It’s impossible to say exactly how rock music history will look back on Grace Potter & the Nocturnals in the decades to come, but in my own humble opinion they still have quite a bit more success ahead of them — which is saying a lot because they’re already doing quite well. It’s for this reason that seeing the band right now, while they support their third album, The Lion The Beast The Beat, may just be the best time to see them. Maybe they’re not on the brink of musical superstardom, but Lord knows they’re not getting any less popular with their crossover blend of country rock and folk pop.
Saints of Valory
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Barrymore Theatre
8 PM; $29.50/$34.50
The band’s new album even sees them trying out full-blown arena rock for size on the soaring title track. It seems like a wholly natural progression for this classic rock indebted group that performs a wicked cover of “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane, to whom they’re frequently compared.
Last time GP&TN played in Madison, at the Majestic in April of last year, they covered Beyoncé’s “Why Don’t You Love Me” and, in a rousing stand-alone encore performance, Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” It was a tantalizingly brief 15-song set but I have a feeling their show at the Barrymore tomorrow night will be a bit longer. But even if it isn’t, Grace Potter’s vocal chops alone should be enough to entice anyone who appreciates a charismatic and talented frontwoman who was simply born to belt her soul out.