Longtime Grace Potter fans were a bit shocked when the singer released Midnight, a hard left turn into the pop realm. Tunes like “Hot to Touch” and “Look What We’ve Become” maintained her rock and blues roots, but songs like “Alive Tonight”, which was her first single off this album, caught many long time fans off guard. Aside from the stylistic changes, she has also decided to go solo.
While Potter has been shaking things up, the magic of her live performances remained after all these years. Potter has described herself as a live musician, and has always pictured herself touring. The pure fire and energy that she brings on stage is simply incredible.
Just 24 hours prior to coming to Norfolk, Potter was in the middle east doing a show for the Air Force alongside Conan O’Brien. She reasonably admitted to being a little out of it from having traveled half way across the world in one evening. She also mentioned how much she enjoyed Norfolk because it gave her an opportunity to visit her lovely sister, Charlotte, who runs the glass blowing studio at the Chrysler Museum. Although she was jetlagged and exhausted, it did not show in her performance. She did her hippie-esque dancing, showing off her childlike sense of fun and adventure that she has on stage.
The stage had a galactic backdrop and her organ right in the middle of the stage as always. She opened up the show with the exciting Midnight track, “Hot to Touch”, and sprinkled in a healthy mix of songs from all of her albums. Tracks like “Turntable”, “Paris”, “Nothing But The Water Pt. 1”, and “Apologies” thankfully were included in the set list to appeal to the sensibilities of long time fans. Longtime fans can only hope that her journey into the pop realm gives her the success and mainstream recognition that she deserves.
Written by Lindsay Wright, images by Sam Shinault Photography. See the full gallery below:
