Juliet Simmons
Juliet Simmons And The Lonesome Romeos played sans drummer last night at The Book And Bar in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a last minute adjustment that they adjusted to very well, proving that good songs can work well in any musical combo. Simmons proved an exceptionally gifted singer too. The things that girl did with her voice never failed to impress.
Simmons and her backing band opened with their tune “Little Bit Lonesome.” Her voice just glided forth with an earnest, honest emotive underpinning, as she moved her voice through the number’s twists and turns without losing grace or beauty. Her large vocal presence would loom large over the rest of her numbers last night.
Michael Dinallo, Juliet Simmons
Simmons’ tune “Long Ride Home” was even more heartfelt as she slowed it down some, caressing her sustained vocal notes with a silky, country croon. Her “Wishing Well” had a swishing groove to sing over. Simmons showed what she could do with a vocal line that slows to a crawl while still sounding full, wide, and warm. Her voice seemed to keep booming out of nowhere yet projecting with true power.
Written for her friend’s wedding, “Someone For You” was a thoughtful, reflective number sung with heartfelt assurance, which is what made it work. A cover of Casey Chamber’s “On A Bad Day” was a notable effort. It offered more of Simmon’s three dimensional vocalizing while also displaying a lot of her subtle nuances, slight shifts in inflection, colors, tones, and the way she caresses the lyrics with her rangy voice..
Michael Dinallo, John Vath
Backing vocalist Amber Casares sang “One Drink Closer To Heaven” with a voice soft as honey and high as a choir. Her vocal chops were enhanced by a strong personality that abounds from her voice.
Back into Simmons’ original material, “Moonshine And Sweet Tea” became a pretty duet number even as the subject matter proved that the title’s ingredients don’t mix. Simmons’ cover of Steve Earle’s “Some Day” was another she made her own with her forceful musical personality. Likewise, Simmons’ vocal thickened with emotion in all the right places during her original “For You,” written for her mother.
‘The Abyss,” a song about letting go of one’s fears, had more of a country stomp beneath it. Backing musicians
Juliet Simmons, Amber Casares
included Simmons’ husband-guitarist Michael Dinallo and upright bass player Chuck Vath. The two put some muscle underneath the vocals. Dinallo picked a pretty melody on his acoustic, adding an additional layer of emotion.
Written about her daughter, Simmons’ “Dream Girl” was adorned with nice harmony vocals that pleasantly reminded of late 1950s to early 1960s pop music. Then, backing vocalist Casares took over the lead vocal duties for “I Fell In Love” and performed it with a rustic flavored country beauty.
Simmons’ nailed the Charlie Rich song “You Can Have Her” with her considered, modulated vocal, injecting it with pluck as she stretched her vocal notes into pleasant territory.
Juliet Simmons
“Tennessee,” a number off of Simmons’ upcoming album, offered lyrical descriptions of one of this singer-songwriter’s’ favorite places. Like most musicians, Simmons connects with the state that contains two major music cities and beautiful rolling hills all along its highways and she brought her feelings about it to vivid life at last night’s show.
Simmons’ second set began with “Don’t Got Much,” a simple song with a simple structure that let her vocal soar. “No Regrets,” the title track of Simmons’ 2014 release, showcased some of her most beautiful sustains, adorning her song by thickening and coloring her vocal melody. Simmons delivered the goods on a cover of John Hyatt’s “Gone,” maintaining its witty verses on time with the right feeling. Simmons’ phrasing was also quite considerate during her
“Learn To Love Again,” belting the opening before gently switching dynamics to something more gentle.
Casares sang lead vocal on “Carmelita,”stretching her timbre to reflect the mournful beauty of the words and wrapping it around the melody line with her personal finesse.
Both Simmons and Casares created tremendous lift during the chorus on a cover of Joy Lynn White’s “Life’s Just Too Short.” Next song, “Fly,” is about little children turning into angles, a sad song inspired by the Sandy Hook tragedy. This Simmons’ original made her voice sound like it was floating on a cloud, feeling so lifted and light.
Simmons closed out her show with a cover of John Prine’s bar band chestnut “Angel From Montgomery,” proving she’s one of the few who can make this song her own while breathing much needed new life into it.
Juliet Simmons And The Lonesome Romeos proved that Simmons’ tremendous vocal ability and songwriting nuances are a considerably strong combination. Many will be looking forward to their next CD release.
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