After the Todd Snider experience, I swung over to the Solar Stage for what was billed as an acoustic performance/interview with Grace Potter. Instead, I was presently surprised and got the full on Grace Potter and the Nocturnals treatment. I first caught the Nocturnals at the 2006 Bonnaroo. I had never heard of the band before examining that year’s schedule. But after checking out a couple of songs of their myspace page, they were penciled in for Saturday morning. They blew me and everyone else at This Tent away. The 4 piece band lead by Potter herself on a manic Hammond B-3 organ, to put it simply, rocked. Combining influences like the Band, Neil Young, Aretha Franklin, and Lucinda Williams, their bluesy, country, soul version of rock n roll was like a breath of fresh air that pummeled the audience into submission. They performed the first encore by a non-headlining Bonnaroo act (a charming version of the tender ballad “Farmer Johnâ€) that I had ever seen.
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Since appearing at Bonnaroo in 2006 a lot has happened to the Nocturnals. They released their third record This Is Somewhere last year, which popped up on alternative radio station playlists across the country with songs like “Ah Mary†and the piano ballad “Apologiesâ€. Yet another song, “Falling or Flyingâ€, appeared on the hit TV show Grey’s Anatomy. I liked the record quite a bit, though I thought the heavy production may have sapped some of the band’s live energy (a common complaint of mine). Then, earlier this year, the band said goodbye to founding bassist Bryan Dondero and began recording their follow up record with…….T-Bone Burnett (O Brother Where Art Though, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss). The as of yet untitled record is due out this fall. The band, which in addition to Potter includes guitarist Scott Tournet and drummer Matt Burr, then held auditions for a new bass player. The first person to audition was Catherine Popper, a founding member Ryan Adams and the Cardinals who has played with the likes of Levon Helm, Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, and numerous others. Catherine Popper is the new bass player. The band also recruited fellow Vermont native Benny Yurco as their touring rhythm guitarist.
The only downside of catching the Nocturnals at the smaller Solar Stage was that Potter didn’t drag her B-3 over for the performance. Even without the organ, the Nocturnals put on one of my favorite performances of the weekend. They began with the first two tracks off This Is Somewhere, “Ah Mary†and “Stop the Busâ€. They then proceeded to play entirely new material, save a single song, for the rest of the set. Potter has described the new record as “a soul record at its core, like the Velvet Underground backing Aretha Franklinâ€. Needless to say, the show was unbelievable. This is truly one of the best live bands I have ever seen. Catch them if and every time you can.
Next up for me were sets by Robert Earl Keen and Merle Haggard, both elder statesmen of the Americana genre. Keen’s band rocked a little harder than expected as he lead the eager crowd through classic like “The Road Goes on Forever†and other crowd favorites. Merle Haggard started out a little rough (he had an operation for his lung cancer in November of 08), but his voice grew stronger throughout the set, settling in by the time the band laced into “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drinkâ€. The Bonnaroo crowd was particularly eager for this living legend. Haggard had been assigned to one of the medium size tents rather than one of the bigger stages, and the crowd seemed to go forever beyond the support awnings and out into the vendor’s stands. That’s was it for my Bonnaroo, though I would catch a little of the Band of Horses (sounding tight as always) as I waited in line at the Comedy Tent. Nothing would match the energy of the Nocturnals set, nor would any group match the confidence of Haggard’s stately performance. I’m sure I’ll be back to the field in Tennessee again and I can’t wait.
About the author: Specializes in Dead, Drunk, and Nakedness..... Former College Radio DJ and Current Craft Beer Nerd