Surfers aren’t the only ones who ride big waves. Singer-songwriter and fellow acoustic troubadour have been riding pretty epic swells of their own as of late (namely in the form of industry buzz). Buoyed by exhaustive globe-trotting tours, heaps of SXSW praise, and gritty major-label debut albums — both acts converged at the on Monday night greeted by a sparse and tepid crowd. It seems that not everyone is swooning over them (at least not after graduation at CU).
Rateliff, who for this show reunited with his regular backing-band, Fairchildren, came out swinging with new material and the resounding splash of “Whimper and Wail.” But the flat crowd never really clicked with his set list and most didn’t know when to clap — which left Rateliff noticeably bemused. He pressed on with tight renditions of “You Should’ve Seen The Other Guy” and “Shroud.” And in a final stroke of poise, a solo Rateliff belted-out a defiant “My Hanging Surrender” to (alas!) emotive applause.
Mayfield, who at just 21, sings songs with a stiff upper lip like that of a wily veteran (in the same vein as Lucinda Williams, Aimee Mann and Kim Deal). She is also a bit of a firebrand. Thanks to that inner provocateur — Mayfield’s candor is her unflinching hallmark and her most accessible songs are dipped in plain truth. “Kiss Me Again” and “Sleepless” were bleeding diatribes about bad mistakes and bad advice that sounded like grunge lullabies that were hummed to Frances Bean. “Sometimes At Night,” with its lush guitar overtones, could have been a fresh remake of a Loretta Lynn classic. But the finest cut of the night came near the end. Built around ’80s new wave vigor, “Blue Skies Again” was a satirical gem and a slick departure from other gloomier tracks.
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Kris K. Coe is a freelance writer, Denver-native, and new contributor to Reverb.
Brittany Moore is a Boulder-based photographer and a regular contributor to Reverb. Check out more of her work and her blog .
