I had a couple of tickets for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals this past Friday night. Originally Kim was going to go with me to see this amazing singer, but she decided to stay home with Trey after just getting back from a tiring vacation. I convinced my friend Rob, who also just moved back to Cincinnati from Denver, to go to the show with me. Despite being the only guys in the audience without a female in their group, we had a wonderful time. Guys should not be afraid to rock out with Grace Potter.

If you have never seen Grace Potter perform before, get off your butts and go check her out. She has an amazingly powerful voice that soars over her accompanying organ and guitar. Not to mention that she is quite the entertainer with her always sparkling short dresses and her wild dancing across the stage. Her backing band, The Nocturals, are all very talented musicians as well, who can really turn a song into a long jam when needed. However, they also know when to keep it down and let Ms. Potter shine.

This was my fourth time seeing them play and my favorite show of theirs to date. Previous performances have all been either short festival sets, or an opening slot for another band. This night was a headlining performance, complete with a powerful encore with Grace performing “Nothing But the Water (I)” alone on stage with only a pair of drum sticks to lead the clapping crowd. This was of course followed up with a rocking “Nothing But the Water (II)” that eventually faded out with the band leaving the stage chanting the chorus, “Tried my hand at the bible, tried my hand at the prayer, but now nothing but the water is gonna bring my soul to bare.”

See also: a praising concert review from Cincinnati.com.