Allstage Crawl: Juice

The Lady Has Pipes

December 27 ^th , 2019, Barb and I ventured out to see one of my favorite London singers front her rock band - Kimberley Noftle and Juice.

Juice is a local cover classic rock band that also cross over into harder flavored R&B covers due to the immense vocal range of Kimberley that gives the band that latitude. The band is fun to watch and their setlist certainly lends itself to people wanting to get up and dance – for me personally, it’s the talent of seeing my friends deliver onstage.

Kimberley Noftle – Lead Vocals, Flute, Percussion , delivers a thunderous vocal onstage. Her range is quite good to start with, but it is the power by which she hammers out each song she tackles that makes people feel that tingle up their spine. She can reach back for the most soulful notes needed, or crush you with Brian Johnson (ACDC) vocal lines that can shatter your bar glass. One thing I have seen time after time is the crowd going bonkers after one of her stellar vocal deliveries. Make no mistake, this Lady is one of the best in town.

Michael Gervais - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals, is the perfect foil to Lead Guitarist Trevor Wilkins in the band. Michael delivers unwavering rhythm guitar for the band and gives Trevor all the leeway to do what he does from his side of the stage to facilitate the song at the moment. Michael also adds a layer of background vocals that is vital to the band’s delivery of the setlist which is crucial for any good band. His ability to play rhythm as well as he does, gives the band a fuller sound onstage and allows them to include material more geared to a four-piece rock band.

Trevor Wilkins - Lead Guitar is gaining huge strides in his playing lead guitar. I thought he was good in the past, but he has really elevated his game since the last time I heard him. His leads are excellent and exciting if you are a musician and onstage, he has the perfect mis of humor and having great stage presence when searing away on guitar. I really have become a fan of Trevor’s playing and probably more so as he is that much better each time I see him live.

Angela Sheppard - Bass Guitar, Vocals has come eons at playing bass. Angela used to come out to The Allstage Jam that I ran at The Eastside Bar and come up and play bass. She did a lot better than she thought she did but always had a very shy and reserved presence onstage where all her focus was on getting through the song – those days are way behind. Angela has obviously put a lot of work into learning her instrument and it shows, she is confident onstage now, plays extremely well and while still somewhat shy onstage – there is a definite air of confidence to her playing and its great to see.

Chris Mc Creanor – Drums is the perfect foundation for this band. I love Chris’ playing and he is the perfect fit for this band. He throws in dazzle when it works but for the most part, he just lays down his part and drives the band along effortlessly through each song. He’s a crashing cymbal guy like me meaning that when he hits the brass – he HITS the brass and fills the air with that wonderful sound of a crashing cymbal accent that just adds to the urgency of the music. Chris is always on his marks and when he needs to, and has the talent to pull back, but when it comes time to lay down the thunder the man can do it in spades.

This is a damn fine band for five specific reasons – the band members themselves.

Each of them are good at what they do, and they can deliver what they choose to play - add that to crowd favorite tunes that gets people up dancing and the musicianship, and its win-win for the venue and crowds that get to see them live.

They even wrote a great original tune about people who are bullies – what’s not to like.

Check them out at their next show and plan on staying, you won’t want to leave.

Jim McCormick - Allstage