How Many Licks Does It Take??? (11.26.07)

who said girls can't rock???????...well, i have.....with the recent displays of faux-femme-fatale rockers trying to piddle on the scene is quite embarrassing both as a female artist and as an overall appreciator of the strong female archetype in music.....i.e., Janis Joplin, Sade, Tine Turner, Etta James, Nina Simone etc.etc....it seems like this generation is desperately searching for rock n' roll songstresses, but can't seem to find one....for example...Janis Joplin rocked and didn't really need to depend on a larger-than-life gimmick....no fancy hair-do...just the gusto to rock out with Big Brother & The Holding Company holding her up proud as the bridge between them and the crowd....in my experiences, it's rare/few-and-far-between occurrence to see a female-fronted band throw it down with conviction, purpose and raw energy......there was the Lisa Kekaula of the BellRays (awesome band and insanely awesome frontwoman~check them out!!!)...now i add another...enter the events of Sunday, November 11th inside The Mod Club on College St. in Toronto....

Juliette and the Licks....a band fronted by    LA born actress Juliette Lewis (made infamous by playing characters in movies such as Cape Fear, From Dusk Til Dawn, Kalifornia and Natural Born Killers)...the grapevine has promised this band to rock hard...so my expectations were high...AND with seeing clips with my own eyes via the dummy-tube, especially Nardwar The Human Serviette (by the way look him up...by far Canada's most unhinged, off-beat, and dare i say most knowledgeable music journalist~it's true...ask Snoop)......i had to buy a ticket for this one.....

The Licks...incredible rock band....they kept it going.....if the drummer faded out, the guitar boosted in...if the bass was weary, the drums blasted back....great band regardless of who the lead singer was and what "star-power" she may have possessed......however, in tune with my rant above about kick-ass, awesome females that can rock...she did indeed.....she definitely seemed to think that her band was the greatest band in the world (a true indication of being selfless on stage~as a frontwoman/man you have to have that chemistry that you are apart of the band not below, above or beside them...it's key to be a cohesive crew.....it's true)......

Juliette had an energy that was truly refreshing to see...it seemed as though this is what she really wanted to do....what she was meant to do and she was going balls to the wall doing it (figuratively, of course)....it was awesome to behold.....she was into her songs (American Boy...a new favorite of mine) and most importantly into the audience that was all about the band...there were even a few that seemed to know what head gear was to be sported by the songstress (maybe from checking out other shows???)and adorning the same piece...kinda freaky but still endearing.....from singing with a fan on stage to diving into a crowd of 200 or so people....she seemed to want to make a connection with the on-lookers....again bridging the crowd to the band.....

there were a couple of times throughout the show where the emotions were a little drama-school with the outward expressions (especially during a choice ballad)...keep in mind, she IS an actress...and some of the theatrics were a lil bit...well..."actressy"......but if she truly felt it then...hey....so be it!!!!.....

in all checking out Juliette and the Licks, especially after not going to a music gig in what seems like months.....was a great experience and not-a-waste-of-money night...it also helped me keep the faith that more woman can rock than i thought (i think you have to be over 25 to really let go of the pretty and get into the dirty......hmmmm...maybe a future blog post of mine????...stay tuned)...

(Ka)Nish