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ACL: Grace Potter
According to the bio on her website, Vermont native Grace Potter and her band, the Nocturnals, have drawn comparison to Americana and pop icons like Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, the Band, Little Feat and even — huh? — Norah Jones. But based on their performance at the WaMu Stage on Sunday afternoon, such comparisons are at dated at best, or at least irrelevant. The set was, rather, a study in hard-rock pyrotechnics, more Led Zeppelin than Lucinda. Potter’s new album, “This Is Somewhere,” covered a lot more stylistic territory, leaving the neophyte listener at something of a loss.
Potter switched from electric guitar to B-3 organ and piano during the course of her songs, sometimes even in the midst of a single tune. Hers is a bell-clear voice, which surfaced occasionally above the sonic onslaught (volume is always an issue in the enclosed WaMu space) in songs like “Ah, Mary,” the crowd-pleasing, set-closing rave-up “Nothing But Water” and “Mastermind.”
There was a certain similitude from song to song: tunes that began simply and then blossomed abruptly into big rock mashups.
Scott Tournet had a fine control on lead guitar, but he appeared to have graduated from the school where guitarists are paid by the note. The first time he and Potter squared off in a guitarslinger’s duel, in “Stop the Bus,” it was exhilarating. By the time the same face-off occurred for the fourth or fifth time, in “Watching You,” a certain familiarity had, let’s say, set in.
Potter is a genuine talent, and the band’s latest album displayed a genuine willingness to push boundaries. This listener hopes her live shows begin to reflect the same inventiveness the next time she journeys this way.
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Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: ACL Festival
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By Norman Pear
September 16, 2007 7:01 PM | Link to this
Not sure which band you were watching but Grace Potter blew the roof off that tent. One of the highlights of the weekend. In two years they’ll be playing on one of the big stages as the sun goes down….
By Hank from Detroit
September 17, 2007 9:39 AM | Link to this
I’m with you Norman. Definitely a highlight.
By William Styles
September 17, 2007 12:07 PM | Link to this
It seems as though this reviewer should have been at the Decemberists show instead of the Nocturnals show because he obviously doesn’t understand the rock. Grace and the gang put on a mind-blowing show that continued to bring more and more listeners in the tent as the show went on. And as for Tournet’s guitar work…Let’s just say that it was incredibly refreshing to finally hear a band with a “lead guitarist”…I guess when you’re dealing with “taste-making” festivals such as ACL, you’re going to have snobby, chin-stroking reviewers like this one trying to point out the negative in something the majority obviously loved…To John T. Davis…Stop trying so hard man to be hip buddy…you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more…Maybe try dancing next time… :)
By kate Lainey
September 18, 2007 1:51 AM | Link to this
Scott Tournet tore the roof off the place!!! Apparently guitar solos aren’t trendy this year.
By pinballio
September 18, 2007 5:46 PM | Link to this
Glad I was up front and center to enjoy each and every note from those fantastic artists.