The Nocturnals’ Mule: A Howling Blend of Blues &amp; Lasers 
David Schultz 
2009-02-22 
Down in the basement of New York City’s Sullivan Hall, Scott Tournet, the motivating force behind Blues &amp; Lasers, is rummaging through his belongings looking for anything on which he can create a set list. Instead of listening to the Nate Wilson Group tearing it up one floor above, the dressing room is overwhelmed by the pulsing bass from the adjacent dance club. Even more troubling, the beer cooler is empty. From the looks of things, you would be hard pressed to discern that within the next 24 hours Tournet and two of his Blues &amp; Lasers band mates, Bryan Dondero &amp; Matt Burr, would be playing at one of Washington D.C.’s inaugural events in their other guise as Grace Potter’s Nocturnals. Far from disapproving of the Spartan accommodations, Tournet seems to enjoy the experience of returning to the clubs, hungry to prove himself with a new band. As he relates his thoughts to guitarist Benny Yurco, drummer Steve Sharon and Dondero, he plots out the set list on a paper plate. As Burr is absent from the meeting, they good naturedly come up with a backup plan for “Take You Down” in case Burr doesn’t notice the tempo shift they plan on implementing. If the ease with which this seemingly new band relates to each other may appear too good to be true: it’s because it is, Blues and Lasers may not have many shows under their belt but the five Vermont based musicians have a lot of experience playing together in various iterations.