Gig night at the Volksbühne

Been meaning to write this one for a while as this gig was a few weeks ago now. Oh how time flies by! It was our first gig outing in Berlin. We had passed by the Volksbühne a couple of times (it's just down the road from us) and had thought it looked like a cool building. We then heard it was a theatre and had just been waiting for the right opportunity to go and see something there.

This name "Volksbühne" means the "People's Theatre" and was originally built to bring theatre, namely socialist-realist plays, to the masses. It's now known for showcasing (very) experimental theatre. Eric's tandem partner told him about one of the plays she had seen where five people were playing five separate pianos at the same time while taking their clothes off. Now that's not something you see everyday!

Anyway, I saw a poster that said that Joan as Policewoman was playing there and that was that. For those of you who don't know her music I suppose you could describe it as 'modern soul', though it doesn't really quite capture what its about. I've linked her page so if you get a chance have a listen to some of her songs.

It was open seating on the night so we were right up front for the first act, a band called Dominique (pic above). Unfortunately poor ol' Dominique weren't anything to write home about. The lead singer talked rather than sang in the songs (Leonard Cohen-ish but not pulling it off) and the backing singer I think had a bit of the jitters and didn't really hit her notes. It was quite cringy. I have to say that if it had of just been them on the night I would have been sorely disappointed.

Luckily the main act, Joan as Policewoman, were fantastic. Though we moved a few rows back as the music was a bit loud up front, we still had a great view. Joan Wasser is the brains of the outfit and she is just brilliant. As well as being gorgeous (the only woman I can think of that could get away with wearing gold pantaloons!), she is also a great performer - interacts with the crowd, is warm and funny. She played mostly the piano and a bit of guitar, as well as most of the singing. Her and her band, just a guy on drums and a bass player, were so professional and so tight. Both myself and Eric were really impressed.

They played well over two hours and also played a number of songs as encores (a sign of a good-hearted performer). It was a really balmy summer's night so we sauntered home after the gig with Joan's songs still in our heads in post-gig bliss. No jackets, just music - the perfect gig night!