Born in the Flood at the Gothic, 12/21/12

By Jon Solomon Sun., Dec. 23 2012 at 9:05 AM

Categories: Last Night

Jon Solomon

Born on the Flood on stage at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood.

BORN IN THE FLOOD @ GOTHIC THEATRE | 12/21/12

It seemed like members from about half the bands Denver were on hand for Born in the Flood's reunion show with Nathan & Stephen and In the Whale at the Gothic. Sure, it's not uncommon to see bands supporting other bands, but this felt like a high school reunion of sorts, as well as a time machine dialed back about four years ago or so.

"It's been a while," Nathaniel Rateliff told a crowd just before beginning the set with "On a Good Day," from 2007's If This Thing Should Spill. Born in the Flood has been on hiatus since Rateliff began focusing solely on his solo project, which started off as the Wheel. While it wasn't a full reunion, as brothers Nathan and Patrick Meese were on guitar and drums, respectively, in place of original members Matt Fox and Mike Hall, original bassist Joseph Pope III, who's also been playing guitar with Rateliff throughout his solo career, helped propel the group through an outstanding hour and fifteen minute set.

Jon Solomon

Nathaniel Rateliff on stage with Born in the Flood at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood.

Pulling from a number of cuts from If This Thing Should Spill and the 2005 EP, For Fear That May Not Be, as well as some new material, Rateliff no doubt showed that he could rock with the best of them although he admitted about halfway through the set that he was having a hard time keeping up. But while Rateliff might have been tired, he didn't seem to show it, and the band saved some of the more muscular songs for end. Patrick Meese pounded the hell out of toms on "End of Me," while Rateliff sounded tremendous on the chorus. And "Anthem," always one the band's strongest cuts, was full of energy.

After sixteen songs, the band came back for "Bend," a tune that started somewhat tame but then swelled into one of the more powerful songs of the night. Pope threw down his bass after the song was over and there was a wash of distortion blasting from the amps while the band walked off stage. Rateliff returned a moment later to turn off the amps, and the rest of the band joined him for an a capella tune -- the hidden track on If This Thing Should Spill -- while the crowd clapped along with band.