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Fourth time's the charm for Rateliff and me
It's taken four visits by singer-songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff for me to finally get there to see him. But it was worth the wait.
When Rateliff made his Brew City debut at The Pabst in 2009, I didn't yet know his brilliant record, "In Memory of Loss." But just afterward I heard it for the first time and its stark, folky beauty knocked me off my feet.
So, when Rateliff returned early in 2010 to play at Turner Hall, I resolved to go, but scheduling stood in my way. I moped and continued to devour the record, mostly in the car. On a solitary drive to and from Chicago one day I listened to nothing else.
So, when Rateliff returned in July to play at the even more intimate Club Garibaldi, I resolved to go. But nature stood in my way. My wife's usually short drive home from work that day took more than three hours. News reports said the water on the streets of Shorewood was approaching the depths of the diving end of the Shorewood High School pool. I played it safe and stayed home as Rateliff played to a tiny crowd.
So, when Rateliff returned to play Club Garibaldi last night -- once again thanks to Ryan Matteson/Muzzle of Bees -- I resolved to go. And I went. And it was worth the wait.
I missed most of Milwaukee's Hello Death, but caught all of Chris DeMay's set, which got an extra boost from Quinn Scharber on guitar and some vocal help from some of DeMay's Juniper Tar bandmates.
Then, Rateliff played with a full band -- drummer, keyboardist, electric guitarist and acoustic bassist -- and played some material I didn't know (either new stuff or tunes pre-dating "In Memory of Loss") and some really, really stellar arrangements of "Early Spring Till," "Brakeman," "Whimper and Wail," "Boil and Fire," "A Lamb on the Stone" and others.
If you know the record, you know Rateliff's knack for melody and how he excels in stripped down settings. He is really a master at understated arrangements. Even though there were five musicians onstage last night, there was nary a moment of clutter, not a single riff or part that seemed superfluous.
Everything served to underscore the pain and the drama of Rateliff's fine songwriting.
When Rateliff returns, I will resolve to go and I will do my best not to waver.
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