Rockin on the water

SunFest act Matt Nathanson rocks fans on exclusive water ride

by CHARLES ELMORE
Palm Beach Post
May 4th, 2009
 


12:10 p.m. SunFest singer Matt Nathanson and a small entourage climb into a water taxi. Awaiting him on the 50ft. catamaran, Hakuna Matata in the Intracoastal Waterway are 40 fans granted a private show in a  Visit Palm Beach & Wild 95.5 radio promotion.

He's appeared on Letterman and Ellen this year to sing "Come on Get Higher." Other songs have aired in the soundtracks of TV shows including Scrubs.


But this is the first time the singer, whose mother lives in Hypoluxo, can recall performing in a venue where he might need a mini-sub to escape if things get out of hand.

"I totally have never done anything remotely like this," he said. "I feel like I'm heading out to the Love Boat."

The former English major at Pitzer (Calif.) College draws another comparison: The foreboding trip up-river in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

12:22 p.m. Diana Hurst and Wendy Watson lie in wait. The nurse and medical billing specialist from Port St. Lucie have been preparing for this moment by watching YouTube videos and, since 11 a.m., patronizing the bar. "The sun, the water, the boat - this is enjoying Florida," Hurst said. "This is what we work for."

12:31 p.m. Nathanson sets his feet against the rolling of the boat deck. "The more you drink, the better I sound," he said. Cheers.

12:34 p.m. The microphone cuts out during the first song. "Oh (shoot), we rocked so (frantically) hard we lost power," Nathanson said. Bigger cheers.

12:39 p.m. Power goes out again and comes back. The top band of his underwear is visible. It says "Ellen." Gift from the show, he explains later.

12:53 p.m. Finishes with rousing Journey sing-along. "I'll sign posters and then what - naked Scrabble?"

1:04 p.m. Takes water-taxi back to land, where he is set to perform later on the closing Sunday of the five-day festival. A SunFest spokeswoman declares the weather fantastic and says attendance appears "on par" with the 280,000 of previous years, though final numbers are not yet available.

Nathanson says he is relieved to learn a court struck down a droopy-drawers law in nearby Riviera Beach. "That's good," he said. "I wouldn't want to spend time in the pokey. But this is like international waters, isn't it?"

 

Check out Video from the trip: