Jonatha Brooke at The Highline Ballroom

I'm a little late to the Jonatha Brooke party. The folk/rock singer-songwriter has been around since the 80's, performing first in a folk duo called The Story, and playing solo since the mid-90's. My musically-inclined boyfriend introduced me to her (via mix tape, *sigh*), and I've been overplaying her cover of God Only Knows for months and months. Last night, I finally got to see her live at the brand new Highline Ballroom on West 16th Street. (I think it's actually in the exact spot where the old Atlantic Theater Company offices were - can anyone confirm?)

Jonatha is a breathtaking, awesome performer. There probably aren't enough adjectives in the dictionary to fully describe her, but you could start with empowered (why is it that that word always has some kind of 90's feminist aftertaste?), sexy, honest, soulful, different, special, and extremely, fiercely intelligent. Her songs have all the soul-baring emotional brutality you might expect from Tori Amos, but Jonatha seems a lot more together than Tori. This is a woman who has seen a shitload of life, and though it's clear that experience has weathered her, she nevertheless glows from within like a lantern. The result is a 43-year-old woman with the effusiveness of a 16-year old and the command and quiet, humble authority of someone who's seen it all and lived to tell the tale. She also looks fucking amazing. Some describe her as "sex on a stick", which feels reductive but also pretty accurate. She also speaks French, and was in the circus for a while. Her awesomeness would make me want to puke, if I wasn't so busy admiring her.

Not to mention, woman knows how to rock. The concert was LOUD, in the good way, and someone remarked that Jonatha "plays guitar like a man." Yeah, it's off-putting when you say it like that, but it kinda gives the right impression - rarely have I ever seen a woman take the stage in such a commanding, nothing to prove, get-comfortable-because-I-am-about-to-blow-your-mind sort of way. It's also notable for music junkies that she plays in all kinds of crazy alternate tunings, even using two capos at once to create a sound that is totally new and beautiful and unforgettable.

Theater tie-in: AnneMarie Milazzo played in the band and sang back-up for Jonatha Brooke for a long time, and she also happens to be responsible for all those soaring vocal arrangements that make Spring Awakening's score so haunting. You can hear the influence - Spring Awakening's harmonies are often similar to Jonatha's in their dissonant beauty.

The Highline Ballroom was just ok. The space is, in no uncertain terms, hip, with ever-shifting lights splashed onto the walls, and high, airy ceilings. It's nice to sit at tables, but they were cramped, the mixed drinks were not so hot, and a $10 plate of mixed canapes arrived on a crappy white plastic plate, consisting of eight nasty freezer-to-fryer treats, like crabcakes and mini-spanikopita. Scary. There's a lot of potential there, though, and I'm thrilled to see an actual new music club opening up, when it seems like they're all closing down for the viral luxury condos.

So yeah. Check out her music here. And buy all the albums, happy that you're supporting Jonatha's own little indie label, and not some beheamoth money-grubbing company. You're welcome.