Walking into a show with signs heavily posted that warn people of the extensive use of strobe lights during the performance, I couldn’t help but smile and know I going to be in for a great night. Having already seen both Langhorne Slim and The Law and Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, I knew I was in for some great music. The Riviera Theater is a perfect place for such visual performers. The venue is an old theater with the main floor having the seats removed for a bar to be placed in the back and a dance floor in the front. They kept the vintage charm with seats in the upstairs balcony, but all my time was spent downstairs since it’s always better for people watching.

Having seen Langhorne Slim captivate and take over many smaller venues in the past, I hoped it wouldn’t be lost on this much larger venue’s sold out crowd. Luckily these high energy and passionate musicians were able to take their folkie, twangy country sound, with a bit of a rock base and have even the drunk girls dancing and singing along. After the first couple songs Langhorne told the fans that they’d be dancing the rest of the night, and he surely meant it.

Since I last saw the band, they’ve improved in ways I didn’t think were needed or even possible. Their sound has become fuller not only instrumentally but vocally as well. Having an extremely distinctive voice, Langhorne’s energy and overall performance often in the past is what I left the show being blown away by. While the energy at no point lacked during tonight’s show, the highlight was when he put the guitar down and belted out “Past Lives” off their latest release The Way We Move that had me in awe of his ability to sing. I couldn’t have picked a better and more deserving band to open for the one and only Grace Potter.

For anyone that is not familiar with this woman’s live performance, she doesn’t stop moving, from the second she steps on the stage she connects with the audience and then she goes and goes, I swear she puts the Energizer bunny to shame. Belting out strong vocals one moment, to twirling and dancing the next and then pounding the piano keys.

Luckily for me, after “Goodbye Kiss,” she slowed in down by playing “Apologies,” one of her older and easily one of my favorite songs of hers. A couple songs later, she stopped the band in order to talk to a fan. Said fan requested the song “Keepsake” and Grace gladly switched up their planned set list to accommodate. It was at this point in the show that she told the crowd prior to each nights show, fans picked the songs they wanted to hear, and by these requests is how they made each night’s set list. By doing this she really shows her fans how much they mean to her. She stated “we do it all for you.”

The band continued to play all of the crowd favorites, including a cover or two. I have no idea how this band play this well with so much passion, but no one was complaining. I don’t know how it was possible, but if a fan was left wanting more, Potter and company added a second show the next night due to the high demand These two bands are great reasons to go see live music and if you are lucky enough to still have this tour coming your way, go see them and experience a night of great music.