Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats @ Rock City

Band....Check

Bourbon....Check

Beard....Check

The stage is set for Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats.

Nottingham's ever atmospheric Rock City is the venue and believe me when I tell you, the place is heaving. So much so that when a young, bright eyed couple have a full blown argument behind me, a group of us get covered in fruity cider when one of the little lovers has enough and launches her pint in a fit of passion. Beats the smell of sweat I guess. 

The night was kicked off by the raw and ready sounds of Reverend Deadeye. Admittedly, I've never heard of them but the moment they walked on stage and started to get dressed in shirt and tie, yes, they got dressed on stage, I was intrigued. Imagine the Eagles of Death Metal on a rickety, beaten up guitar and a drummer who only hits hard and you've got Reverend Deadeye. They look like the type of band with a cult following, exactly what Nathaniel Rateliff had but never will have again. 

This set the tone for the 7 piece main attraction to bound on to the stage like eager kids at the top of a slide and launch in to 'I need never get old'. There's so much energy on the stage that it's impossible for the crowd to stay still, erupting like the cider from aforementioned scorned ladies pint. Each member is having a ball. The Saxophonist and Trumpet player seem to be in competition for who can keep moving the longest. Arms flailing, legs a kicking they own the stage and draw the eye from Nathaniel Rateliff who fights back with his howling, soulful voice. It's powerful and alluring. The kind that makes you wish you could sing and leaves you eternally jealous.

There's little talking between songs, other than to raise a glass and celebrate everyone in the room. They are all genuinely humble and happy to be here, "you're so much better than Leeds last night". We know they all say that, we've come to expect it but it gets a rasping cheer from the crowd.

They slink and slide through songs from the album that has broken so much ground in the UK and each song is greeted like a new friend, starting with a hand shake and ending with a full blown hug. Songs like 'Shake', usually so mellow are kicked up a gear and this gives the The Night Sweats the chance to show off their talents, with elements of rock and blues creeping in to their folky,  tone. 

The night ends with the song that the UK has really taken to, S.O.B. It's catchy hook and chorus grabs the baying crowd by the vocal chords and they scream the words right back. When they finish, there's no cheering or clapping. Oh no. Instead, they stand choked up by the song being sang right back at them and indeed, sang until they return to treat us to another round and another drink. 

The band sure earned their sweat and earned new fans. These guys are the real deal and bring a much welcomed sense of enjoyment to their performance which resinates with everyone in attendance. It certainly felt like an 'I was there' moment. 

Go out. Buy the record. See the show. You won't regret it.

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Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats are:

Nathaniel Rateliff

Joseph Pope III

Wesley Watkins

Patrick Meese

Luke Mossman

Mark Shusterman

Andy Wild 

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HepkattFM 

The List

For those of you who saw my last post, I've picked up a few tickets for some exciting, upcoming gigs. 

Now.

I get around and I've seen my fair share of gigs, so much so that I keep a list of each one. This doesn't include local acts, just those that I've paid to be in the presence of. 

Some of them have been brilliant and some have been down right terrible but you know what? I'd rather remember those ones more. The ones where I can see chance of improvement, decide what I want from a show and search until I find it. 

Forgetting is no fun. 

So, take a deep breath and take it all in, here comes the list (in no particular order):

Turbowolf	Jack Penante	Goldheart Assembly
Postmodern Jukebox	Florence and The Machine	Local Natives
The Cribs	Jamie T	Los Campesinos
The Enemy	Bombay Bicycle Club	Billy Talent
Oasis	Vampire Weekend	Pulp
Kasabian	Yeah Yeah Yeah's	The Strokes
Twisted Wheel	Ian Brown	Muse
Kings of Leon	Passion Pit	Young Knives
Trivium	Queens of The Stone Age	The Streets
Iron Maiden	The Wombats	Death from Above 1979
Pendulum	Elliot Minor	We Are The Ocean
Ocean Colour Scene	Biffy Clyro	Taking Back Sunday
We Are Scientists	Doctor & The Medics	Fucked Up
Kaiser Chiefs	Hot Chip	Offspring
Tenacious D	Glasvegas	Deftones
Babyshambles	The Thermals	Miles Kane
The Killers	Kid British	Frankie & The Heartstrings
Last Shadow Puppets	Joe Carnell and The Book Club	White Lies
Frank Turner	Eagles of Death Metal	White Denim
Bloc Party	The Futureheads	Beady Eye
Fratellis	The Libertines	Tom Vek
Editors	Arcade Fire	Tim Minchin
Raconteurs	Guns and Roses	The National
Dirty Pretty Things	Weezer	Madness
Plain White Tee's	Limp Bizkit	2 Door Cinema
Artic Monkeys Reverend & the makers	Cypress Hill	Seasick Steve
Radiohead	Dizee Rascal	Pigeon Detectives
Fightstar	Gaslight Anthem	Dizraeli & The Small Gods
Prodigy	Modest Mouse	Bright Eyes
Courteeners	Yeasayer	Manchester Orchestra
The Rakes	Gogol Bordello	Jonny & Jenny
Maximo Park	NOFX	Civil Wars
Enter Shikari	Blink 182	Black Keys
The Horrors	Get Cape, Wear cape, Fly	Band of Skulls
Metric	Mystery Jets	Gillian Welch
Little Boots	Joy Formidable	Ryan Adams
Patrick Wolfe	Mumford and Sons	Spiritualized
Tame Impala	Royal Blood	The Pogues
John Cooper Clarke	Nathaniel Rateliff & The Nightsweats	Squeeze
AC/DC	Vintage Trouble

Some of these I've seen numerous times. I don't hide the fact that Ocean Colour Scene are one of my favourite bands and together with my Dad, have been to far too many shows and heard the same songs. In truth, I bloody love them. 

So.

That's the list so far.... 

Let me know who you've seen from this list and who you're excited to see this year.

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HepkattFM 

If you've lost your faith in love and music, the end won't be long.

2016 is shaping up to be a good year for music.

I know, I know. 

So many people have said this it's cliche but I'm excited. 

First up, we can look forward to a new Royal Blood album. That fabled second album that can propel you to the next level or leave you in the bargain bucket. The rowdy duo were lauded for bringing dirty rock and roll back and I'm not ashamed to admit that I got giddy at the sound they created. I caught them support the Arctic Monkeys at Finsbury Park when I had never heard of them and I'm constantly kicking myself that I spend half the set in the queue for the bar. Nevertheless they were on fire. 

Beyond that I have several gigs booked over the next few months that I can't wait to tuck in to. Later this month, I'm going to get my first live experience of Nathaniel Rateliff and the NightSweats. Their brand of messy upbeat music is something that caught my attention when I first heard S.O.B whilst surfing around on Youtube. I'm seen some footage of them performing and I get the feeling this will be a great show at Rock City, Nottingham. 

This is where it get's interesting. I've been fortunate enough to get hold of tickets for the Milburn reunion.

Now. 

These may not be a huge household name. However, I grew up in Chesterfield and spent lots of my youth at gigs in Sheffield and these guys were everywhere. These were the band that the Arctic Monkeys were seeing when setting out and you can hear so many similarities in the first album from Turner and Co to that sound that Milburn were championing. I once watched Arsenal vs Tottenham with the drummer and bassist in the Forum in Sheffield. Lovely bunch of chaps. But that's for another time. 

They are playing two dates at Sheffield City hall and the atmosphere will be one of nostalgia and mindless teenage recklessness. 

In May, I head to the city hall to see the Last Shadow Puppets. I'm very excited for the rebirth of this act as the new single seems a far throw from what the first album was. I caught them at Leeds festival first time round and was blown away by the chemistry Turner and Kane had as they quipped their way through a 30 minute set. This was prior to the first album and so felt thrown together but that kinda added to the spectacle. 

And finally, PostModern Jukebox return to the UK. It's no secret. I love these guys. They play pop music from the back of a Tardis. Best sellers of today played in the style of best sellers from yesterday. The musicians and singers that get together to offer us this are beyond talented and I'm crazy excited to travel back in time once more. 

Hopefully, there will be plenty more gigs to come and I'm always looking to catch local bands. This is why 2016 promises to be a  great year for me in music. 

Let me know who you're seeing this year and who you think will own 2016. 

Till next time.

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HepkattFM