Nathaniel Rateliff by Sylvia Borgo

Live Review and Photos: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and The Blue Rider at Soda Bar, September 12, 2015

Nathaniel Rateliff by Sylvia Borgo
Photos by Sylvia Borgo

When Jimmy Fallon nearly has a seizure after your Tonight Show performance, you know you’re going to hit it big.

And that’s exactly what has happened to Nathaniel Rateliff, who’s touring with his band The Night Sweats in support of his new self-titled album.

Last time the Denver-based songwriter played here, The Soda Bar could’ve easily welcomed many, many more visitors. This time around, it was a completely different situation: The Soda Bar announced several weeks before the show that it was sold out.

One employee said, “People have been calling daily asking for tickets. They want to know what we mean by “sold out.” They want to know if we could just sell them a few tickets.”

Nathaniel Rateliff is enjoying the success of his breakout hit, “S.O.B.” — the song he performed on Fallon’s show. That night, the crowd gave Rateliff and the band a standing ovation, and Fallon came onstage yelling, “Soulful! Soulful!”

On September 12, the audience at the Soda Bar was treated to a set of only Night Sweats songs. The highlight of the show was an extended version of “S.O.B.” that had the crowd singing, clapping, howling, and stomping along. Rateliff was a possessed preacher testifying, and the audience his congregation.

Opening band The Blue Rider also hails from Denver, and Night Sweats keyboardist Mark Shusterman pulled double duty in both bands. The band put on an excellent set, with a 1960s electronic rock sound that was quite different from Rateliff’s.

Photos: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats at the Soda Bar

The Blue Rider

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