3/17/2023 0 Comments Nathaniel rateliff new orleans![]() ![]() In the spring, he performed at the Grand Ole Opry and the Apollo Theater. And whatever led to his departure, I was delighted to see him at last night’s concert, showing up for his old band.ĭespite Watkins’s absence on stage - along with the absence of black members in the soul band - Rateliff has proved to be respectful of the genre’s tradition, collaborating with the Roots and Chuck Berry’s family members, honoring the late rock-and-roll legend shortly after his death. Watkins’s quality as a player and performer is positioning him to blow up on his own terms with his own music, and nobody should feel bad about that. ![]() His wild performance style only added to the Night Sweats’ image. Then he left the band just before Rateliff’s 2016 Red Rocks show, to the dismay of fans. The band of largely white musicians did have one black member in its first few years: the multi-talented musical force Wes Watkins, whose contributions to so many Denver music projects cannot be overstated. When I first heard it, I couldn’t decide if I loved it for its vulnerability, its soulful sound, its sing-a-long chorus and bridge, or if I was irritated that the singer-songwriter - whose earnest music and poetic lyrics had held me through spells of depression - had turned into yet another culture vulture ripping off historically black music. Take that hit song “S.O.B,” the first that turned heads around the world toward the Night Sweats. Hearing him is a gift to anyone lucky enough to experience his songs, let alone his live performances, whether at City, O’ City’s opening back in the day or at Red Rocks last night. He’s an alchemist, making spirit-quaking music from despair. With all the bands that come to town and ditch out on Denver because they’re not feeling well, sucking it up and playing is yet one more example of how exceptionally generous Rateliff is to this city. He apologized - which was not necessary for the enthusiastic hometown crowd. When Rateliff came out for the encore, he confessed he was losing his voice and would have to call it early. Normally I loathe bros, but this one was divine. Every tune he played, the audience loved, especially an inexplicably endearing overgrown frat boy standing in the row below me who embodied gusto: He smoked weed with gusto, drank with gusto and sang along to every word, flailing his arms to the bemusement of his friends, all with gusto. And he sang “Hey, Mama,” a song for his mother, who was in the crowd, and for the mothers of his bandmates, who were also there - talk about a tear-jerker. Of course he played “S.O.B.,” to fans’ delight. ![]() ![]() It was a hometown performance that had the crowd singing along as loud as we could - miraculously in tune. He played as frenzied as ever, belting out songs with those signature stirring harmonies, borrowing from soul legends, country stars, rockers and folkies alike to create something entirely his own. Sick? Outside of tweeting about it and telling us, nobody would have known he wasn’t feeling well. “I’ve got to be honest with you: I’ve been sick. “These two nights are the most important nights of our year,” he told the audience at Red Rocks on Wednesday, August 22. When I read his announcement on Twitter on August 22, hours before his Denver gig, I had to wonder if he’d make it to opening night of his homecoming stand.Īs it turned out, he loves Denver, in sickness and in health. The day before the first of two back-to-back concerts at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats scrapped a show at Belly Up Aspen on doctor’s orders: The band’s leader was too sick to play. Sick or Well, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats Give Denver Everything ![]()
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