Joan As Police Woman @ Tonic 2/22: Punch Drunk Love

Matt's take on the evening:

Joan played a truly beautiful show last night down at Tonic. This is the second time I've see her there; whereas the last time I saw her she was showcasing tracks from her debut LP, Real Life, this time around she decided to test out the waters with just about ten new tunes and only two tracks from her album ('Real Life' & 'Flushed Chest').

The new songs are mostly love songs, as Joan was explaining to us that she recently has found love, overseas, while on tour. She closed the set with a stunning number dedicated to her mom and suddenly 60 minutes felt like 15. Her diatribe about Milanese models and they way they strut their bodies down the runway was truly one for the books. I hope somebody recorded this show because Joan was in rare form last night, I was chuckling so hard at points, that I had a difficult time containing myself! For those curious, Joan's Real Life will FINALLY see the light of day here in the States on June 12th (nine months after its initial UK release), look out for it! Hopefully a summer tour around the country is not too far away!

Jen: Lack of sleep due to transcontinental flights does indeed make for some funny moments. Hearing Joan extrapolate on Milan's fashion week, where she was asked to play for Truusard (how does one spell that?) and given a bright red, patent leather hand-bag for her efforts which she held up for the crowd to take a look at, was especially humourous.

Joan as Policewoman does indeed put on a lovely show. Her emotions are almost too much as she sings each song, there were parts where I thought she may even start to cry. Her music is definitely reflective of her friends, Antony and Rufus Wainwright, in that they are driven out of pure emotion and introspection. Her piano skills are really where Joan shines- I could not keep my eyes off of her fingers all night

There were some celebs (and psuedo celeb) sightings during the night. Grant of Fiasco and Antony minus the Johnsons were in the crowd. TV on the Radio were unloading equipment outside as the crowd filed out and Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) walked by on his way up Norfolk.