Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (GPN)

I go to many concerts and recitals. I don’t generally comment on them here on our site. Most are classical in nature and it probably wouldn’t surprise any of you to hear that Emanuel Ax played Chopin impeccably at The Pabst. But while I’m a classical lover, I’m not just a classical lover. In the past month alone I’ve been to jazz and rock shows as well. Going to a great musical performance LIVE is my favorite form of entertainment! The purpose of THIS entry is to brag up a band I have fallen in love with and to let you know their LIVE show brings down the house! Don’t miss GPN when they’re in your neighborhood.

We all know that with traveling rock bands in particular, you often don’t get a very good live performance. Sometimes the band is tired from traveling and plays on fumes. Sometimes you discover the engineers in the studio really made the most of what they had to work with. But most often these days you find the older bands we knew and loved… are just washed up. So when you find a band or individual performer who blows you away live, it’s really exceptional and makes for a scintillating experience. That’s why I’m touting GPN!

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals have made three CDs in the past four years. I ran into the band while channel surfing and caught them at the end of The Tonight Show. They played a tune called “Paris” that really caught my ear. I immediately thought of Heart, who has always been one of my favorite rock bands. With web research I learned their past has been a combination of rock and blues. The band changed members in 2009 and has obviously hit its stride! As good as they are on CD, and they ARE good on CD, especially the CD released in 2010 titled “Grace Potter & The Nocturnals” – they’re even better live!

On Jan 15 I saw them at Turner Hall. While it’s a poor venue to HEAR anything (it’s a barn) I won’t blame GPN for that. First and foremost, GPN is a real band. It isn’t just a few musicians providing back drop for an attractive singer. More on that “singer” later.

Every rock band needs guitarists with chops. Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco have more time to show their stuff on stage than they do on CD. They make the most of it! Catherine Popper is a talented bass player who is always on time. Drummer Matt Burr is a phenomenal, powerful drummer from the Mick Fleetwood mold. These four are a terrific force of nature on their own. They take many full length songs and transition straight to the next one. You get plenty of incredible musicianship along the way.

Every rock band needs a strong singer. I’ll make no apologies for preferring females in this role. I want to hear them singing they love me, even though I know they’re lyin! Grace Potter provides the complete package. She’s a terrific, fiery singer with a scrumptious stage presence. She plays a mean Hammond B3 organ and some guitar as well. But make no mistake; it is her slightly husky, highly charged singing with a large dose of sex appeal that carries the day.

Oh, what about the music? GPN has lots of terrific music! They have much delicious original material, from dynamic rock tunes like “Paris” and “Medicine” to the bluesy “Low Road” and show stopping accapella ballad “Nothing But the Water.” For over two hours GPN put on a clinic to show how a great rock band puts on a show!

For GPN this had to be just one more night on a long tour (about 40 shows in 60 days). And yet they brought their “A Game” to Milwaukee, which delighted an exuberant crowd. After all, we could have stayed home and watched the Packers whip the Falcons. But I can tell you the full house at Turner was stoked to see the show. There were plenty of Packer highlights on TV when we got home.

Dave Holmes