When Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats hit the stage last night shortly after 7:15 PM at Jones Beach Theater, the venue was as empty as I had ever seen it. Fortunately an enthusiastic group in the pit at the front of the stage gave the band someone to aim their songs at. Mr. Rateliff resembles Zach Galifanakis (the chubby funny version of Zach) and has the front man swagger reminiscent of a Joe Cocker or Van Morrison with happy dancing feet. The band had just played the Newport Folk Festival this past weekend (in front of larger crowds I am sure) and provided a horn, organ, and tambourine filled set of what bordered on The Band and what house party music could be.

Kings of Leon provided a multi media audio visual assault on their late arriving fans who filled up much of the theater by showtime. The songs were good and enhanced by a video presentation worthy of U2. 

During the Kings of Leon performance I noticed a menacing looking gentleman dressed all in black, black jacket and black cap. This dude looked completely out of place so I kept my good eye on him in case he was an active shooter incident waiting to happen (Jones Beach security has been drastically beefed up this year but I still had my doubts) Three young guys and a pretty girl stood in front of my wife and me in the pit and a girl nearby asked to take a photo with the guy who was with the girl. I do not know who he was but the man in black, who apparently was the bodyguard, watched their every move as the happy group melted into the crowd. They seemed like nice kids, right out of a scene from the HBO series Entourage, I only wish I knew who it was that garnered such attention.

Taper Jean Girl

Rock on!

GQ