Very grateful for the opportunity to attend the VH1 Storyteller’s taping yesterday. After 6 months of not seeing the band live, I needed this show like I need the air I breathe. It did not disappoint. Although the music alternated with Grace’s storytelling, the band played and performed each song as intensely as they do at a full concert. When they start off with Stop the Bus, you know they mean business. If I could have picked a song to lead off my long-awaited GPN fix, STB would have been it … perfect start to an unforgettable evening.

Loved all the new songs. The Lion, the Beat, the Beast is definitely the standout. Starts off with the entire band singing the “oh oh” part and, with both Matt and Michael on drums, the sound is hauntingly powerful. Then Grace, Scott, and Benny rip into the guitars and the song rocks as hard as anything I’ve ever heard the Nocs play. In contrast, Stars is a heartbreakingly beautiful song that got more than a few of us a little choked up. The Divide is another powerful one with a slightly eerie quality and great story about a road trip to go with it. Finally, proving that all things in this world are impermanent including my opinions, I have to say that Never Go Back is great live.

Since this was being recorded for a one hour t.v. show, I went in expecting only a few songs with a handful of stories mixed in … 90 minutes to 2 hours max. What we got instead was a 3 hour show that was probably a 50/50 mix of Grace talking and the band playing. I’m not going to spoil any of the stories by sharing them here … you’ll have to wait for the show to air. But I will say that Grace is a fun story teller and they are going to have to edit the heck out of the thing because her commentary can get pretty colorful! Made me blush more times than I can count, but that’s one of the many things I love about listening to her. She’s incredibly genuine, honest, smart, funny and loves to take people by surprise by saying things they’re not expecting. Looked gorgeous in a white pant suit with a flowing white jacket.

Can’t comment on this show without mentioning the fact that Michael Libramento is a wonderful fit for this band. Multi-instrumental, great vocals, appears to be one heck of a good drummer, and he just gets what GPN is all about. Really like him a lot.

This is going to be one amazing show when VH1 airs it. Was a once in a lifetime experience to be there. Definitely one of my favorite GPN experiences of the past few years (a.k.a. one of the best days of my life). Can’t wait to see what the final edit turns out like.