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A little over a year ago there was a YouTube video floating around of Grace Potter belting out "Gimme Shelter" with The Rolling Stones, wailing away as she sang "Rape, murder, it's just a shot away."
It was my first real exposure to Potter and, no doubt, she has pipes.
That talent was center-stage Thursday night as Potter lit up Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre and did the impossible — got seemingly every single person in the normally sedentary Salt Lake City venue on their feet.
Potter, who looked stunning in an impossibly short black dress, took the stage and opened her set with "Hot To The Touch" and "Medicine," with a range and arm-waving dance that made it impossible not to be reminded of Stevie Nicks.
After some awkward banter, she strapped on a Flying V guitar and lashed out "Never Go Back" and "Look What We've Become" with a sound that, if you closed your eyes, you'd swear was coming from Heart during Nancy Wilson's prime.
As she mowed through the set, Potter really channeled all the great divas of the '80s — Nicks, Wilson, Lita Ford, Pat Benatar, Diana Ross, a sprinkling of Cyndi Lauper and even maybe a little twang of Linda Rondstadt on her more folky tunes.
She mashed them all together into a flawless package, performed so effectively it became an issue of: Who is the real Grace Potter?
The audience adored her, regardless, and cheered her on as she danced from one end of the stage to the other. Her talent was really showcased on a rocking duet of "Nothing But The Water," with Potter on guitar and her husband, Matt Burr, on drums, followed up with "Turntable."
Potter came back for her encore to hoots and a standing ovation, opening up with a tribute to Prince, with "When Doves Cry," melding it into her own moving tune, "Stars." Potter closed the night with her biggest hit, the rowdy "Paris (Ooh La La)," and left fans breathless from dancing and bouncing.
Potter is enormously talented, with a tremendous voice and musical ability to back it up, but maybe the only thing she lacks is a more defined identity, distinct from the terrific influences that are evident in her music.
The opener of the night was Con Brio, a cultural mashup from San Francisco that delivered throwback funk and groovy hooks and horns that made it impossible to sit still. The real reason to check out this band is to see Ziek McCarter, the charismatic frontman with the voice of classic soul and the dance moves of Usher.
McCarter closed out the set landing a backflip and invited the crowd back to The State Room on Sept. 22 — a show that will be worth checking out.