With a voice like a fallen angel and an on-stage persona that extrudes a sense of carefree majesticness, Joan as Police Woman performed at The Corner Hotel on Sunday, October 12 to a packed room full of curious on-lookers.

Following a brief set by Sydney folk-rocker, Adrian Deutsch, Joan as Police Woman, who is also known as Joan Wasser, glided on stage adorned in a head-to-toe black polyester suit, coupled with a pair of puffy gold high-heeled boots. The New York City songstress brought with her Rainy Orteca on bass and Parker Kindred on drums, with both band members lending some solid vocal skills to back-up their fabulous front woman.

So, what’s the story of Miss Police Woman? Well, her stage name was apparently inspired by the 1970s American copy show cleverly titled, Police Woman. Although, Joan’s lesser known claim to fame is based around the fact that she was Jeff Buckley’s significant other at the time of his drowning in 1997. With a reluctance to follow along the coat tails of her boyfriend, Joan created an identity for herself during the brief stint as one of the Johnsons, of fellow New York soul singers, Antony and the Johnsons. While playing a five-string violin-cum-viola for this supergroup, it was Antony who encouraged Joan to find her voice…and so she did.

Following the tragic death of her mother just last year, the Police Woman is currently on a 50+ date world-wide tour that has taken her across continents promoting her latest release, To Survive. Hearing the raw emotion seeping out of Joan’s carefree spirit during her live set, is proof that this woman is truly surviving.

To start the evening off right, Joan sat at her piano and poured out her soul into this eager Melbourne crowd. To Be Loved, one of the more jazzy tracks off the album was sung with perfect harmonies and a sense of calmness and comfort, followed by To Be Lonely, as the two songs blended together sending a message of lovesickness, heartbreak, loss, and pain. One can only wonder what sort of life this woman has lived. Her lyrics illuminate a sense of openness and honesty, masked by a tragic life of suffering. As I glanced around at the crowd, it was hard not to notice the teary-eyes that glistened in the spotlights, as Joan’s fans mouthed every word to her mellow torch songs.

With an eccentric stage name and a resume that includes the likes of Rufus Wainwright, Sebadoh, and Lou Reed, the in-between song banter proved how wacky this lady really is. Her soft, slow, throaty voice discussed the weirdness of Australian carpets, how she recently pet a koala, and her brief encounter with Aussie criminal hall-of-famer Chopper Read in the Qantas Lounge at the airport.

Joan’s hilarious comments caused the crowd to break into the occasional snicker as she switched from piano to electric guitar, and back to acoustic. But, the entire room was moved into a hushed awe once she started to sing. More melodies off the new record included Holiday and Hard White Wall (which she explained that, yes it is about having sex against a wall).

Of course, no Joan show could be complete without a tribute to her muse, Antony, as she played I Defy, which features Antony himself performing on the Real Life album version. Joan swayed back and forth standing behind her glittered piano, moaning “How could it be different?”.

Finally, the Police Woman strapped on her tiny acoustic guitar and broke into the most powerful moment of the evening. After a few seconds of heavily breathing in the mic, the crowd grew wild and Joan belted out the falsetto vocals to Fire, which has her howling out, “I have only one itchin’ desire, to stand next to your fire.”

The catchy sounds of Eternal Flame came next, followed by Christobel, and America, which she dedicated to her home country and was performed complete with firework sounds booming in the distance. When a girl from the crowd yelled out to ask Joan who “Christobel” is…she hesitated with her reply, then said, “Just someone I used to know.” That is the honest and true nature of Joan as Police Woman.

As she walked off the stage, the fans, who had sat in near silence for the last 80 minutes, screamed out for more soulful tunes, and this sweet woman wasn’t about to let Melbourne down. So, the band came back to give us three more tracks, including Real Life, The Ride, and Furious.

I couldn’t help but to feel greedy. I wanted more. Aside from possibly Cat Power, Feist, or Ani DiFranco, there is no other woman in modern music that can move a crowd like Joan does. These are lyrics that one can relate to, coming from an honest, true, heartbroken woman. A woman who has been through it all. A Police Woman. And that is Joan Wasser.

CHECK OUT THE PIX FROM THE GIG HERE