to brighten up a dreary winter’s evening, the venue providing the perfect ambience for the enchanting performance.
Arriving onstage to cheers and rapturous applause, Joan took her seat at her keyboard, opening the first set with the beautiful ‘Get My Bearings’ from her latest album “The Solution Is Restless’; a track she wrote after the death of co-collaborator and drummer Tony Allen. After a piece of equipment she had been using started moving, she called out asking for tape to secure it, and thus Joan’s irreverent sense of humour made its first appearance of the night. Despite several technical difficulties during the first part of the set, she was clearly in good humour, and with many laughs and cheers erupting from the audience throughout the evening. ‘Take Me To Your Leader’, a track written about our Prime Minister, was followed by Joan proclaiming her love for New Zealand and her reluctance to leave, a reluctance that led her to ask if there was anyone in the audience who was willing to marry her within the next 24 hours before her flight home.
Needless to say the entirety of each of the sets were an absolute delight. While a majority of songs played were from ‘The Solution Is Restless’ and ‘Cover Two’, she also delved back into earlier albums to perform tracks such as ‘Warning Bell’ and ‘The Magic’. The high points of the performance were far too many to list, although her rendition of Michael McDonald’s ‘I Keep Forgettin’’ was absolutely nothing short of spellbinding, as was her cover of David Bowie’s ‘Sweet Thing’.
Joan is clearly in her element on stage; even more so when the audience is as appreciative as they were at The Hollywood. And why wouldn’t they be? This is a woman who has carved out a niche entirely of her own; one that beautifully and skillfully intertwines elements of jazz, soul, rock (and almost everything in between), and sounds unlike anything or anyone else. Joan is one of the most charismatic, compelling and nuanced performers you could ever hope to see live. There will be many people hoping that she did indeed find someone to marry here, for she is not only a much-needed beacon of light and levity, but magic personified. Come back soon Joan!
Were you there at the Hollywood Theatre for this fun indie gig? Or have you seen Joan As Police Woman perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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