Graces Register on Stage but Need More Gigs, Risks

In performance, as on paper, the Graces should be a heroine experience. Saturday at Bogart’s, ex-Go-Go Charlotte Caffey, local sing-sations Gia Ciambotti and Meredith Brooks and their three-man rhythm section displayed much more energy and a tad more personality than in the set-the-controls-for-the-heart-of-the-main-stream pop sounds of their album debut, “Perfect View.”

The tunes, however, might as well have been painted in air. Sure, your group’s Muse-ical focus is on love’n’stuff, but you’ve gotta put some blood on the tracks--or have some kind of wonderful melody--to really make it all the way, as evidenced by your sparkling, toss-away version of Nick Lowe’s “What’s So Funny (About Peace, Love and Understanding),” which, of course, has both.

It’s not hard to see that the Graces have tremendous potential. It’s also not hard to hear that more gigs, more songs, more risks, in musical range and in vocal arrangements, are needed.