Grace Potter & The Nocturnals at Bush Hall

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Sam Fender
Bush Hall, 13 March 2013

You gotta love a girl with a Flying V. Emerging wearing a short gold dress and bare feet, Grace Potter straps on her guitar and plays a bluesy, soulful version of Nothing But The Water (I) looking like a golden goddess and sounding like the lovechild of Janis and Linda Ronstadt. Incredibly after 10 years of being together and four albums this is their first headlining show in the UK. Admittedly when I make my way to the back near the end of the show it's pretty obvious Bush Hall isn't sold out tonight, but it really deserves to be, as Grace and her band put on an absolute storming show, full of energetic charm and so much good feeling you'd have to have a stone heart not to get caught up in it all.

Potter is the focal point of it all, obviously, and it's not just because of her good looks that you can't take your eyes off of her: she's a natural entertainer, bouncing through each song like a true rocker, her hair gloriously flying like an 80s headbanger, jumping onto amps and screaming as the blood of each song starts pumping. The Nocturnals join her on the second song, the stomping title track of the band's new album The Lion The Beast The Beat, and they complement her talent and energy perfectly, but she dominates the show in way only the best front men and women can, coming across like a glittering California queen and smiling all the way through.

Although there's plenty of power, passion and soul on the band's albums they are definitely a lot more polished than their live show, which is rock n' roll at its finest. It's a pleasant surprise for me and there are even a few songs that I wasn't as taken with on record that come alive and sound raw and wonderful in concert. One of the highlights was the grooving Turntable, with Grace marching on the spot to the riff and the guitars sounding like a 60s garage rock classic. Her voice is incredible throughout and never loses its power, it does make you wonder just why they are so little known on this side of the pond.

While much of the show remains upbeat and full of energy there are a few quieter moments which are just as powerful, the first being a beautiful cover of Springsteen's Atlantic City (with Potter on acoustic guitar and guitarist Scott Tournet playing a mean harmonica) and then a very moving version of Big White Gate from their second album, played alone by Grace on keyboards, written, she tells us, for her late grandmother. It is the earlier tunes that get the best response (which is natural I suppose), particularly Ah Mary, Stop The Bus and Nothing But The Water (II) but the show does end fantastically on a more recent song, the bluesy singalong Medicine which at one point sees them all bashing away on drums for several minutes before returning to their instruments and flawlessly resuming the song. And I haven't even mentioned the awesome joyous cover of Tom Petty song American Girl, someone who is clearly a big influence on their music, and they do the song in style. I'm sure Petty would be proud.

It's hard not to gush over this show really, as Potter and her band are such good performers who clearly live for their live shows, and it's equally hard to understand why they are so unknown in the UK. But if they keep coming back and playing shows like this it will be hard to ignore them for long.

Also, a small note about the support act Newcastle singer-songwriter Sam Fender ("I know that sounds like a bad, made-up stage name, but it's me real name" he tells us), whose deep, gritty soulful voice belies his youthful appearance. He plays acoustic guitar and sounds like a cross between Ray LaMontagne and James Morrison and goes down really well with the audience. I do have one piece of advice for him though: his music definitely has beard appeal, like the best 70s songwriters did, so I hope he gets growing one soon.