Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, 9:30 Club

Mid-way into her packed show at the 9:30 club, on a stage dressed with red rose bouquets, Grace Potter stood on the stage, facing her drummer, and looked over her shoulder to ask the crowd - "Don't these shoes make my butt look like candy?" It was a rhetorical question - and her striking vocal talent was there to match her covergirl appearance.The Zepplin-esque backing band, The Nocturnals, play guitars that spin jangly mountain folk jams into space-rocking metal catharsis. Bass player Kat chews gum and wiggles while thumping out  riffs, the drummer kicks along, heavy toms, all grins.I'm only recently acquainted with the group and get a sense the new album, dropping this Tuesday,  is heavier than their past work, but they strike a perfect balance. None of their historic catalog sounds lessened by the fresh tracks.They did several slow acoustic songs, and an all-hands drum solo.  Grace hopped and danced, drank tea, crooned and sounded lonely, she wailed and sounded hysteric, she spoke and sounded delicate.Without overdoing it, she kept things intimate with a few breaks. She told a story, to much applause and woohooing, about how "Stop the Bus" was written after their last stop at 9:30 club,when  the tour bus caught on fire during the show. Another tale about the song "Colors,"  described how she watched the events of election day, bemused that America's decision making process was representatively reduced to Red and Blue.  She gracefully avoided the pothole that hits many performers in Washington - getting political - by just acknowledging the town's industry, and leaving it at that.  The song "Hot Summer Night" was introduced with a comment about what a  'steamy summer's eve' the night was, but not "that product at Walgreens."So plush with references to feminine hygiene products and candy-shaped ass, the steamy rock crushed on.