Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, with special guest Senora May
Friday, September 22, 2023
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, BMO Pavilion
Since breaking through to the national consciousness over eight years ago, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats have established, and heartily maintained, a lofty perch within the widespread musical landscape. Their 2015 runaway smash, “S.O.B” still feels just as much the delicious sonic revelation and stirring soul revival that it did back then. I can vividly remember the first time I heard it come on the rock radio station that I listened to during my work-days back in the mid-2010s. The bold and vintage soul sound that sizzled from the speakers made me assume that the station was doing a deep-dive into classic, unknown album cuts for some type of flashback-Friday lunch-hour. How thrilling it was as a roots music lover to learn that this was fresh music from a burgeoning group on the verge of their major label debut. Theirs was a fiery, gritty sound that offered rich, authentic musicianship and injected a modern zeal and energy into the classic sounds of rock and soul. These were all qualities that were still too often endangered species in the modern music conversation, despite inroads made by the early-10s’ folk-rock movement and bands like Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, and The Avett Brothers. The Night Sweats sound displayed on “S.O.B” provided further musical sustenance for fans of rock, soul, and Americana ideals to feast upon. The self-titled source album that followed only intensified that buzz, and resulted in a joyously devoted cult-following that has grown along with them over the course of two follow-up albums that have been equally excellent.
I first had the pleasure of witnessing that love affair between their electrifying sound and passionate fanbase back during the summer of 2017. It was in the period between their debut and sophomore records as they participated in Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival tour. They were one of the first artists to take the stage, and it became very apparent what a touring force they had already become, delivering a blistering live show that boasted a level of energy and musical prowess that set the bar very high for the more experienced acts that followed them that evening. This past Friday, I was fortunate enough to begin my weekend by seeing them perform from their rightful place as headliners, during their latest tour stop at the BMO Pavilion on Milwaukee’s popular SummerFest grounds. Bolstered by six more years of experience performing for mass crowds, and a larger body of music to feed their setlist, it was immediately clear that Rateliff and company have more than fulfilled the marquee potential they exhibited back at that 2017 show.
Opening act and budding folk singer Senora May began the proceedings with a lovely and intimate set which featured just her on guitar and a accompanying violinist. May’s quirky, quietly devious folk tunes certainly echoed some of the same sardonic charms of her husband’s, who happens to be a man you may know by the name of Tyler Childers. To say that her hushed performances were like the sonic equivalent of a calm before a storm would certainly be an understatement. By the time Rateliff and his imposing squad of seven accompanying musicians took the stage, it was clear that the audience was in store for a brazen, musical force that would lift them off their asses, and jubilantly so for the next ninety minutes.
With that said, the group clearly understood the importance of properly pacing a concert, an especially critical component for a catalog that boasts such unified spirit and sound, and often-times resides in the same, high-octane realm of brash rock & soul. They lured us in nicely with the more subdued temperament of a recent EP-deep cut, “Suffer Me”, enticingly picked up the pace with 2018’s splendidly anticipatory “Intro”, and then absolutely cut loose with the early fan-favorite, “I Need Never Get Old”. From there, we were buckled in for an intense hour-and-a-half of musical euphoria that blazed by far too quickly. The band effortlessly segued through the more pensive moments of their most recent LP, 2021’s The Future, including “I’m On Your Side” and “Face Down In the Moment”, all the while counteracting it with the most indulgently retro nods to classic Memphis soul with debut album favorites like “Look It Here” and “Howling At the Moon”. Moments from their sophomore album, Tearing at the Seams, proved to provide the perfect middle-ground with tracks like “Hey Mama”, “Babe I Know” and of course, “A Little Honey”.
Rateliff’s vocal magic is just as, if not more, captivating in person as it is on record. The ability for his stocky, unassuming presence to go from a rich and tender moment of delicacy (case in point: the inclusion of his 2020 acoustic solo gem, “And It’s Still Alright”) to the imposing, guttural growl of a classic soul powerhouse (i.e. 2021’s rapturous “Survivor”) is nothing short of dizzying . There were plenty of moments where that range simultaneously shook both the listeners and the confines of the venue. The ace musicians he surrounds himself with are equally as thrilling to watch and hear perform, playing with a sweltering combination of passion, personality, abandon, and dexterity. Authentic musicianship and natural talent are most certainly still alive and well in the modern music world. You may have to put more effort into finding and experiencing it, but shows like this illustrate just how rewarding those discoveries are when you find them.
The band’s two biggest hits, the aforementioned “S.O.B.” and 2018’s “You Worry Me”, arrived earlier in the set than I anticipated, as I just assumed they’d be saved for the encore. The fact that they weren’t speaks again to this group’s depth and lack of need for obvious choices. “S.O.B” arrived about mid-set and was a sure-fire highlight, furthered by the fact that it was extended to provide a fabulous instrumental showcase for the band, particularly the sensational three-piece horn section. “Worry” meanwhile provided a nervy and gloriously building moment of suspense and emotional drama, before swerving into a surprising and mysterious, soul-inflected read of Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 synth-rock landmark, “Dancing In the Dark”. “Dancing” is one of those obvious classics that we all manage to take a bit for granted, just due to the sheer excess of times we’ve heard it through the years. Rateliff’s unique take on it served as a gratifying reminder of the song’s tender power and unflinching durability.
After wrapping the proper set with a vigorous run through early favorite, “Trying So Hard Not To Know”, the ensemble returned for a diverse, three-song encore that included the burning “I’ll Be Damned”, an unrecorded song called “Time Makes Fools” (a promising sign for new music on the horizon), and the fitting finale in 2021’s “Love Don’t”, which I’ve regarded since its release as the group’s most intoxicating, unadulterated jam. It dutifully displayed each band member’s unmitigated musical talent and brought the show to a loud and rousing fashion. If you weren’t already sweating a bit on an evening that saw the Wisconsin air desperately clinging onto the last remnants of summer, the sheer blazing roar of Rateliff’s climactic notes on “Love Don’t” certainly got you there.
In the finale’s aftermath, as a sea of energized music lovers corralled themselves to the parking lot in a classically unorganized fashion, I couldn’t help but reflect upon having just witnessed the live magic of not only one of my favorite bands, but also one of today’s most talented and captivating live acts. In the span of eight short years, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats have gone from underground noisemakers, to cult-favorites, to one of the industry’s undeniable flag-bearers for natural musicianship, roots-based progression, and authentic live music entertainment.
A highly recommended live music experience that you won’t regret or soon forget.
Set List:
- “Suffer Me” – from What If I- EP (2023)
- “Intro”- from Tearing at the Seams (2018)
- “I Need Never Get Old”- from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (2015)
- “I’m On Your Side”- from The Future (2021)
- “Survivor”- from The Future (2021)
- “Look It Here”- from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats(2015)
- “Howling At Nothing”- from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (2015)
- “A Little Honey”- from Tearing at the Seams (2018)
- “Hey Mama”- from Tearing at the Seams (2018)
- “Shake”- from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (2015)
- “S.O.B.”- from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (2015)
- “Heartless”- *unreleased
- “Babe I Know”- from Tearing at the Seams (2018)
- “And It’s Still Alright”- from And It’s Still Alright (2020) *Nathaniel Rateliff solo track
- “Face Down in the Moment”- from The Future (2021)
- “You Worry Me”- from Tearing at the Seams (2018)
- “Dancing In the Dark”- *Bruce Springsteen cover
- “Trying So Hard Not To Know”- from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (2015)
- “I’ll Be Damned”- from Tearing at the Seams (2018) **Encore**
- “Time Makes Fools” – *unreleased **Encore**
- “Love Don’t”- The Future (2021) **Encore**
The 706 
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