On the final night of Jam Cruise 10, “The Spot” blew up. Over the course of the cruise Surprise Me Mr. Davis band mates Nathan Moore and Brad Barr laid claim to a small piece of space on Deck 7 where they would play with any other musicians who wanted in between midnight and sunrise. When I first stumbled upon Nathan and Brad in “The Spot” on the second night of Jam Cruise, the only other person watching was Katie Benevento, but by Friday night there were at least 50 people assembled around the musicians at most points during the evening. For those of us who were burnt out on funk and were looking for something a little more song-oriented, “The Spot” was an oasis. With cell phone and internet service barely existent out at sea, many cruisers were turned on to “The Spot” the old fashioned way – by word of mouth or by randomly stumbling upon the ship’s best kept secret.
[Final Night at "The Spot" Montage From The Archives of Jeff Waful + 1]
When Nathan and Brad set up shop on that final night, they kicked off the festivities at exactly 1:16AM with a rollicking version of Moore’s Before You Were Born. How do I know it was 1:16? Well, Nathan decided that they would play Before You Were Born at the :16 mark of each and every hour regardless of who was jamming with them at the time. By the time I went to bed around 6AM I had heard five completely different takes on the tune, each with its own lineup and vibe. Among the musicians who joined Moore and Barr at various points were Anders Beck (dobro) and Paul Hoffman (mandolin) of Greensky Bluegrass, Tim Carbone (fiddle) of Railroad Earth, Ryan Montbleau (guitar) of the Ryan Montbleau Band, Justin Carney (bass) of The Heavy Pets, Katie Benevento (mandolin), Andrew Barr (using beer bottles as drums) of The Slip/SMMD/Barr Bros. and Dave Weissman (mandolin).
Every few songs Brad Barr would start up a cover that most people knew and the larger crowd made for powerful singalong moments during songs we all grew up playing, singing and listening to such as Stand By Me, Hold On I’m Comin’, My Bonnie, Don’t Think Twice and Three Little Birds. At one point Moore needed to stretch his legs, so he asked Montbleau to lead the assembled musicians for a tune. Montbleau stepped up and delivered the best version of Muddy Waters’ Hoochie Coochie Man I’ve ever heard. I thought Carbone was going to shatter his fiddle he was playing so hard. As daylight approached, Montbleau, Brad Barr and Moore even treated those remaining to a mini-set of Grateful Dead covers. Though the covers were special, I particularly enjoyed watching the musicians follow Barr and Moore on Nathan’s originals such as Sissyfuss, Before You Were Born and Hollow.
[Photo by Jason Rappoport]
Nathan has this magnetic personality that draws you in. Even though some of my favorite bands were performing at other parts of the boat, I couldn’t help but spend most of my late nights at “The Spot.” I wasn’t the only one who had this experience as my music writing colleagues Mike Greenhaus, Jefferson Waful, Rob Turner and Dennis Cook were frequent visitors to this little slice of space below lifeboat #21. Each of the five of us writers have completely different backgrounds, yet we’re all slaves to “the song” and no one can harness the power of simple melodies and powerful chord structures like Nathan Moore. Brad Barr’s guitar mastery, and the hauntingly beautiful tones he was able to coerce from a cheap little battery-operated amplifier, didn’t hurt either in making “The Spot” the place to be.
There are some experiences which are better left as memories, but after lots of internal debate both Jefferson and I decided the music and vibe that was made on Deck 7 was worth sharing in words and images. Everyone who hung at “The Spot” was so incredibly appreciative for the efforts of the musicians and the musicians seemed to be into the energy those watching were giving back. Much thanks to Mr. Waful for putting together the video montage you see above which illustrates what went down at “The Spot” on Friday night/Saturday morning. Additional, more in-depth footage might show up in a future of episode of Jeff Waful + 1. For now, we’ll leave you with more video of Before You Were Born (4:16 version) from the magical “Spot” shot by Chris Monaghan…