Tuesday night I went to Film on the Rocks. We left halfway through Raising Arizona, when it started to rain, but before that were treated to the best music showcase Red Rocks has to offer this year: Grace Potter and Danielle Ate the Sandwich.
If you don't know, Danielle Ate the Sandwich is Youtube sensation, Lilith Fair ready Fort Collins resident Danielle Anderson playing ukulele. I commented that her music was a bit twee, which got a look of disapproval from Lizzie. Although I didn't like her subdued tunes, I would like to share a bagel and coffee with Danielle, who seemed like a rambling conversationalist. Plus, it's just cool that she's playing ukulele.
I was really pumped for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. She has great pipes and a rawk girl attitude. Plus, she is backed by three longhairs straight out of Almost Famous and a bumping female bassist. I was wowed by them at a festival a few years back. They rocked, and the tunes were danceable, but I spent the whole night waiting for them to play their old songs, and they never did. It seems to me that they are a little to purposefully put together; Grace Potter definitely has the talent to hit it somewhat big, but right now the sound is halfway between corporate crowd pleasing and organic jam session. This is a tough tightrope to walk successfully (see: Robert Randolph and the Family Band).
The dichotomy here is between the glorified DIY and the constructed band. I don't know if this even matters. Danielle's set was more natural. Grace's was a bit erratic, as if she was throwing songs at the dartboard that is corporate radio, hoping one would stick. Her band's talents superseded Danielle's tenfold, but if music isn't coming from a place of passion, I will ultimately dismiss it.
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