Only a few months removed from her last trip to St. Louis (opening for The Avett Brothers), Grace Potter & the Nocturnals triumphantly returned to The Pageant as headliners this time and to an eager crowd ready to kick off the weekend. Without fail, the bluesy rock band proceeded to hypnotize, between Potter’s seductive howl and the amazing instrumental chemistry of the Nocturnals.

—

VIEW FULL PHOTO SET HERE

—

Random notes:

-Unfortunately, the photo pit, one of the best perks of shooting at The Pageant, was closed off for the evening so that the band could set up some recording equipment. Thankfully, I got there early enough to get a decent spot up front, but once the crowd filled in, it meant being committed to that spot (and angle) for the three song set limit. Another hurdle during the song limit was Potter’s organ being located on the far left of the stage and being out of shooting range for me whenever she chose to sing from there (which was nearly half the time).

-Potter was definitely easy on the eyes. I’m sure most men were completely in love with her by the end of the evening, but probably half of them would also admit that she could probably beat them up if it came down to it.

-The Nocturnals took the liberty in extending some songs into fantastic instrumental jams. I’m not normally a “jam band” person, but I had to admit that they really did them well, especially in building the intensity.

-My grey sharpie (which I have in case I want to get an album autographed) almost got confiscated as I learned that markers are banned items at the venue. Makes sense, hadn’t thought of that before.