boston music spotlight concerts of the year for 2008

Full list here. This is a nice spot to occupy alongside the impressive list of shows the writer has seen.

9. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at the Wilbur Theatre: It seems every time one of our writers sees Grace and her band live, another legitimate musical crush is born. The pride of Vermont came hit Boston this fall with a dynamic and thoroughly entertaining show. Full Review here.

From the review itself . . .

Things slowed down a bit, but didn’t stay that way for long, as a haunting introduction began the more country sounding “Treat Me Right” and solidified the fact that Grace Potter and the Nocturnals truly sound like a band channeling 1970, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. Their hard-rock sound is nothing short of a perfect blend of the bands we all know and love from the 1970s – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, while Potter herself fulfills the role of a Janis Joplin/Joni Mitchell mash-up with a hint of modern day Melissa Etheridge. Potter’s energetic, folk-rock delivery is the highlight of the show, but she is the first to acknowledge that the sound wouldn’t exist without her band, comprised of bassist Bryan Dondero, drummer Matt Burr and lead guitar Scott Tournet who she introduced to the audience at the end of “Treat Me Right.”