Grace Potter is one of the most energetic and dynamic performers on the touring circuit today. She is currently on the last leg of her tour in support of her August 2015 release “Midnight.” This show was a few days after her Point North festival appearance her home state of Vermont. Her seven (7) piece band played the Rapids Theatre this past Tuesday to a warm crowd waiting to get a dose of Grace’s medicine.
Taking the stage around 9:15pm, Potter appeared in what she called her favorite silver dress to start off with the appropriate song “Hot to the Touch.” She looked every bit of that and this was only one of four (4) tracks that were played off “Midnight.”
Potter takes you on journey as she delivers her songs. Her way of connecting to the audience is like few can do. As I stated before, her energy combined with her unbridled enthusiasm with a splash of sensuality makes her shows very unpredictable. She goes back and forth between the organ, singing a capella and then grinding out riffs on her Gibson flying V guitar. She also performed the show barefoot, channeling her inner hippie chick.
She started off “Apologies” with just her and her drummer on stage. The rest of the band joined as she incorporated distortion into the end of the track. Potter also has the vocal chops as she let that be known on the following tune “Nothing but the Water.”
Of course, someone had to throw a pair of underwear on stage that had the words “Love” splattered across the back. Potter mimicked her love for them. She ended her set with “Medicine” and closed with possibly her most well-known track in “Paris (Ooh La La).” I’m surprised that “Stars” and “The Lion the Beast the Beat” were not included in the setlist.
It will be interesting to see what direction Potter goes in as she delves into these last scheduled dates on her tour. Having seen a handful of shows since around the time the album dropped last summer, she will have a tall task to equal the quality of songs and delivery of performance. I’m sure when Potter is ready to “Grace” the stage again, she will be more than ready to be up to the challenge!
Setlist:
Hot to the Touch
Ah Mary (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
Biggest Fan (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
Never Go Back (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
Look What We’ve Become
Empty Heart
Your Girl
Loneliest Soul (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
Timekeeper (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
Apologies (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
Nothing but the Water (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
The Divide (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
Medicine (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
Encore:
Paris (Ooh La La) (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals song)
We would like to thank Kelly Kettering from ATO records for the credentials to review the show.
