Spring Tour - 2006

[Snowbird]

Tour: Spring 2006
05/12/06 Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in Montreal,QC Main Hall Canada

04/30/06 Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in Utica,NY Stanley Performing Arts Center United States

04/28/06 Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in Machias,ME University of Maine United States

04/23/06 Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in Washington,DC Nightclub 9:30 United States

04/22/06 Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in Philadelphia,PA Electric Factory United States

04/21/06 Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in New York,NY Nokia Theatre Times Square United States

[Snowbird]

Tedheadone
Smith College, Northampton Ma 5/2/06
Lead [-]

Nocturnican

Posts: 509

(05/05/06 16:36:14)


In this brief swing of Northeast college dates, one of them went up on the band site as a 5 PM show, before being taken down since they weren't public shows. At least I thought one did. And I thought it was the Smith College gig, so I arrived at about 4:45, figuring I could get in as i know someone at Smith.
Since it was actually an 8 PM opener, I had some time to kill.

Northampton is a great music town. They actually have a storefront box office that serves several of the venues in town. I picked up tickets for British R&B/Soul meister James Hunter Band for 6/16. I will also see him open three dates for Susan Tedeschi the following week.

I drove out of town for 30 minutes into some pretty small Western Massachusetts towns...Williamsburg, Haydenville, Goshen and Cummington. I had never heard of any of them... before heading back and grabbing a $5.00 chicken quesadilla in the Julia Childs student grille one floor below the performance room.

The Campus Center is new and modern. Kind of a cross between an airport terminal and a mall. Great sight lines vertically and horizontally across three floors.

The performance room was on the top floor, and was just that, a room that was perhaps 40 by 80 with a fair chunk taken by the stage set up. The door out of the room went to a large area that looked down on the lower floors. Merch tables were set up here, and there was a lounge area across from the performance room, that once inside, looked down on a larger lounge area one floor below. By lounge area, I mean study area, although, come to thionk of it, there was a baby grand in the area...

Posters stated Ben Lee and State Radio with GPTN. I thought that meant two, count 'em 2, acts. But Ben Lee opened. (State Radio closed) He is an Australian popster, young and he opened. He also drew the biggest crowd. Ben seemed to play much longer (70 min)then he was supposed to.

After his set they quickly set for GPTN, and I could see the band gather outside the room. Tamborine totin' Grace led 'em in thru the regular door, thru the crowd, and to the stage, but this time the a capella start was "Mystery Train", not Long Way.. By the way, I use the term crowd loosely, I counted 35 people in the room, most sitting cross legged on the floor.

Abbreviated 7 song set was likely the reason no stand up bass for Bryan or B-3 for Grace. And while it was a short set at 45 minutes, I turned to Jen and said that the 2 songs Every Mile and The Song That Shall Remain Nameless in Polite Company were the ass kickingest songs I had heard yet. TSTSRNiPC is actually a song that has morphed out of sound checks. Afterwards,Scott was reluctant to say the name of the song when I inquired, but Grace wasn't !!

State Radio then took the stage to an even thinner crowd, and was my signal to hit the road. The band has a tough Sat/Sun pairt of dates. Student show at St Lawrence Saturday night, and then a 1 PM show in Connecticut Sunday afternoon. A ride through the night will be necessary for this quick turnaround.

Wish I knew someone at Boston College to see the duo!!!!!!!

Set List

Mystery Train a capella in
Treat Me Right
Meantime
Ragged Comapny
Every Mile
The Song That Shall Remain Nameless in Polite Company
Nothing But The Water a capella out