Ok I admit it. Sometimes hardened gig-goers can be purposefully difficult to impress. It’s not that we’re curmudgeonly simply for the sake of it, but rather because, when you live in the big smoke and regularly attend live music events, it’s rather easy to become desensitised to the charms of a man playing guitar on stage.
Thankfully, tonight the effervescent nature of Nathaniel Rateliff’s performance is enough to awaken the most comatose, cynical reviewer. Taking to the stage a theatrical 25 minutes late, Rateliff, complete with six piece backing band of Night Sweats in tow, unleashes a tour de force of electric energy that fuses the most accessible facets of modern American soul, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll all to the unashamed delight of those crammed into the Village Underground.
It’s Rateliff’s knack of taking the well-worn tropes of these genres and reworking them into original material that is his real talent in the live arena - the result of which is a setlist of material that already sounds classic, despite the fact that it was released on record only in August.
Watch Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats play 'Wasting Time' for Gigwise below
Unsurprisingly it is 'S.O.B' that provokes the most rabid response, but if indeed this is the breakthrough “hit” that introduces Rateliff’s charms to a wider audience, you can’t help but feel that this would rather be missing the point. To define Rateliff by ,S.O.B., (essentially a novelty song), would be to disregard a performance that includes the impeccably crafted Motown groove of set opener 'I Need Never Get Old', to gloss over the sumptuous harmonies on 'Thank You' and to ignore the infectious chamber pop of 'Mellow Out'.
Clearly delighted and humbled by the turnout Rateliff, on more than one occasion, raises a glass to thank everyone for turning up. On this evidence, he will be the toast of the town everywhere he visits on his UK tour.
