sexy and savage
“Jackson Hole, do you have soul?” Grace Potter warbled to a sold-out Mangy Moose.
With that, the 24-year-old rocker from Vermont launched into a cover of the Band of Gypsies tune “Who Knows.” The song is by Hendrix, but Potter — long-legged in her black miniskirt and tall leather boots — became the female incarnation of Robert Plant, wailing and writhing and even twirling the microphone over her head. She paused to tell those chatting at the back of the bar, “Shut the fuck up.”
It wasn’t until about halfway through her show Wednesday that Jackson Hole got to peer into Potter’s soul. And we found out why everyone’s talking about this band.
The first few songs, mainly from the new album, This is Somewhere, were polished and radio-friendly. The sound mix was off, with the guitars slightly drowning out Potter’s vocals. But starting with “Sweet Hands,” the band cranked up the intensity and played with an edge. Next came the mesmerizing “Who Knows.”
From that point on, the musicians got really bent, tapping into a raw, primal energy that sent the crowd into a frenzy. The culmination was a drum segment that had all four players beating on the kit. Potter sat on the stage and pounded the bass drum and a cymbal with the joyful abandon of a child.
All night, she traded between guitar and keyboards, her hair flying as she belted out blues and retro rock and roll. The group closed, fittingly, with “Sweet Emotion,” before returning for an encore that had strains of Zeppelin ringing in our ears.
On this night, one of the most fun at the Moose in recent memory, Jackson Hole did indeed have soul.
