Joan As Police Woman + DaneTucquet - @Newtown -(27/09/06)

Fri 29th Sep, 2006 in Gig Reviews

In most photos I’ve seen Joan Wasser looks like a bit of a bitch. A good bitch mind, the kind of hard-assed, street-talkin’, birdy flippin’ bitch that less assured girls like me want to be. A bit like a modern day Chrissie Hynde or Debbie Harry; she’s either semi-smouldering, semi-glowering in front of stage lights on the cover of debut album ‘Real Life’, or in a promotional shot; slouched against a white wall in a plaid trilby with a look of barely disguised contempt.  What’s her music like? Lets take a punt on hard edges, spiky lyrics and tough punk attitude.

Before we get to test this theory at Sydney’s @Newtown, the diverse audience (corporate casual North Shore types; arty mature women; reluctant guys hauled along by their girlfriends) is serenaded by the bizarrely talented Dane Tucquet .  Man, what a voice this guy has. Forget the genial in-between-song chatter; forget the folksy acoustic guitar (which is perfectly pleasant but slightly insipid); forget the neat lyrical twists and just listen to a voice that makes Tucquet a singing bargain: 10 voices for the price of one.

He has a gruff baritone that matches Smog’s Bill Callahan in its seemingly bottomless depth; the deliciously soft tenor of M.Ward, and generally a range that skips across octave and pitch like his vocal chords are made of super stretchy elastic.  Needless to say his best moment is when he puts the guitar (that on occasion holds him back) to one side and lets the voice and his intelligent use of inflection and intonation take the spot-light…it’s hard to believe your ears.  Whilst the audience clearly like Tucquet, there’s a feeling that the lone guitar hasn’t quite done his material justice; throw in a few supporting musicians and they’re certain to adore him next time he visits Sydney.

Joan Wasser (aka Joan as Police Woman) has no problems on the adoration front. The audience are sat cross-legged on the floor like school-children waiting for the Wiggles: anxious, excited, a bit fidgety.  She arrives, politely on time, bare foot in a silver, shimmer of a dress that looks like a flashback to Studio 54 and greets the crowd by swooping low into an exaggerated bow/curtsey.  Hopping onto a grand piano she says that she fell asleep before the show because “the jet-lag’s really got me this time”, then does an endearing half-snort/half-laugh that is a constant feature of the evening.  

For this tour Joan is sans band (although she does hint that she may return around April next year with musical cohorts in tow).   Although she has an impressive command of both the piano and guitar, the subtle  textures brought by Joseph Arthur’s harmonies on the album version of Cristobel are noticeable by their absence. ‘Save Me’ is Joan’s “foot stomping song” and whilst she digs deep into the guts of the piano to give the song the right timbre, it’s a shame that the quietly assertive bass and percussion found on Real Life are missing .  If there are certain songs that crave the attention of the album’s supporting cast, there are others that are boosted by Joan’s solo interpretation. ‘Eternal Flame’ is elegantly pared back by her acoustic/electric guitar and the piano taking over from the Wurlitzer makes ‘The Ride’ more gracefully melancholy than its 70s MOR album counterpart.   

So, back to those preconceptions.  Well, the old cliché that says you should never judge a book (or indeed an album sleeve) by its cover isn’t an well-worn phrase for nothing.   Once Joan opens her mouth out pours a golden buttery voice that glides over grown-up, soulful melodies that sit perfectly within the genre she has coined as “Punk Rock R&B”.   Not only that but she’s witty,  charming and slightly kooky. Whether she’s flattering Sydneysiders with compliments about “your good-looking city”; engaging in good-natured banter with the front row or expressing a desire to hug “your rainbow coloured birds”, there’s not the merest hint of a curled lip, sulky snarl or dismissive attitude.  Looks can indeed be deceiving.

Check out the photos from the gig here