16 October 2012 (gig)
17 October 2012
Joanne’s new album, ‘Almost Always Never’, is her most powerfully soulful to date and her show at the Leicester Square Theatre was always going to be a major moment in her young career – she nailed it!
As she started to plug her Gibson in a yahoo called out “Rock it Joanne!” and she looked up with a little smile and said “But of course” and tore into an incendiary ‘Soul Station’. Her fingers were flying up and down the fretboard and she simply ripped it up.
The crowd were into her Blues from the off and when she followed up with a couple of numbers from the new album they really got behind the new material.
She has always been a terrific guitarist but she seems to be growing in her confidence and her ability to switch between hard Blues, melodic and even funky shows that she is developing quickly but the quality of her writing is what is really setting her apart from the rest. She did one cover – her traditional ‘Manic Depression’ – and all the rest were her own compositions. Songs as varied as ‘Diamonds In The Dirt’ or ‘You Should Stay, I Should Go’ or the desperately agonised ‘Jealousy’ point towards a huge potential.
The only downside of the set was the over-reliance on her vocals and playing – it was very clear that this was not a band but JST with added musicians and the pressure it puit on her was unrelenting.
On the other hand she had a smile on her face for the majority of the set and there was one moment during ‘Kiss The Ground Goodbye’ when the lights picked up the merest sheen of perspiration on her jaw and she smiled as if to acknowledge the crowd’s response to her – still a touch of the little girl and the audience loved it.
On the night she was absolutely imperious, playing with passion and enjoying herself and winning the crowd 100%.
A star is among us.
SOUL STATION
TIED & BOUND
BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN
WATCH 'EM BURN
DIAMONDS IN THE DIRT
MANIC DEPRESSION
YOU SHOULD STAY, I SHOULD GO
ALMOST, ALWAYS, NEVER
JEALOUSY
KISS THE GROUND GOODBYE
JUST ANOTHER WORD
JUMP THAT TRAIN
GOING HOME
ENCORE
LOSE MYSELF TO LOVING YOU
DEAD & GONE
Photo by Al Stuart
