The crowd in Bryant Park was buzzing with electric delight as the stars of the evening’s secret (((artist’s den))) show, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, took the stage at 7:30 last Thursday night. I personally was expecting my socks to be blown off based purely on the pure perfection that is the band’s third, self-titled album. Little did anyone in the roughly 200-deep crowd that not only were Ms. Potter and her Nocturnals about to blow everyone’s socks off their fee, but would also be redefining what a live concert experience should be in its most perfect form.
The band began ripping through the opening chords of their newest single, “Hot Summer Night,” as lead singer Grace Potter herself gleefully leapt onto the stage in a tantalizing yet oddly tasteful mini-dress. “Look at those legs!” someone screamed as Potter took hold of the microphone and let loose a note that shut everyone in the park up almost immediately. As she bounced around stage, clearly having the time of her life, Potter pranced, pouted, and pushed her vocals to crazy extremities I only assume have never been hit so masterfully before. Before the far-too-short number was over, the audience erupted into applause, all clearly taken with the gorgeous Potter and her stellar band.
I think my shock at just how pitch perfect and powerful Potter’s vocals proved to be was not so much of a surprise to me as the realization of my hopes for the evening. Ever since I got my hands on the band’s third album in June, I have been a Nocturnal addict. With recorded music, vocals can really go two ways these days: auto-tuned or genuine singing. With Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, you get the feeling that the band can do so much more in a live setting; it’s a bit like they’ve been constrained by the studio in which the album was recorded. While the album is still truly marvelous, it translated phenomenally to the airy and open Bryant Park. The guitars sounded dirty (in the best possible sense) and, as clunky as this sound, a very modern sounding throwback. It’s hard to explain the band’s sound succinctly, but suffice it to say, it’s as if you blended Janis Joplin, The Allman Brothers, The Black Keys, add a dash of folk, a sprinkle of Lynrd Skynrd, and a pinch of perfection and out comes the still-wholeheartedly original and refreshing Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.
The band showed off its immense skill in transitioning smoothly between sexy rock anthems and slower, lush ballads. It was a true treat to see them keep the audience engaged for the full course of their nearly two hour long set. The blend of old and new pleased everyone, but the band’s heavy emphasis on its newer material worked out perfectly. Seasonally perfect songs like “Goodbye Kiss” and “Medicine” were the two best slow numbers. Potter sang “Kiss” with all the passion and pluck of a scorned lover, and the organ-tinged number meshed with the outdoor surroundings in a manner so magical that the best thing I can liken it to is a modern-day Woodstock. Meanwhile, Potter tackled “Light” with a clawing urgency that enveloped the audience in a shimmering sanguinity. The true star of the slow songs was the band’s biggest hit to date, “Apologies,” played with the effortless aplomb of a band that’s been around ten times as long as theirs. The Nocturnals opened up a quiet, personal song to the rest of us, inviting us to feel alongside them. It was a breathtaking few minutes.
With the mood in the park significantly mellow, Potter winked and flashed a cheeky smile as she puckered her lips and shouted “now we’re gonna play a song that all the kids know is dirty but love to sing anyway!” as the guitarists simultaneously tore into the band’s playfully sexual trip to “Paris (Ooh La La).” The audience screamed their enthusiasm as Potter began to grind her microphone stand, singing “You got me down on the floor / so what’d you bring me down her for?” As she seductively pranced and writhed across the stage, Potter kept a constant girlish grin plastered on her face. That modesty is one of her best qualities; to be as frank as possible, she has the voice of a goddess and looks like a younger, sexier Heidi Klum. In short, it really seems like her lucky stars aligned in perfect succession, so why shouldn’t she be strutting her stuff like a star? It was her picture perfect smile that betrayed that otherwise rock-legend persona, making her even more likeable and relatable in the process.
After leaving the stage for a quick breather, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals returned for a four-song encore, starting with a Dirty-Southern take on Blondie’s hit “Heart of Glass.” It’s always a risky move to cover an iconic song like that live; sometimes the cover is deemed a sound-alike or, even worse, an unrecognizable version of the original. There were no such problems with “Glass” which remained easily recognizable in the band’s slow, bluesy rendering. The band capped off their encore with twin songs from their first album, the A Capella “Nothing But the Water, Pt. 1” and the rock-explosion “Nothing But the Water, Pt. 2.” The band slowly backed off stage, allowing their lead singer to take the reins with “Pt. 1,” and take the reins she did. It is the mark of a true artist when all of the audience members find themselves captivated by the sound of a singer’s voice, stripped of any instrumentation. As I glanced around the crowd, not one pair of eyes but for mine were fixed on Potter. I whirled around to find the bass player laying down a beat that would serve as a lead in to “Pt. 2” which was a phenomenal, extravagant, foot-tapping finale that showcased each band member in a brilliant jam session. I know I speak for everyone in Bryant Park when I say I was enthralled and felt sadness sweep over me as the band slowly backed off stage to thunderous applause.
Great pictures
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