Words by T. Hays

Photos by Kerri Photography

Nitefall on the River hosted yet another awesome show last week when Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, along with opening act Natalie Prass came to town to rock Downtown Des Moines.

Prass and her band kicked off the show with their brand of melodic downtempo rock. The crowd seemed polite and appreciative, though it was clear that most were there to see Grace Potter.

Finally after what seemed like an hour between sets, Potter & the Nocs came on stage to start rocking. By this time, the crowd had gotten pretty large, and was ready to be entertained. The band didn’t disappoint.

Early in the set, Potter made it clear that the setlist was crafted mostly based on requests that came in via Twitter, which got a loud roar from the crowd. The show was full of favorites, including Paris, Nothing But The Water, and several new tunes including Turntable. I’ve always enjoyed the more upbeat tunes because of the band’s impressive stage presence, however, during this show I really gained an appreciation for a couple of the softer tunes. Songs like Apologies, and a tune of their new album entitled Stars really seemed to steal the show for me. Maybe it was the beautiful setting of Downtown Des Moines, or maybe the more laid back crowd, but the band really seemed to hit their stride on these slower tunes.

Of course, just as I was enjoying those softer songs, the band would rip into a rocking cover tune from the Rolling Stones, and Heart’s Crazy On You (including the epic acoustic guitar intro).

Bottom line, this band continues to impress me every time I see them. If you live Des Moines and still haven’t come out to see them yet, I don’t know what in the world you are waiting for. Big thanks to Nitefall on the River for bringing such great tunes to Des Moines on an ongoing basis.