I have this hard set memory of standing outside the Academy in Dublin with my girlfriend at the time. It was around ‘n’ about 2015. I had dragged her all the way into the city to see Nathaniel play his acoustic stuff with the idea that it’d be the best gig around.
We got the bus n’ strode all the way into the heart of the city with gusto. As we exchanged tickets with the security man outside I knew that this was going to be a particularly savage gig. I had just seen Rateliff on Jools Holland performing ‘Early Till Spring’ and also he performed the most fucking beautiful version of ‘We Never Win’ on that same show – he was the bleedin’ messiah for me.
We got into the gig, Nath was playing the Academy 2 – To start we were treated with tunes from his new EP titled ‘Closer’ to get the things in motion. By jaysus – we were totally fucking mesmerized. Tunes like ‘Something Beautiful’ and ‘Liverpool’ went down a treat. Nath followed this up with pure gold like ‘I Am’ and ‘Breakman’ and the mood in the quaint venue was pretty damn chill. The band which later became the famed ‘Night Sweats’ were there accompanying but the power of Nath’s vocals and lyrical genius were the main attraction. He was operating in a league of his own!
The gig was solid, one I’ll never forget. There wasn’t a huge amount of skins in attendance that night but, my fuck, it was poignant.
My christmas gift to my sister last year was a ticket for his upcoming gig in Manchester at The Bridgewater Hall on April 27th. I spent a good £100 quid on three tickets. It’s probably the best investment of my year. Nath is a proper genius on his own. I love his solo stuff, it’s pure, emotive and infectious. I can’t wait.
Here is a new one :
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