by jenny heying
I’ve been meaning to do a review of Juel Resistance for ages and tonight I finally got the chance at Alex’s StrangeBrew. While I don’t know if icon is the right way to describe her, suffice to say Juel has been playing in Second Life® for some time.
Opening with “Some Time Now”, Juel’s laid back guitar and dramatic voice led us on a dreamy voyage. As she drifts from singing to speaking and back again, she carefully tells us a story about well, whatever she’s doing or thinking. It’s a good mix. She has stories and loves to chat and is not afraid to let you in. She continued with “Teapot” offering her secrets to any who would listen.
As I said, Juel’s voice is kind of dreamy. It’s a little bit young girl and a little bit woman. It suits the songs she’s written and in a smoky venue, it was perfect. She offered us “Dirty Water” and with her conversation still infiltrating the songs, she fell back into an offering of her kind of resistance. Her guitar strumming in the background adds to the mood she envelops us in.
A Juel Resistance performance isn’t necessarily about the songs or the music, it’s about her experiences. She mixes no words or rather she does mix words with the music and gives us a unique foray into her world. You don’t tap and sing along, you just kind of mellow out and listen or rather feel what she’s doing.
Being a singer/songwriter is not unique but being a unique singer/songwriter is and that’s exactly what Juel is. She writes and gives us something different than you get from most. I tried to think of whom she reminds me of, but dammit she doesn’t remind me of anyone other then herself. That’s an amazing accomplishment in today’s world of music. I almost want to say she has her own genre.
Juel seems to be in her own world when on stage, but that’s okay, because
she doesn’t mind you entering it. You almost feel as if she’s writing the songs as she sings because she seems to drift so easily from acknowledging what’s happening around her to the words she’s written. Heading in to “Lover”, her guitar continues to strum along. It’s an adequate accompaniment not turning loose or commanding the performance but preferring to let her voice take center stage. Actually her voice, guitar, songs, and speaking refuse to take the forefront, each blending and fulfilling its part in her show. I couldn’t imagine seeing her perform without each being a part of it.
Okay, so I’ve never seen Juel perform before and it was long overdue. Sometimes you get pretty complacent about seeing singers as they tend to rehash material. Juel offers something different and although she performs her own material, it’s not that alone that is refreshing; it’s her whole approach to being on stage. She’s comfortable there and seems to want to stay there all night.
And just when you get comfortable with Juel, she changes things mid set. Launching into a little blues number “Steamroller”, she lets her guitar loose and her voice jumps ahead. She handles the blues well, forcefully and in full control. She doesn’t lose the dreaminess, but just accentuates it a bit. Then changing again, she heads into a PJ Harvey cover before giving us “Are You Down” by Lucinda Williams. The covers add to her versatility.
The StrangeBrew is a venue run by Alex Parsons and while it’s nothing particularly fancy, it does set a mood especially on this night. With fog covering the floor it gives you an atmosphere just right for a dreamy performance.
“Girl With One Eye (Open)” and “Dream” ended the night fittingly.
Taking in Juel Resistance is about hearing a wide variety throughout her performance. While she writes a lot of her own songs, she’s not afraid to mix in covers and change the tempo here and there. She welcomes your participation and at the same time seems pleased to be playing for you. Best of all, you’re glad you came.
I’ve been meaning to do a review of Juel Resistance for ages and tonight I finally got the chance at Alex’s StrangeBrew. While I don’t know if icon is the right way to describe her, suffice to say Juel has been playing in Second Life® for some time.Opening with “Some Time Now”, Juel’s laid back guitar and dramatic voice led us on a dreamy voyage. As she drifts from singing to speaking and back again, she carefully tells us a story about well, whatever she’s doing or thinking. It’s a good mix. She has stories and loves to chat and is not afraid to let you in. She continued with “Teapot” offering her secrets to any who would listen.
As I said, Juel’s voice is kind of dreamy. It’s a little bit young girl and a little bit woman. It suits the songs she’s written and in a smoky venue, it was perfect. She offered us “Dirty Water” and with her conversation still infiltrating the songs, she fell back into an offering of her kind of resistance. Her guitar strumming in the background adds to the mood she envelops us in.
A Juel Resistance performance isn’t necessarily about the songs or the music, it’s about her experiences. She mixes no words or rather she does mix words with the music and gives us a unique foray into her world. You don’t tap and sing along, you just kind of mellow out and listen or rather feel what she’s doing.
Being a singer/songwriter is not unique but being a unique singer/songwriter is and that’s exactly what Juel is. She writes and gives us something different than you get from most. I tried to think of whom she reminds me of, but dammit she doesn’t remind me of anyone other then herself. That’s an amazing accomplishment in today’s world of music. I almost want to say she has her own genre.
Juel seems to be in her own world when on stage, but that’s okay, because
she doesn’t mind you entering it. You almost feel as if she’s writing the songs as she sings because she seems to drift so easily from acknowledging what’s happening around her to the words she’s written. Heading in to “Lover”, her guitar continues to strum along. It’s an adequate accompaniment not turning loose or commanding the performance but preferring to let her voice take center stage. Actually her voice, guitar, songs, and speaking refuse to take the forefront, each blending and fulfilling its part in her show. I couldn’t imagine seeing her perform without each being a part of it.Okay, so I’ve never seen Juel perform before and it was long overdue. Sometimes you get pretty complacent about seeing singers as they tend to rehash material. Juel offers something different and although she performs her own material, it’s not that alone that is refreshing; it’s her whole approach to being on stage. She’s comfortable there and seems to want to stay there all night.
And just when you get comfortable with Juel, she changes things mid set. Launching into a little blues number “Steamroller”, she lets her guitar loose and her voice jumps ahead. She handles the blues well, forcefully and in full control. She doesn’t lose the dreaminess, but just accentuates it a bit. Then changing again, she heads into a PJ Harvey cover before giving us “Are You Down” by Lucinda Williams. The covers add to her versatility.
The StrangeBrew is a venue run by Alex Parsons and while it’s nothing particularly fancy, it does set a mood especially on this night. With fog covering the floor it gives you an atmosphere just right for a dreamy performance.
“Girl With One Eye (Open)” and “Dream” ended the night fittingly.
Taking in Juel Resistance is about hearing a wide variety throughout her performance. While she writes a lot of her own songs, she’s not afraid to mix in covers and change the tempo here and there. She welcomes your participation and at the same time seems pleased to be playing for you. Best of all, you’re glad you came.
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