Tag Archives: Benny Yurco

Potter & Nocturnals ignite a slow burn at Ridgefield




It’s not often I get to see an act twice in a calendar year. Last year, The Derek Trucks Band; this year Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. We saw Potter at the Infinity Music Hall in January, when I knew virtually nothing about them, and this past Sunday at the Ridgefield Playhouse, knowing a little bit more, well considerably more.

The performance Sunday was every bit as good as back in January but it was quite different. The Playhouse is a nice venue, my first time. It looks a little like a refurbished auditorium with a proscenium style stage, which in fact it is, being the auditorium of the old Ridgefield High School. A very high ceiling helps provide excellent acoustics and there isn’t a bad seat in the house, which holds about 500. We were about seventh row left on the aisle.

Grace Potter Red Dress GuitarThe main difference in this set was that it was more of a slow burn building into a fiery peak rather than a hit-you-over-the head, drive-it-right-at-you affair right from the beginning. In contrast to the Infinity opener Medicine, an infectious blues-rock tour de force, the group opened with That Phone, a nice tune but a strange opener with guitarist Scott Tournet doubling with Matthew Burr on drums.

Much of the first set was filled with tunes from the group’s latest self-titled album. It included Oasis, another moderate to low-key tune, which was given an extraordinary arrangement featuring an extended vocal vamp by Potter; Apologies; Money, more of an upbeat tune; the country-flavored One Short Night and the others listed below, including Tiny Light. If you are at all familiar with their material, you get the idea.

The second set opened low-key as well with a two-song acoustic coupling, featuring Potter, Tournet and second guitarist Benny Yurco, but after the reggae-inflected Goodbye Kiss, the group started cranking it up with the scorching Hot Summer Night from the latest and building to a climax with Stop the Bus and Medicine to finish off the set. The group returned for an 18-minute encore leading off with White Rabbit, then Paris, and what was the regular set closer at the Infinity, Nothing But The Water to end the proceedings.

Check my earlier review of the Infinity show for more details on some of the live renditions of these tunes. The band, which also includes bassist Catherine Popper, was in fine form at The Playhouse. Potter’s voice and stage presence are still impressive and hot, one of the best voices around today in rock. The band plays very well together as a unit, and Tournet does some nice soloing. And Potter’s songwriting is inspiring.

Lacking any photos from the gig without a watermark, I give you two performances from Jimmy Kimmel Live in July, which give you an idea of what to expect if you haven’t seen this outfit, and a video of Paris. One of my favorite new bands, I love how they mesh the roots of American blues-rock and country with a modern day musical sensibility. Catch them.

Setlist:
First set
That Phone
Oasis
Apologies
Money
One Short Night
Low road
Ah Mary
Colors
Tiny Light
Second set
Ain’t No Time
Treat Me Right
Fooling Myself
Goodbye Kiss
Only Love
Hot Summer Night
Stop The Bus
Medicine
Encores
White Rabbit
Paris
Nothing But The Water

Potter & The Nocturnals on the verge



Every so often one can sense an artist or group about to make a big stride artistically and commercially to the next level. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals might not be headed for superstardom, but with a new album this month the group appears to be breaking through in popularity and artistic achievement as it hasn’t before.

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals album coverWith their self-titled CD on Hollywood Records produced by Matt Batson, Potter has her second record on the label, a new producer with a proven track record and some nationwide publicity to go with what has been a relentless touring schedule since the early 2000s. We caught the group in January at the Infinity Hall in Norfolk, Connecticut, and some of the same magic that drew us to the music from Potter’s extraordinary live performance is evident in the group’s new recorded work.

This is Potter’s fourth album, the first two self-released. She is in all ways the focus of the group as a singer with memorable chops — a voice that flows from sugar sweet to raunchy rasp coupled with an impressive range — as a musician, on guitar and Hammond B-3, and most important as a songwriter. All the material is hers or co-written with group members or Batson (six songs) on the album.

Her group is a solid collection of players, too, that is far greater than the sum of its parts, as I have written before. Scott Tournet on lead guitar is the driving force of the band, Matt Burr provides steady and groove-oriented drum patterns and new members Catherine Popper on bass and Benny Yurco on rhythm guitar fill out the sound with quality work of what was a four-piece until about a year ago.

In most cases on the album what you get live is what you get on record. There are few embellishments, except those provided by the group through overdubs. There’s no filler on the album, but the group is definitely at its best on all-out rockers or tunes that develop from moderate-paced to blazing. Continue reading Potter & The Nocturnals on the verge