Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at the Beachland Ballroom 12.13.2008

The Beachland was almost filled to capacity last Saturday night as Grace Potter and the Nocturnals took the stage in support of their second album Nothing But Water. The Vermont based band has a good buzz about them right now, appearing on most of the late night TV shows and an hour long feature on PBS, and they attracted a diverse crowd made up of hard core fans, jam rock fans, and music fans out looking for a fresh quality sound.
Even with the catchy name, the band is about Grace Potter. She does most of the writing, sings lead on every song, and also plays a very good keyboard and guitar. Her fifteen song set included selections from both of her albums, as well as several covers of classic rock standards. Amongst the highlights were "Ain't No Time" and "Big White Gate" from her first album This Is Somewhere; the title track from her second album which was she closed the show with; and a solid version of Neil Young's "Down By the River."
She was backed by a small band of guitar, bass, and drums. The band was occasionally augmented by members of the night's opening act Blues and Thunder to fill out the sound.
I think most of the fans got what they came for. The hard-core fans swayed and sang along to most songs, and the jam band fans got into the guitar lead jams that stretched most of the songs. The music fans unfamiliar with her but out for a night of fresh music probably saw a work in progress, a talented young lady who is still evolving as an artist. For more on Grace Potter and her music visit www.gracepotter.com.
As always the Beachland has a lot of great stuff coming up, including a Jason and the Scorchers reunion show on New Year's Eve, Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding on January 10, and Jonathon Edwards on January 30. For more information go to www.beachlandballroom.com.