After seeing Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, then Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. back-to-back at Arts, Beats & Eats, an indoor show with another of the Detroit area's best, The Juliets, seemed like the perfect cap to the evening. The heat outside was beyond ridiculous so it was nice to head inside to the air conditioning of the Emagine Theater in Royal Oak for an Arts, Beats & Eats after-party.
Taking place inside the Skybox Lounge, the party also served as a promotion for the upcoming MI Fest '11 outdoor music and camping festival, taking place at Michigan International Speedway on September 17. The Raconteurs and Sheryl Crow are headlining this event, but there will be plenty of great local music represented there as well, including the aforementioned Jessica Hernandez, Bear Lake and The Juliets.
It had been well over a year since I last saw The Juliets live, which is way too long. In fact, the last time I saw them was at the release party for their self-titled debut album and first music video in early 2010 at the Majestic Cafe. This was my first time seeing this lineup of the band, with Jaclyn Phillips on drums and Ashton Hopkins on bass replacing Scott Masson and Kip Donlon respectively. As I expected, the fact these five have been playing together over a year now, has them sounding tight and polished live. Phillips and Hopkins make excellent additions to the band.
Their set was a good mix of songs from their debut and new ones from their forthcoming second album "Perfect Season". Musically, the band sounded as great as I remembered. The problem on this night, not really through any fault of theirs, was the venue just wasn't very suitable to live music. The mix was extremely muddy and Jeremy Freer's vocals were buried way too deep. It made it difficult to hear what he was singing during the new songs especially. His vocals also caused the bass drum to vibrate all night, making it even tougher to hear clearly. They sounded as good as I've come to expect from this band, but I'll have to wait for the album to truly 'hear' these songs for the first time. Credit to Freer and his bandmates for soldiering on despite the feedback, his piano cutting out and the overall lousy sound mix they had to endure most of the night.
After opening with an extended instrumental, showcasing Kaylan Mitchell on cello and Sarah Myers on violin, they went into "Who Needs Astrology?" then "This Just In", the first single from their debut album.The first new song of the night followed with "Heart In Heart", which they also released for free as part of their "Awaited Season EP" download.
They returned to their first album for "The Letter" and "Sweetheart" before a run of six new songs from "Perfect Season" starting with the gorgeous title track, the favorite thing I've heard so far off the new album. The new material continues the mix of baroque and classical pop the band hangs its hat on, but there is also a much heavier rock influence on a number of these songs. Freer had his electric guitar out often during the new material and its a welcome addition to their sound. One of the new songs also featured Sarah Myers in a duet with Freer on lead vocals.
After the smashing "Fashion", The Juliets closed the night with "Evolved Into", one of the best from their fine debut album. It was nice to be able to see them live again, Freer is a helluva songwriter, and I'll definitely have to make an effort to get out and see them more as the lousy sound left me wanting another show. This is another of the best bands coming out of Detroit, how about next year they're actually playing an Arts, Beats & Eats stage? They surely deserve to.

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