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Just before GPN hit the stage in Northampton I saw a tweet by Rihanna - "Do you guys like Grace Potter+the Nocturnals?Grace Potter is perfection! A Victoria Secret model with a Mick Jagger swagger and that voice?" Now, I don't normally read too much into the critical opinions of pop stars but I certainly enjoyed the phrase "Mick Jagger Swagger" and as I drove home over the snowy hills that night I kept thinking about it.

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Not that Grace was ever the shrinking violet type on stage but, as Grace herself describes it, <a href="http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1653928/meet-grace-potter-kenny-chesneys-new-duet-partner.jhtml">a conversation with Sharon Jones </a>some months back has exerted a strong influence on her performance style.  According to Grace, Sharon said, " "Girl, why are you always sittin' behind that organ? Get out front! Involve people!" In the last year we've seen exactly that - Grace moving to the front of the stage and embracing her iconic looks and performance style. What does it lead to? A feedback loop with the audience that resulted in the loudest cheers I've heard during a concert at Pearl Street and a new cadre of fans who come to watch a visual performance that goes hand in hand with the always excellent musical side of the band. 

"Hot Summer Night" blasts things out of the gate in a big way for the band - it's one of the best opening numbers. I was surprised to hear "Tiny Light" become, essentially, a crowd sing along and the added Portishead tags at the end were especially cool. Grace did a playful take on the Roger Miller tune "Not in Nottingham" that left the crowd happy, if a bit confused. "Treat Me Right" closed out the acoustic portion of the show and when the band ended the set with "Medicine" the crowd was melting and the screams were deafening.  The show closed with a triple punch of "Paris", "White Rabbit" and "NBTW" - a fitting end to a stellar show.

Other highlights
- While searching Twitter during a song break (yes, guilty) I see a picture of Grace that looks to be taken from 4 feet to the right of me. I pull up the users Twitter picture and scan the crowd. Bingo - he's right there. I turn my phone around to show him his own picture and he says "<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/meltingice">That's me</a>". Good job internet!
- Longtime loyal fan WC confuses two skinny sixteen year old women with "Amazons" but reads it right when he implies that they wanted to snatch Grace up and take her home. A sentiment that seems more and more obvious in the crowd these days.
- Finally, I was able to deliver a heartfelt message of gratitude and emotion from Catherine Popper to her band mate Benny. Shared, tender moments like these are what being a fan of this band is all about.

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