File Under: Rock the Posse Weekend

(Editors Note: The pictures from the Posse event were taken on my phone, as I am severely stupid and forgot my camera. Anyway, my phone's camera sucks. Sorry.)

I am back home, and I am f'n ecstatic. I had a Grace Potter and the Nocturnals weekend.

As I'm not a wordsmith, therefore, I'll just give a quickie shake down. The first show was Friday night, in Manchester, at the Palace Theater. The opening act was "The Leaves." I want to tell you that Aya Inoue has some serious rhythm guitar skills.

It was my very first Grace Potter and the Nocturnals show and I was instantly hooked for life. I do believe that my wife and Phil are converts as well. Ellyn (wife) was floored by the drum jam, or as I call it, the Drum Orgy. My mom, also brought some of her folks to the aural deflowering, I think they are all on board now. That was the night I also met my first members (live and in person that is) of the Potterville Posse, they are fantastic folks btw. I unfortunately don't have any pics and can only really give you the setlist.

Courtesy of CSDaSmack of the Potterville Posse
6/6/08 - Palace Theater, NH

Here's to the Meantime
Ah Mary
Ain't No Time
Mastermind
Treat Me Right
Apologies
Left Behind
Pain in my Heart
Big White Gate
Stop the Bus
Sugar
NBTW
Your Time is Gonna Come
----------
Gumbo Moon >
Hey Bo Diddley

Saturday was THE DAY. Holy cow! Unfortunately, Ellyn and Phil had to head north so they missed out on the fun. Mom and I (yes, my mom and I went to rock shows, got a problem with that?) headed up to Lebanon, NH for the Potterville Posse (click here to Join, tell them Kired sent you) afternoon at the Salt Hill Pub. We were met outside by none other than K. Cortez, the mastermind behind This is Somewhere and his friend Mike. We chatted for a bit and headed inside. After we procured some beer, we settled into meeting and greeting the Posse. I met some fine people, including a wicked nice guy from Germany (so much for the "Traveling the Furthest Award"), by the name of Klaus. He came from Germany, that is how flippin' amazing this band is.

While we were having a chat, I looked out the front door, to see two rocker types approaching the pub. Scott and Matt came in and immediately went to shaking hands and talking to us. I was a little shy to be honest and didn't jump right in.

Shortly thereafter, Bryan and Aya showed up. I worked up my courage, introduced myself and started talking about his new bass, Clear Spot, and Aya's righteous rhythm guitar playing. Both of them were nice and easy to talk too. In fact, I was so busy chatting with Mr. Dondero, that I didn't even notice that Grace had joined the party.

What can I say about Grace? I didn't really get to chat her up but it's obvious that she loves her fans. She was right at home, talking and chatting with posse members. Not even a whiff of pretentiousness. It was amazing.

Eventually, we moved to a Q and A session. I really enjoyed the answers to my question. However, I won't share that with you now, as I hope they make it into, the "This is..." series that was being filmed.

After the band received the call for sound check, the party slowly wound down. At that point, Mom and I went and had dinner with K. Cortez and Mike. What a blast. We talked music, Canadian TV, Broadway, and who knows what else (we had a "Large Chicken" of wine).

Eventually, we made our way to the show. The Lebanon Opera house was hot, period. It did get hotter, when Jen Crowell and the Woods Vehicle took the stage. Her lead guitar player was pretty good, I think he plays in another band too. I did pick up her CD and did get her autograph, she's someone to watch for sure.

When the band took the stage, the heat was sweltering. They still managed to raise the temperature. What an amazing show. The energy that radiates off this band is palpable. They have a sonic sensuality that just permeates down to the bone (not that bone you pervos). I can't describe to you the pleasure of watching these four people come together and form one living breathing musical entity. Holy shit, I lose my breath just from the recollection.

The encore was blazing hot, with a drum orgy that surpassed the previous night's. I was lucky enough to have made my way down to the front of the stage so I got to share in the event unfolding right before me. The young ladies that were dancing around me, were an added bonus.
They rounded out the show with a killer version of Zep's "Your Time is Gonna Come."

After the show, we hung around the stage and chatted, which yielded a setlist written in Matt's hand. Thank you Mr. Techman, who ever you are. I later had it signed by Miss Potter and Mr. Burr.

While I was getting said siggies, I asked Grace about the whole Peanut Butter/Razor thing in "If I was From Paris." I have previously postulated that it may be a PG/PG13 thing. Grace assured me that she hadn't even thought of that. It has more to do with being less obvious. Smooth peanut butter has no real wiggle room on it's meaning, it's peanut butter. However, the razor allows for some interpretation. Which I apparently interpreted into a PG13 rating. ;)

I also enjoyed an exchange with Matt, and hope to speak with him more at the Skowhegan Show on June 27.

Shortly after Grace went back stage to visit with her mom, my mom and I headed out. Not without saying our good byes to K. Cortez and Mike. A good time was had by all.