Grace Potter rocks Buskirk-Chumley

Channeling the sounds of their newest album, “The Lion The Beast The Beat,” blues/folk rock band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals took the stage of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Tuesday night.

The Vermont-based group has performed together since 2005 with their debut album, “Nothing But the Water.”

Seven years later, after hundreds of gigs and radio hits like “Paris (Ooh La La),” GPN has continued to prove their dedication to perfecting their craft.

Potter’s main influence for the 2012 album comes from the way many people interpret the lion as opposed to the beast — the lion acting as a strong, powerful animal while the beast plays the opposite role as a frightening and unattractive pariah.

“I’m fascinated by the idea that we all hold such a broad spectrum of impulses and how we choose to act on them makes us who we are,” Potter said.

A relatively new fan to Potter’s music, Emily Porter understands Potter’s explanation of the album.

Porter, an Evansville resident drove two hours to see GPN’s performance.

Even though Grace Potter is not quite a household name, Porter said she appreciates
Potter’s more conservative demeanor.

“I think the reason she’s not always in the spotlight is because she’s not doing things that normal celebrities are doing to promote themselves, like being vulgar, racy or provocative,” Porter said. “She’s very reserved, which I think works in her favor.”

Porter’s partner, Mark Katterhenry, said he agreed.

“She’s clean and sexy, which is very hard to come by these days,” Katterhenry said. “Unlike, you know, Miley Cyrus.”

Saints of Valory opened for GPN. Its members come from all corners of the globe.

Lead vocalist and bassist Gavin Jasper and Godfrey Thomson met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as young boys and grew up playing guitar together before meeting who would
become their drummer, Gerard Labou of France.

They were later united with keyboardist Stephen Buckle, who was born in Greece to an American mother and Canadian father.

Jasper said he likes the chemistry he feels with the crowd when performing.

“And I thought, ‘If I can feel this in this room, then we can actually offer this to people and they will feel it, too,’” Jasper said.

Follow reporter Olivia Williams on Twitter @obwillia.