When Rateliff returned from his pandemic-truncated solo tour in March 2020, he struggled with the same question that vexed so many of us then-what now? Fortunately, he returned to his Colorado homestead and penned a set of songs that synthesized his introspection with his anthemic inclinations. To wit, is there any other modern act capable of revving up stadium crowds for The Rolling Stones while also appearing on Saturday Night Live and CMT Crossroads and at NPR’s Tiny Desk in short order? They’ve had hits, sure, but their combustible mix of soul and rock quickly cemented them as the rare generational band who balanced ecstatic live shows with engrossing and rich records. Since 2015, Rateliff has led his denim-clad, horn-flanked Night Sweats, supplying the zeal of a whiskey-chugging Pentecostal preacher to songs about this world’s shared woes. After a brief rest in Denver this week, the band continues to play major US and European festivals throughout the fall.It took Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats less than five years to become one of the most recognizable new forces in contemporary rock ’n’ roll. Nathaniel and the Night Sweats left as they had come in, dancing off the stage and into the audience, accompanied by the bluesy shuffle of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, a perfect note of pomp and circumstance to celebrate this tribe of hometown boys who’ve truly hit the big time. And the response from the hometown crowd was clear, loud and full of love. “I want you to sing so loud you break my heart!” howled the emotional Rateliff, introducing “S.O.B.,” the ridiculously catchy hum along that launched Nathaniel and the Night Sweats to international attention. The band’s bright sound is shored up by a small but mighty horn section (and boosted even higher by last night’s addition of the Preservation Hall horns). Decked out in denim jacket uniforms proclaiming them to be “International Dickweeds,” the band - anchored by founding member Joseph Pope III on bass, drummer Patrick Meese, guitarist Luke Mossman, and the excellent Mark Shusterman behind an arsenal of vintage organs and piano - is a veritable who’s-who of the last decade of Denver musicians. Though Rateliff has become an accomplished frontman, the power of the Night Sweats as a band was on full display Sunday night. Shifting gears with a nod to his roots in the Denver music scene, Rateliff welcomed long-time collaborator, friend and significant Denver musician Julie Davis (Bluebook, Bela Karoli, Fairchildren) to the stage for a few of the dialed-down, heart-worn folk songs that established him as a major fixture on the Denver music scene. But Rateliff has hit on a winning combination, bringing together original songs, deeply expressive vocals, funny-but-grounded frontman showmanship and a big band sound to a conclusion that’s bigger and better than pure revivalist nostalgia.Īfter a Preservation Hall Jazz Band-aided “I’ve Been Failing/Look It Here” opening, Rateliff wasted no time getting the entire Red Rocks crowd dancing in the aisles with the Sam Cooke-inspired “Wasting Time.” The music of Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, clearly inspired by great soul and R&B acts of the ’60s: Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, James Brown, not to mention the blue-eyed soul revival of Van Morrison and the Band a decade later. Rateliff started the evening on his knees, genuflecting to the Red Rocks crowd in a touching gesture of humility and gratitude that set the emotional tone for the evening. And there was no lack of fanfare to accompany Rateliff’s entrance, as surprise guests the Preservation Hall Jazz Band marched the band onstage in style. Sunday night, that dream became reality in a sold-out homecoming show for the band that broke onto the international scene last summer with the release of “Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats.”Īfter a strong set of gutsy Americana from Charleston’s husband-wife power duo “Shovels and Rope,” the Red Rocks crowd was giddy to welcome the hometown heroes who’ve spent their year on world tour as well as making high-profile, late-night T.V. It was nearly twenty years ago, as he told the capacity crowd at Red Rocks last night, that Nathaniel Rateliff and his best friend Joseph Pope sat in an empty Red Rocks Amphitheatre, smoked a joint and dreamed about the day their band would headline there. Sunday, April 9th 2023 Home Page Close Menu
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