Pickin’ & Grinnin’ - Juliet Turner
Duke Special, Juliet Turner
Barrels, Berwick on Tweed, July 16
We came to listen to the new ‘star’ on the horizon, Juliet Turner promoting her new album Season Of The Hurricane and ended up praising her support act as well. The appearance of Duke Special was the first of many pleasant surprises at Barrels. This was the second time I’d heard Duke Special and it is difficult to keep on describing a musician as ‘unique’ and ‘original’ because people start slipping in their own adjectives like ‘weird.’ However, to set the scene, imagine the Cure’s Robert Smith invading your great granny’s parlour and using her gramophone and the family piano for purposes she could never have imagined and you get some idea.
So while the look of Duke Special is certainly different, there is a basic truth that remains constant. At the heart of what he does is music, the imagery is merely a signpost, without songs like Something Might Happen (about a guy jumping off a bridge) or Don’t Breathe, which are almost bottomless in the depth of their emotion it would lead nowhere. Until the final number Let You Down, when he treated us to several cymbal crashes. He was an intense but almost reluctant performer, so wrapped up in creating the music he appeared ill at ease at times. The dreadlocks and gramophone, he wore one and played the other, are one half of a contrast because he also possesses a voice that is warm and rich, it doesn’t so much carry a tune as float it around the room. In 20 years time he could carve out another career as a singer of ballads if he wishes. One doesn’t want to mention any names but I’d be looking at cardigans if he were planning that career path.
Categorising Duke Special as a live performer is virtually impossible, he’ll never rouse a crowd but he will hold them in the palm of his hand. The audience was largely Juliet Turner’s but he took them and he held on to them with the honest passion of songs like John Lennon Love, Wake Up Scarlett and Freewheel, which was a tapestry woven from the multicoloured threads of his life. Maybe that’s at the heart of his appeal, he takes the mundane and makes it magical. Don’t go and see him because he’s ‘different,’ or because he’s ‘original’ although he is both of those things. Rather go and see him because he’s a hugely talented musician.
It was case of follow that for Juliet Turner. I called her a rising star but her star has definitely already risen. At the moment she’s in danger of becoming a ‘media darling’ and it’s easy to understand why. Superficially her songs are unthreatening, delivered in a voice that moves effortlessly through the gamut of emotions. Live she has a natural ready wit, she loves the audience and they undoubtedly love her, this was officially designated a ‘love-fest.’ But it would be a sin if she were hijacked by the chino and Brooks Brothers shirt set because the ‘danger’ factor in Juliet Turner’s music lies just beneath the surface and, when it erupts, it’s a force to be reckoned with.
She was joined by Brian Grace and Shaun McGee, Grace played on her previous visit but the addition of McGee on bass gave a fuller sound, she has moved from singer to leader of the band. And in the company of Grace and McGee she formed a Peter, Paul and Mary for a world that has lost its virginity. Instead of Puff The Magic Dragon Turner gave us Rough Lion’s Tongue the tale of a heroin addict doing street gymnastics to earn the money for a fix. Leavin On A Jet Plane became Belfast Central; both about moving on, but the former rose-tinted, the latter honest and brutal. Even her breakthrough song Everything Beautiful Is Burning was removed from the ‘radio friendly playlist’ and stripped bare. It became the song of destruction its title suggests. With Grace by her side she threw out the song’s bathwater but kept the baby safe and sound. It was a chilling and ultimately sad moment as she allowed a peek inside the mind of the song.
Juliet Turner is an accomplished performer and she gently guided the audience through the natural highs and lows of a gig. She let the air out of the emotional highs only to inflate them again when the time was right. The audience went with her willingly. It is unlikely but it would be shame if Juliet Turner ended up in some ‘middle of the road hell’ because with songs like Queen On Canal Street and Signal and the Noise she articulates an unyielding and burning conscience. She is one of a rare breed of musician that actually believes in something. However she knows how to sugar the pill and the love song Pizza And Wine is surely the national anthem for every stumbling, bumbling one of us that has suffered the agonies of first love. Juliet Turner is a born entertainer; you only needed to hear the packed audience’s reaction to her at Barrels to know that. Along with that she is passionate, committed, intelligent and articulate. She has the power to speak for people who have no voice. And, what’s more, make people listen. Whether they hear or not is up to them. Michael Mee