Performing the second night in a string of four sold-out shows at the 9:30 Club, one could have forgiven Grace Potter and the Nocturnals if they had taken it a bit easy. But on Friday night, Grace Potter and her band ran on stage with energy, an impressive amount of endurance, and an eagerness to please.
After a show, there are usually one or two moments that really stand out—when the guitar solo blew everyone away, or the lead singer hit the nearly impossible high note, or the ubiquitous all-crowd sing-a-long made a venue of strangers feel like a group of tight friends.
But Grace Potter and the Nocturnals didn’t give us just one of those moments on Friday night. Instead, the entire show was filled with them. As soon as they walked on stage, Potter and her talented band made it clear that this was going to be a big night for all of us, with Potter announcing, “I think this is going to be a very dirty Friday night in Washington, DC!”
For a group from Vermont that got their start on the jam band circuit, Potter and her band have developed a following as diverse as their catalog. There were gray-haired men clinging to the railing of the balcony, guys in faded and pinned denim jackets in the front row, 20-something women in high-heeled boots and sequined tops ready to dance, young men in plaid button downs, or even authentic ’90s flannel. At one point, a portly, older bald man in an Oxford button-down and slacks next to me was Instagramming a picture of Potter during “Paris (Ooh La La).” This was not your typical 9:30 Club crowd.
It’s just as hard to pin down the band’s sound. Often compared to legends like Janis Joplin, Potter herself has recently veered further into mainstream pop and country than rock and roll and blues. This has both broadened her fan base—when was the last time you saw an artist easily sell out four nights in a row at the 9:30 Club?—and, at times, diluted the grittier complexity that made the band’s earlier albums so great.
Touring on the release of their fourth studio album The Lion the Beast the Beat, their set leaned heavily on both this newest release as well as their 2010 self-titled hit, with a few older tracks woven throughout. Dressed in a white shorts suit with a fringed shirt and black sequined boots, her shaggy blonde hair her most noticeable accessory, Potter looks like that modern pop star. But part of her charm comes from her chameleon-like ability to transition from up-tempo pop hits like the show-opener “Medicine,” to bluesy, soul-filled tunes like “Joey,” one of the band’s older songs off of 2007’s Nothing But the Water.
Potter’s hippie roots shine through whenever she lets loose and dances, hair in her face and arms flailing. It’s not hard to imagine her in the flannel shirts and peasant dresses she rocked back in the mid-2000s.
The Lion the Beast the Beat has received mixed reviews, generally seen as trying too hard to push Potter into superstardom. The couple of weak spots in the show reflected the weak points in the album. A few songs in, Potter’s charisma seemed to overtake “Keepsake,” an up-tempo pop song. I wanted both the lyrics and the music to be deeper and more robust. “Timekeeper,” a ballad, followed. Potter’s voice was beautiful as always, but the song again felt flat.
Luckily, these disappointments were few. “Colors” allowed Potter’s voice to shine, strong and soulful. She ceased trying to convince the audience to enjoy themselves, instead losing herself in the music; the crowed willingly followed suit, swaying and waving their arm, entranced.
After catching our breath, Potter picked up her guitar and the band transitioned into “One Short Night,” the first truly country-influenced song of the set. She told the crowd, “This feels like a the kind of night when a few people in the audience are going to make mistakes—like good mistakes….Keep your mind open and see what will happen.” And the audience listened, as this song marked the point where the night transitioned from a performance into an all-out dance party.
One of the highlights of the night came next. “Belladonna” hasn’t appeared on a Nocturnals album. It’s a B-side from 2007 that surfaced in Japan where, as Potter told us, “a bunch of fucking geeks found it and won’t shut up about it. I fucking love geeks.” When Potter’s at the mic, it’s easy to focus solely on her; but when she’s also on guitar, as on this song, the band seems even more comfortable and cohesive, with all members taking responsibility for performing.
The set ended with “Paris (Ooh La La),” one of the group’s biggest hits and the obvious crowd pleaser. As the audience sang and danced along, Potter looked thrilled. This is a role she relishes—interacting with an adoring crowd that loves her music.
After a fulfilling rendition of the title track off of The Lion the Beast the Beat and a barefooted, dance heavy cover of “White Rabbit” kicked off the encore, the band left the stage. Potter stood alone, dressed in a sequined robe and with a tambourine in hand. As she launched into “Nothing But the Water (I),” the venue was silent and dark, a single spotlight on her. With just Potter and her microphone, the song was mildly haunting but intensely beautiful. It proved that, despite any naysayers, this is a woman with real talent, deep soul, and a voice you just want to keep hearing.
As her band came back for “Nothing But the Water (II),” you believed, instantly, that Grace Potter and the Nocturnals hoped their audience had an amazing night. Maybe it’s just because they’re from Vermont, or because they still smile so damn much that they can’t be narcissistic rock stars just yet, or maybe because they put down their instruments in favor of a group hug at the end of the show—whatever it is, they made it clear that they were there to have a good time. And they hoped you did too.
Connecticut’s The Stepkids opened the show. Consisting of of guitarist Jeff Gitelman (formerly touring with Alicia Keys), keyboardist Dan Edinberg, and drummer Tim Walsh, the Stepkids’ version of psychedelic rock incorporates elements of punk, jazz, folk, and more. Wearing white pants and shirts with all white instruments, the band is known for their kaleidoscope imagery projected onto the screen behind them. Hiding themselves in the images allowed the audience of focus solely on the music. Although the trio has only been together for a few years, their collective experience songwriting and touring informs their work as a band. Their sound was tight, with seamless transitions into and out of jams and from song to song.
Their set ended with “Cup Half Full” off of their self-titled 2011 debut album. Beginning as easy, beachy pop tune, they quickly increased the tempo. At times, the almost-frenetic pace sounded like a modern rendition of that bar mitzvah classic, “Shout”—only one that you would actually want to listen to. To me, that’s impressive enough in and of itself.
THE STEPKIDS
Photos: Richie Downs
