By: David Schultz

Consider this a Rock N' Roll Christmas Carol, except it takes place in mid February. On a chilly New York City Friday evening, Phil Lesh & Friends played the Hammerstein Ballroom while, a few blocks east, Umphrey's McGee entertained their faithful fans at Times Square's Nokia Theater. While hardly ghosts, rock's past and present shared the crowded concert slate with rock's future: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. With the heavier hitters playing further uptown, the Vermont based quartet came to TriBeCa's Canal Room, a modestly sized, swanky east village room, and confidently showed their entitlement to be the last band in any musical Dickensian triumvirate.

As the name would suggest, organist, guitarist and singer Grace Potter fronts the Nocturnals, consisting of lead guitarist Scott Tournet, bassist Bryan Dondero and drummer Matt Burr. The group uses a minimalist stage setup, which gives Potter room to move around the stage. Whether she's banging out an organ solo, fronting the band with an acoustic guitar or just shaking her butt while playing tambourine, Potter demands an audience's attention. A winsome singer backed by a trio of male musicians easily invites comparison to Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians. Once function triumphs form, the similarities are few and far between as Potter possesses more depth and a profounder understanding of blues, gospel and roots rock than Paul Simon's present bride. Don't let the girl next door looks fool you: Potter's undeniably sexy shimmying fails to overshadow her considerable skills on the organ or mask her considerable prowess behind the mike. Potter's bluesy, melodious voice has just a hint of playful funkiness and packs a wallop, expressing a soul aged beyond her years. Although images of Janis Joplin come to mind, a more accurate comparison would be to liken her to Joan Osborne.

While easy, as well as fun, to gush about the lovely Miss Potter, the Nocturnals are not simply a supporting band along for the ride. Playing an extraordinarily spare drum set, Burr energetically lays down backing beats to the point of losing a stick during his drum solo. Dondero moved between standard and upright bass throughout the evening, joining Burr in unobtrusively supplying the gospel and blues rhythms beneath Potter's songs. On lead guitar, Scott Tournet's laid-back demeanor provides a nice foil for the group's bouncy, amiable leader.

Potter & The Nocturnals stayed away from their slower material and ballads this Friday night at The Canal Room, opting instead to play their more upbeat, southern-gospel tinged pieces. Without turning the tunes into jam odysseys, the band concisely and powerfully fleshed out the riffs of the songs from their recent offering Nothing But The Water, an album recorded in a barn at Vermont's Goddard College, and introduced some new songs to their growing audience. Potter nimbly and joyfully bounced through the One Trick Pony-ish lyrics of "Left Behind" and brought the audience into a near frenzy with the Sly Stone/southern Baptist "take-me-higher" exhortations at the climax of "Gumbo Moon." The Nocturnals were in step with Potter during "Gumbo Moon," showing they can bring the power of the gospel as well as kick into a southern psychedelic guitar barrage worthy of Lenny Kravitz.

Amidst newer tunes "Meantime" and the oddly titled love song "Piss On Your Hand," the band looked backwards, offering a couple eclectic covers. The full band offered a rolling cover of the classic "Mystery Train" before abdicating the stage to Potter for a version of R.L. Burnside's "Skinny Woman" that would surely receive approval from Burnside disciples, the North Mississippi Allstars. Covers also featured prominently in opening act Will Dailey's set. Without a backing band, Dailey captured the crowd’s attention with skillful guitar and a haunting voice, playing a stripped down version of the Rolling Stones "No Expectations" and a flamenco version of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."

"Nothing But The Water," with its southern-blues organ-fueled riffs sandwiched between Potter's naked gospel verses, has become the centerpiece of any Potter & The Nocturnals show. Potter traditionally belts out the opening stanzas accompanied by her tambourine, but on this night she received help from the entire audience stomping their feet in unison to provide Potter with the beat. After working the song out, Potter returned to the a capella chorus and, tambourine overhead, began to lead the band off stage in their customary recessional. With the Nocturnals following, Potter exited the stage and proceeded to walk through the first door available, the fire exit leading to the sidewalk. With grins on their faces, the Nocturnals opted not to follow Potter, getting a small chuckle as Potter wandered out onto the street. Fortunately, the security guard located next to the door let Potter back in the building in time for the band to play their encore.

Labels: Grace Potter and The Nocturnals