Juliette & the Licks
Written by Suzanne on June 29, 2008My plan was to see Juliette Lewis and her band at the Viper Room on Friday night but the housewife part of my life took precedence. Instead of rocking out in Hollywood I cleaned the house while listening to their album Four on the Floor.
Many of you might know Juliette Lewis from her acting career. She played Gilbert’s love interest in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, starred in Cape Fear, Natural Born Killers, Kalifornia, and The Other Sister. That’s just a handful of projects she’s completed. Juliette’s a little gal with a hefty filmography list.
Although she’s best known for big screen performances, her focus has shifted to pop-rock with Juliette & the Licks. When she’s rocking it on stage, I’m reminded of a young Mick Jagger, if he was a girl, minus his infamous lips. She has beautiful lips mind you, but no one can contort their lips the way Mick can. Her voice is reminiscent of the soulful wanting of Janice Joplin.
While watching a few Youtube interviews with Juliette I can see how she can perform with such intense creativity. She seems to tap into that crazy that many artists use to fuel them beyond the common place.
I’m still a bit downhearted that I wasn’t feeling like a rock star at The Viper Room Friday night but there will be other chances. Sometimes not doing what we thought we should do can lead us to some other form of enlightenment. For me, listening to Four on the Floor while sweeping the tile reminds me to let that crazy out when I can. There’s enough time for the common place in our lives.
Here’s Juliette & the Licks performing Sticky Honey. You can really see some Mick Jagger style moves in this video.
Posted in Me, Pop Culture
June 29th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Sorry that you did not make the show, it was a good one. Even the opening bands, were pretty good.
Juliette was a bundle of energy the whole time she was on stage. She was in my hands when she dove off the stage into the crowd and back again. Good Times, Good Times.
I’ll be back to the Viper Room on September 27th for Information Society. Also a show not to be missed as they don’t play in SO-CAL very often…
June 30th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Information Society, very cool! Thanks for the info VeRn.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:12 am
bummer about not getting to go! I love Juliette ever since I first saw her in Cape Fear. She is so awesome in EVERYTHING she does. She is also sexy in a sort of natural tomboy kind of way that is hard to explain, sexy without all the glam of it I guess. I loved her in that movie Strange Days too.
July 16th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I loved her in that movie with Uma Thurman, but can’t think of the name…and I don’t know…maybe because just today I happened to hear a song where Janis Joplin joined Pigpen onstage with the Grateful Dead, so it’s hard for me to agree with the comparison that Juliette’s voice is reminicent of hers…maybe closer to Deborah Harry? Thanks for posting this!
July 16th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
@Cynthia Thanks for the reading and for the comment. I think it’s the soulful wanting in her voice that reminds me of Janis Joplin not so much the sound itself. I can see what you mean about Deborah Harry. As for the movie with Uma Thurman, are you referring to Hysterical Blindness? That was a great one.
July 28th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Ohh yeah…that’s it! Hysterical Blindness. I really liked that one.