At the end of this one-of-a-kind instore performance I was talking to
one of the main movers
and shakers in the Denver music scene and he said “it’s a small town,"
referring to the fact that
he was seeing so many people he knew and was talking so much shop.
This speaks to two things
in my mind. First is that the Denver music scene has come a long way
in the last decade (as has
our relationship with it, but that’s a different story). Now, when one of
our own is having a high
profile event, the scene as a whole comes to show support. Managers,
promoters, other bands,
uber fans and just plain kids make an appearance. The second is that
Nathaniel Rateliff has paid
his dues in this scene (Born In The Flood and The Wheel), has grown as
an artist and performer
and now is at an admirable place with a great new record on Rounder
called In Memory Of
Loss. He is in the midst of a series of tours with all kinds of other
cool bands and will
embark on a headlining tour later this year. Nathaniel Rateliff has
achieved what so many local
bands yearn for: he’s really on his way. And that feeling was alive in
the room as the hushed
crowd hung on every word. It’s a cliché but pindrops were heard.
Usually people show up for instore performances at the last minute
and hightail it outta there
the minute it’s over. I’ve noticed with the local performances it
becomes a big family event.
People show up early and stay late and there is a warm community
vibe. We sold a bunch of
Nathaniel’s CD, our raison d’etre was confirmed and the crowd got a
wonderful musical
experience. What more can you ask for?
--Paul Epstein
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