Words by T. Hays

Photos by Kerri Photography

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals played the IMU in Iowa City last Thursday night, and DSMvibe (along with Kerri Photography) was there to take it all in. The night was kicked off by opener Rayland Baxter, a folksy hippie type. Rayland was primarily on acoustic guitar and vocals, and  was flanked by two female vocalists, one on the fiddle and the other on the electric guitar. Rayland’s tunes  sort of reminded me of a laid back version  of Paul Simon. He was a great story teller, and held the audience’s attention from the opening note, which is very hard to do for an opener…especially one who’s songs are relatively quiet and laid back.

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals took the stage around 9:15 and proceeded to start rocking immediately. For those who haven’t seen Grace perform live, I would highly recommend their show. Yes, of course she is beautiful and puts on a high energy show…but she also happens to be a killer singer and songwriter, who can rock on guitar or organ. The show was a great mix of old favorites like Paris, Nothin But The Water (Parts 1 & 2), and Medicine, along with several new (and unreleased) tunes like Turntable, and even a cover of ZZ Top’s Tush thrown in for good measure.

I’ve seen GPN a handful of times, and they seem to get better with each passing show. If you haven’t seen them yet, get over to Council Bluffs and see them at Stir Cove this summer. You will be glad you did. For those of you that have seen them….do yourself a favor and go see them again. Props to Scope Productions for putting on such a rad show.