Grace Potter at the Fonda
By Russ Allsup
Good Lord. I witnessed GREATNESS tonight.
I now worship at the altar of Grace Potter. There’s nothing like seeing an artist hit their prime and tonight this Goddess was ON. Best female performer I’ve ever seen. I went and saw her and her band The Nocturnals blow the roof off the Fonda Theater in Hollywood on Aug. 14th and now am a fan for life. Yes it was THAT good.
A solid musician by the name of Rayland Baxter opened the show, who reminded me of just a taste of Alan Parsons music mixed with the vocals of Paul Simon. I know that sounds like a strange combo, but he and his band had an original style that was great all the way through with no weak links. Make sure and check out his music- good stuff.
Next up was the act everyone came to see, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. This was the 2nd of two nights at the Fonda, and after checking out some of her songs on YouTube I had high expectations. In particular, her version of Blondies ‘Heart of Glass’ was really good and she put her own unique spin on the song- you should check it out. The show at the Fonda was a showcase and a perfect example of someone hitting their stride. She led her band thru a set that had a few different styles of music- dance, rock, ballads and more, which she did with conviction. She was on fire and took no prisoners.
In thirty-plus years of going to shows, I’ve never seen a female performer as good as Grace Potter was this night. She sang, danced, played organ and a mean Flying V guitar convincingly. She’s a performer who’s time has come.
