Concert Review: Juliette Lewis and the New Romantiques at Culture Room, September 27

Photo by Ian Witlen

Click here to view the slideshow from this event.

Juliette Lewis and the New Romantiques
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Culture Room, Fort Lauderdale

Better Than: Any ten faux new wave bands.

Three times now, Juliette Lewis has brought her roaring rock circus to our market, and three times now we've shown up in numbers that are almost embarrassing -- not to her, but to us. I mean, I can't count the number of times I've heard folks complain about a national rock act not swinging through South Florida; then when one of the best does come charging in, we barely let it register. Maybe it's just that folks still don't consider Juliette to be a bona fide rock singer. Or perhaps some people just need their beauty sleep. Whatever the reasons, showing up at half strength is shameful.

Thank Zeus Juliette doesn't let a little thing like no-sell-out affect her. And thank Zeus's wife, Hera, that those who did show last night were keen enough to let the lass take control. Because once again Juliette Lewis gave us one of the best shows of the year and those who arrived were rewarded nicely.

Staging like a cross between some Cherokee warrior princess and a voodoo high priestess, Juliette twirled and spun and jumped and strutted through a set that could've come straight from rock's glory days. Only different. Most of said set consisted of tracks off her latest LP, Terra Incognita. And each had the scope of sonic legions. If I recall correctly "Noche Sin Fin" opened up the proceedings. From then on it's anyone's guess. 'Cause after that first song I did what any self-respecting rock reviewer would do: I pocketed my pen and my pad and just let Juliette overwhelm me, again.

And it was one overwhelming evening, equal parts rage and roar, smash and grab, rip and run. A full throttle rush of blood and sweat and madness that began as a rumble and didn't end till it shattered every preconceived notion in the house. My only beef is that there weren't more souls in attendance for her to convert.

Personal Bias: Between the interviews and non-interviews and reviews, I think I've made myself perfectly clear: Juliette Lewis can do no wrong.

Random Detail: "Got Love to Kill" (from You're Speaking My Language) remains one of the greatest rock songs ever, and when Juliette brought it out during encore the crowd went doubly wild.

By the Way: You can kinda hear what I'm raving about on Juliette's MySpace page.