It’s been 5 years since I first saw Grace Potter & the Nocturnals in concert. The 5 years has seen a lot of changes to the band, a couple of line-up changes, a couple of records, a slew of major festival appearances, and practical stardom thanks to appearances on VH1 and the Ellen DeGeneres show. But to be honest, I was a little disappointed when the T-Bone Burnett sessions were shelved in favor of the Mark Batson produced self-titled record. Evidently I was the only one, as the record has easily been the band’s most successful to date. Still, I was (and am) one of those crotchety old fans who complained about the lack of Potter’s beautiful B-3 and the more glam rock-pop nature of (some) of the new material. I hate to be one of those guys, but I am. However, that was all torpedoed on Monday night in the gale force winds that constitute a Grace Potter & the Nocturnals live performance.
I’ve seen the band a couple of times in the last five years and damn it if they don’t kick my ass every time. There can’t be too many better live bands on the planet. I put them right up there next to My Morning Jacket in their ability to deliver transcendent live performances. Grace Potter has a voice can only have been sculpted my God him/herself. More soul than rock, and more rock than folk, her voice captures all the best parts of Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, and Aretha Franklin. And the band, the band, the band……I can think of no words to do them justice. The addition of Catherine Popper (bass) and Benny Yurco (rhythm guitar) has really open things up for lead guitarist Scott Tournet. And drummer Matt Burr improves every year I see him. At this show he was brutally attacking the kit, creating the kind of big rock and roll sound that recalls a Jim Keltner or Max Weinberg.
And despite what some of us may say about the conspicuous absence of the Hammond organ on the records, at live shows Grace can still be counted on to slid her shaking ass behind her heavenly B-3 and make you want to cry. She does do a bit of dancing out front in her new semi-diva persona (an excellent cross between Mick Jagger and Tina Turner), but musically she’s on top of her game.
Highlights of the evening spent at the cozy and beautiful Ives Park in Danbury, CT included a blustery opener of “Medicine,†Mr. Tournet’s beautiful harp work on “Goodbye Kiss,†the solo acoustic “Falling or Flying,†the now classic “Some Kind of Ride,†and the always breath taking closer “Nothing But the Water (Parts 1 & 2).†If you can find a better live band on the planet, I dare you to prove it to me.
About the author: Specializes in Dead, Drunk, and Nakedness..... Former College Radio DJ and Current Craft Beer Nerd