Hidden Track

Everyone who goes on Jam Cruise has their moment. They come at different points on the trip depending on the person, but mine came an hour ago on the Pool Deck where Brock Butler performed an impromptu two-hour set as the sun came up with a fiddle player named Ellie Labar. As Brock sang the most powerful It Starts Where It Ends, it hit me that I was as close to being in a musical utopia as I’d ever get. Over the first three days, Jam Cruise 8 has delivered it all from laughs to tears to a massive amount of incredible music.

[Photo by Justin Boose]

Day three started on a down note when we pulled into Ocho Rios, Jamaica along with a rainstorm. JC8 attendees made the best of the situation and explored the town or went off on excursions in rain gear. We all made it back onto the ship around 5PM for a set of roots reggae courtesy of John Brown’s Body. Over in the theater, the Hot Buttered Rum guys hosted Rock Star Karaoke. Those Jam Cruisers who wanted to sing a song simply put their name in a hat and HBR guitarist Nat Keefe would pick one out at random. Some tunes were trainwrecks but others were wonderful such as a tight version of Use Me sung by Higher Ground staffer Mikey.

After a quick changeover on the Pool Stage, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe held court for about a thousand Jam Cruisers. Karl D’s new songs have a powerful rock edge that fuses oh so nicely with the funk. If funk wasn’t your thing, you could while away the evening hours down in the Zebra Bar for Adam Deitch’s electronica-tinged Break Science project or in the theatre where Railroad Earth was holding court.

READ ON for more from Scotty on Day Three of Jam Cruise 8…

Day Two of Jam Cruise consists of a “day at sea” which essentially means music morning, noon and night. You’d think one would get sick of so much music, but with all the creature comforts of home and a slew of the most talented musicians on the planet, you will never run out of bands to see.

[All photos by Dave Vann]

The day started with a Ryan Montbleau Band set on the Pool Deck. Montbleau and his ensemble won themselves plenty of new fans thanks to a high-energy performance that featured most of the classic songs in the band’s repertoire and a bouncy cover of Bob Marley’s Bend Down Low. Keyboardist Jason Cohen took full advantage of the stage’s Hammond B3 and Larry Scudder tore many strands on the bow he was using to play viola because he was jamming so hard.

Zach Deputy joined the Montbleau Band for a tune before rockin’ his own set on the Solar Stage which is essentially a small stage near the Pool Deck. The afternoon brought a couple of once-in-a-lifetime workshops with Robert Randolph leading the Slide Workshop and Maceo Parker fronting Sax Syntax. Who did Maceo invite to play Sax Syntax with him? How about Stanton Moore, George Porter Jr., Jeff Coffin and Karl Denson. Now there’s something you don’t see everyday.

Later in the afternoon came an amazing trifecta of Railroad Earth > Brock Butler > The Motet plays the Talking Heads. Keith Mosley of String Cheese Incident filled in admirably for bassist Johnny Grubb during Railroad Earth’s bluegrass-tinged set as Grubb played his last show with RRE on New Year’s Eve. Butler performed a heady mix of covers on acoustic including a tender The Golden Age (Beck), Fool In The Rain (Led Zeppelin) and Helpless (Neil Young). READ ON for more from Scotty on Day Two of Jam Cruise…