Sticky and sweet

Juliette and the Licks, Middle East Downstairs, November 6, 2007
By JIM SULLIVAN  |  November 13, 2007
inside_juliettelewis
Juliette Lewis

“I could play the wild mutation as a rock-and-roll star!” sang David Bowie in 1972, as Ziggy Stardust. Juliette Lewis — actress/singer-songwriter — has been playing that mutation for four years, fronting Juliette and the Licks. And lately she’s been stepping up the rock side of her endeavors. Star of Cape Fear, Kalifornia, and Natural Born Killers, Lewis enlisted rock-celeb pal Dave Grohl to drum on her second full-length, CD, Four on the Floor (Militia). Live at the Middle East a week ago last Tuesday, she had thundering Ed Davis on the kit, her two regular guitarists, Todd Morse and Kemble Walters, and bassist Jason Womack. What she doesn’t have just yet is any arresting new material.

Lewis’s first incarnation as a rocker yielded 2005’s You’re Speaking My Language (Fiddler). On the tour she was theatrical, striking all the histrionic, gymnastic rock poses for songs rooted in a Patti Smith/Joan Jett æsthetic. The material had snarl, spark, and melody. Now Lewis and company have turned a corner from punk toward plodding throb-and-thud hard rock. In front of about 250 diehards at the Middle East, the band put on a 70-minute show, one where Lewis earned an “A” for spunk, spirit, and sex appeal and a solid “C” for songs. If rock-stardom were posturing, tossing your hair, baring some skin, showing “edgy” cheerleader-esque enthusiasm, and spreading a between-song message of love, the 34-year-old would be golden.

But it’s not. It didn’t help that most of the lyrics were lost in the mix. And she lost more points for introducing “Sticky Honey” with the coy cliché “Are you ready for something sticky and sweet?” She also pointed out how “big this is to give up everything you know” to pursue her dream. Puh-leaze. All for the love of rock-and-roll, uh, mediocrity?

Related: Same old song, Crossword: ''That's B. S.'', Cinematic trends, More more >
  Topics: Live Reviews , David Bowie, Patti Smith, Dave Grohl,  More more >
| More


Most Popular
ARTICLES BY JIM SULLIVAN
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   INTERVIEW: CARL HIAASEN  |  July 22, 2010
    Novelist Carl Hiaasen likes to create scenarios where very bad and tremendously satisfying things happen to despicable people: crooked politicians, real-estate scammers, environment despoilers, greedy bastards of all stripes.
  •   AFTER IMAGES  |  May 28, 2010
    Karen Finley won’t be naked, or covered in chocolate. Candied yams will not be involved. If there are neighborhood morality-watch squads in Salem, they’ll have the night off.
  •   INTERVIEW: SARAH SILVERMAN  |  April 23, 2010
    Recently, “Sarah” — the character played by Sarah Silverman on Comedy Central’s The Sarah Silverman Program — was upset because in today’s world it just wasn’t safe anymore for children to get into strangers’ vans.
  •   TATTOO YOU  |  April 06, 2010
    Dr. Lakra is no more a real doctor than is Dr. Dre or Dr. Demento. The 38-year-old Mexican tattoo artist’s real name is Jerónimo López Ramírez. As for “lakra,” it means “delinquent.” Or so I thought.
  •   INTERVIEW: DAMON WAYANS  |  February 16, 2010
    "Right now, my intent is not to offend. I just want to laugh. I want to suspend reality."

 See all articles by: JIM SULLIVAN