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Words & Images by Jake Krolick
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals :: 09.12.06 :: Philadelphia, PA
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals :: World Cafe Live |
Late at night inside the World Cafe Live, a buckle on Grace Potter's discarded boot sat glistening across from me. It reflected a warm and welcoming scene. She had just kicked off her show boots and was settling into a spot on the backstage couch. The scene was one you could relate to, like coming inside from the snow and kicking off your wet winter clothes. The conversations flowed easily between Scott Tournet (lead guitar, harmonica, vocals), Bryan Dondero (upright/electric bass), and a few members from the Philadelphia band The Brakes. Grace's loud, boisterous voice carried over the group as she held the spotlight, erupting into stories with trucker-mouthed profanity.
The laid-back conversation went off in all different directions as I left the answering of questions to whoever didn't have a drink, smoke, or other distraction at the moment. As I caught Grace's attention for one of my more difficult questions, I noticed a wonderful pause by the rest of the band. They waited for her answer, hanging on the edge of other conversations, ready to jump in with a response. I let fly a question about being one of the few female musicians in the so-called jam scene and whether or not she felt it is more or less of a challenge? Grace answered quickly, and in her laughing sort of way said that she just felt like one of the guys. Then, as if the whole team had been questioned, each member starting with Scott said that Grace was just one of the band. They didn't look at her like she was female or male, but a band member first. I looked back at Grace, she paused and quietly said that it could be a bit tough at times. Grace's strength comes from her depth of character and her ability to share pieces of it with us on stage through stories, energy, and emotion.
Grace Potter :: 09.12 :: World Cafe Live |
It's interesting because when you consider Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at face value, you get a band that captures the audiences with a fun, ambitious, and boisterous performance. But underneath, you get a sense that there is much more to these Vermont musicians. They have a deeper side, a side that we can't place a finger directly on but we love. It's that darker side that makes them rock as hard as anyone these days, and they have only been at it for a couple of years.
They have created some large footprints to fill since the last time they held the World Café Live main stage in February. The band had just finished a tide-turning summer with massive performances at all the major festivals. From Grace's dirty, messy set to the masses at Bonnaroo, to the wild guitar-shattering performance at All Good, they tore the country a new one during the summer of 2006 and are not looking back for anything.
The Nocturnals :: World Cafe Live |
Potter and company blew back into Philadelphia on a strong wind of possibilities and unbridled success. The crowd was truly a new sight because now people knew what to expect from this band and were enthusiastically awaiting a back-shaking, burly rock show. Grace talked about how the band played to the mood of the crowd. For their reentry into the WCL, tables had been moved so the crowd could press up against the stage. The Nocturnals emerged, building the evening's foundation on the banks of the Delta blues with a dirty slide guitar driven "Meantime." The song surged and pulsed to life like a wild beast prodded awake with an electric current. From the back of the bar, the raucous music fans shook out their daytime cobwebs. Grace let her voice rise to a cry matching Scott Tournet's devilishly slow and dirty slide work. The blue-tinted fury inside the music grew during the beginning of the set. It gave way to the softer, alt-country sounds of "Ain't No Time." Grace tilted her head back, her hair silhouetted in red and yellow spotlights, as she softly testified through the new song:
Well there ain't no time to let that gun be shy baby.
Well there ain't no time to live up to a lie baby.
Well there ain't no time for sweet potato pie.
Well there's far too many things to do before the day is through.
Grace Potter :: World Cafe Live |
Grace finished to cheers and questioned what we were all doing here on a Tuesday. The timing was perfect as Matthew Burr kicked his signature "Mystery Train" rim shot off with a flick of his wrist and a whack of the sticks on the drum kit. The Nocturnals yanked on Junior Parker's song as train sounds rolled out with Scott's harmonica. Grace worked her gritty voice though the octaves, using her hand to take her voice higher.
Potter & Tournet :: 09.12 :: World Cafe Live |
The band was able to leave their comfort zone on familiar songs. This version of "Mystery Train" carried a slower-than-normal tempo with a continuation on the alt-country sound. Bryan Dondero plugged the bottom of the ship with a heavy hand on the upright bass. Each of the band members shined brightly as Scott and Grace boogied across the stage together in a spirited guitar jam. The front woman compelled the whole audience to sing along with the rambling music as the sound grew and grew.
Later in our conversation we touched upon the relationship the band held with North Mississippi Allstars. Their influence was felt during the jam out of "Mystery Train." Grace and Scott talked about how those guys were great to play with and that they treated them phenomenally. Grace commented on how she and Luther had formed a good musical connection as the songwriters and leaders of the bands. You could hear the different influences from the past year on Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and it was great to see how much they had pulled from these experiences.
Grace Potter :: 09.12 :: Philly |
Grace's quips flowed as they always do. Her Jerry Joseph storytelling is charming and honest. She went into a story about the next song, "Joey," and although she says she doesn't save any of her ramblings to memory, she referenced her Sara Silverman comment from the last show. Grace told us "Joey" is a song about anyone you want to picture in your mind. When you were a little kid, your ball coach would say picture the lamest person you can think of and imagine that they are the ball.
"Joey" started in the same slow and dirty Delta grind. The guitar just picked off smoldering notes and mixed with Grace's distorted voice to float off like smoke. Her sinister stare towards Scott dragged him over as she placed the tambourine back down on her B3 Hammond. She adjusted her wide leather belt and let her head shake to the push of the organ keys. Grace's Hammond gleamed in glory as she transformed into a female Tony Monaco and Jimmy McGriff all wrapped into one. She let her fingers dance heavily on keys as Scott and Bryan traded the bottom and top sections on guitar and bass. It was obvious as she re-clasped the shinning, silver tambourines that the bloodlines of soul and Americana roots music touched her.
Bryan Dondero launched into a very reserved and soulful solo opening for "Toothbrush." His stand-up bass work showed his patience and ability to groove with a jazzier side. The bass guided the rest of the band into a soulful version of the song. Grace did her best Aretha Franklin impression as she sang of her beloved jeans and J.J. Cale. Matt Burr's drumming had started to stand-out as he found his spot. His drumming had tightened up, and he found new directions to fill the sound in unique and varied ways. Bryan and Matt started holding a pretty decent musical conversation. They fed off each other's jazzier licks, giving Grace's voice a wonderful web to navigate.
The jazzed-up number gave way to a powerful Grace-led ballad, spitting and charging forward. "Over Again" raced ahead, pulling us all along in its wake. The reality of how good this band is had sunk into the group near me as they screamed about how much better they were live. Grace screamed back, a gorgeous waver in the back of her voice.
Grace Potter :: 09.12 :: World Cafe Live |
"Over Again" will make the third album as the band goes back into the studio in LA this October with producer Mike Daly, former member of the alt-country band Whiskeytown. The tempo changes in their music are never more evident than in the treatment of "Over Again." The simpler jams from past performances flowered into peaking, frothing, reverberation-filled compositions that blew past the crowd expecting a lighter show. The rest of us sweated and screamed for more as Scott furiously pummeled his guitar's six strings. Grace softly tapped the brakes and slowed the speed, pulling a soft hum from her Hammond before her voice erupted again. Grace told me she wrote "Lose Sometime" in Philadelphia and that tonight was the first time she performed it on electric guitar. There were some squeamish moments on the guitar, but it was a pleasure to see Grace vulnerable. This vulnerability made her voice appear even stronger. "Lose Sometime," like many of her songs, has serious emotion behind it. It often feels like she is pulling from experiences, like in the songs, "Apologies" and "Out of My Tree." But Grace gingerly shrugged them off, saying she was just young and dumb and got hurt by a guy. Matt said "Yea, 'Apologies' is like Jupiter, and now we are on Saturn." Whether they want to discuss the past or not, it comes forth wonderfully translated as gorgeous songs that streak across our consciousness. The peaks and valleys waiting to show themselves are hidden by the darkness of experience.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals :: 09.12 :: World Cafe Live |
The guitar soared off as Grace waxed southern poetic as if she just took a huge swig off a bottle and let out a howl. Deep from inside something released and her mood changed. She sauntered around the stage revealing short bursts of power that radiated out into the very darkest corners of the venue. This was the same kind of contagious energy that happened the first time Grace threw her guitar at All Good, and it probably wouldn't be her last. She later said she had bought that guitar right before the show for about $100 and had it for about a day before she trashed it. That same force blew up in the venue during "Every Mile." There were no guitar tosses this time, but it was not for a lack of trying as the whole band threw themselves wildly around the stage. Grace had developed a nasty guitar stance and heaved her ax around like some sort of Roman gladiator pounding the enemy. Grace apologized for the fact that she didn't have a Who tune for us, but launched into the next best thing - a Rolling Stones cover of "No Expectations." Tournet's Fender was set ablaze, drawing hoots and hollers for his motivated guitar solos while Burr and Dondero provided a stellar back-beat to the searing atmosphere. Grace's knack for restraint backed off, and she let it all hang out. Her voice offered an expansive range, which was both real and gritty. Her notes wrapped us up in the depth of blues one moment and pushed us back the next.
The 22-year-old Potter has a comfort level that stretched around the house as she sifted through the burnt ashes of her life. The evening finished with Bryan Dondero showing me his collection of old school Superman cartoons. Grace doesn't steal the limelight, and you can see why the rest of the band sees her as just one of the guys. There have been people who capture a spirit of years beyond their age and experience. Grace Potter holds one of those heavy souls. She has the ability to weave her youthful exuberance into a high-caliber performance beyond anything you might expect. Some people just walk into a room or onto a stage and instantly command it. Grace epitomizes such charisma in a way that echoes with a powerful resonance.
JamBase | Philadelphia
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