Photo by Matthew Shelter

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Irving Plaza
New York, NY
June 14

With their new album The Lion The Beast The Beat dropping earlier this week, Grace Potter and her mighty band The Nocturnals have spent the past few days in a promotional whirlwind that they’ve dubbed “Beast Week,” including TV Appearances, in-store signings and special shows all over the Northeast. After a livestreamed album release concert on Wednesday, June 13 in the band’s hometown of Burlington, VT, Grace and the Nocs descended upon New York City for a concert at Irving Plaza last night, offering free admission to fans with a bit of insider information about the show.

Taking the stage just after 9:30, Grace started the evening by introducing the crowd to the new look and direction of the Nocturnals, kicking things off with a bold rendition of their new album’s title track that featured Michael Libramento – who has taken over bass duties from Cat Popper – pounding on a floor tom beside normal drummer Matt Burr. A lefty who exclusively plays flipped right-handed basses, Libramento seemed confident with all of the band’s material and he fit right into the group dynamic, eagerly joining the rest of the Nocturnals in their ritual group drum solo during the set-closing “Medicine.”

After “The Lion The Beast The Beat,” Grace led the band through a roughly equal mix of new songs and old favorites, including a loud “Ah Mary” for the second song of the show followed by a ripping performance of “Sweet Hands” that brought the frontwoman to her Hammond organ and kept her there for the serene new release “Stars” and the electric piano-driven “Timekeeper.”

Following this double shot of new songs the band slid into the live favorite “Oasis,” putting the spotlight on guitarists Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco (whose recently-shorn locks now have him looking more like George Harrison on the Let It Be cover than in the Abbey Road days). With the song living up to its reputation as the band’s most improvisational number, the extended outro jam seemed to focus more on hitting a series of blown-out peaks than on exploring hazy rhythmic space, as it usually does when they segue into their cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” (which they saved for the encore at Irving Plaza).

In her most personable moment of the evening, Potter dedicated her new song “Turntable” to anyone in the audience who still listens to vinyl records, which drew a rousing reaction from the apparently audiophile-packed crowd. Later in the night she even addressed the mixed reviews of the new album’s subtle shift towards “glam,” asking fans of the new material to show their appreciation and for skeptics to pretend they love it for the night. This plea would prove unnecessary though, as an energetic “Paris (Ooh La La)” soon had even the staunchest GPN purists (and a particularly spirited older man near the back) dancing and shouting along to the song’s infectious refrain.

After a rousing “Medicine” to end the set, the Nocs began their encore with “White Rabbit,” their contribution to Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland soundtrack, before switching to the powerful gospel-blues “Nothing But The Water” complete with its exploding funk-rock ending. After this run of old favorites, Yurco brought out his gorgeous Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul and Tournet stepped up for a few slide guitar solos on the band’s cover of “Happy” by the Rolling Stones, reminding the crowd that, regardless of the group’s gradual image changes, the Nocturnals are still the rock and roll powerhouse they always have been and they’re not going to stop burning down buildings with their furious live show anytime soon.