Willie Nile’s pent up energy for getting back on the road was fairly palpable in his show Saturday at the Hamilton in D.C.
Originally scheduled for April 2020, it had been postponed by the pandemic to summer that year, then to April this year to finally this late summer date 16 months later.
In the interim, the rocker released two strong albums of new material to play, to fit along with favorites from a 40 year career.
Blending the drive and heart of the Stones with a raspy delivery of a Dylan, Nile is a master of combining the simplicity and sheer fun of Chuck Berry with the poetic insight and effective wordplay of the folk scene where he rose.
With a veteran three-piece backing his set careened from carefree, anthemic rockers to declarative stands that are durable enough to endure for future issues than the ones from which they sprang.
The title song for his new “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” as well as its “Blood On Your Hands” rose from the pandemic’s rise and spectacular initial fumbling by the government. “The Innocent Ones,” about another humanitarian crisis, was dedicated to Afghanistan refugees. From the uprisings for racial and social justice came “The Justice Bell,” inspired by the lifelong Civil Rights work of Sen. John Lewis.