Put on your dancing shoes, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats are back in Australia. Rarely do you see a large crowd on a Tuesday night, but Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats drew quite the number at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre last night. I was lucky enough to be one of the many listeners to be graced with the smooth timbre of Nathaniel’s voice as well as the always stellar back line of The Night Sweats. I remember the days when Nathaniel Rateliff traveled around performing as a part of The Gentlemen On The Road shows with just an acoustic guitar and a convoy of beat up vans. It’s a wild ride to see him on the other side of the world, and given just as warm of a welcome here.
The show started off with Australia’s own C.W. Stoneking, who got the crowd moving the second he strummed his first chord. If this was a sign of how the night was going to go then the crowd was in for a sensational night of music. Out walked The Night Sweats around 9:30, horns blaring, bass booming and guitars blasting. There is nothing quite like an intro by The Night Sweats to introduce their leader, Nathaniel Rateliff. Not only is the music of Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats soulful and hardy, but also their fashionable stage appearance. With the release of A Little Something More From Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats just a few months ago, there was bound to be more dancing. I wasn’t wrong, the crowd never stopped jumping, jiving, and having a ball. Have you ever seen a pair of strangers waltz at a gig? Only at a Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats show would this be a normal event, what a sight to see, nothing but smooth steps and even smoother rhythms.
The connection Nathaniel Rateliff has with the audience is just about as authentic as it gets, letting us in on personal anecdotes and sharing plenty of laughs. You can see how much the group loves what they do just by watching them in a state of bliss and excitement as they play. Shouldn’t everyone feel the same way about something as Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats feel about performing music? Now that would make quite the world. Leaving the venue with sore feet, we’ll be counting the hours until Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats come round again to dance with us.
Be sure to check out their newest EP, A Little Something More From Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats. Catch them dancing through Brisbane and Melbourne before they head back to the United States, you won’t be disappointed.