An Intergalactic Evening with The Motet
The Motet at The Atlantis. Photograph by Jonathan Nevius
On the morning of November 8th, I woke up to a text from AJ Gillman, tour manager for The Motet. He asked me if I would be able to come to that night’s show at The Atlantis early to shoot some rooftop photos of the band while we still had sunlight.
I jumped at the opportunity, as I’ve been a photographer for the past decade but only crossed over into the live music space within the last year. Any chance to get face-to-face interaction with artists themselves not only drives my passion for this artform, but allows me to shoot their live performance with an idea of the personalities on the stage.
The Motet at The Atlantis. Photograph by Jonathan Nevius
During the shoot, each of the musicians made me feel welcome with their kindness, curiosity, and generally relaxed nature - exactly the type of personality I can compliment with my photographs. As we made our way up to the rooftop, vocalist Sarah Clarke stopped in front of a photograph hung along the staircase and pointed out a synchronicity. In that photo of Portugal the Man performing within the same venue a number of years ago, there’s Sarah providing backup vocals for the band. We all stopped to take a moment and enjoy the connectivity of it all, a token of good things to come later in the night.
The November 8th show was a powerful double-header, with saxophone hypeman Michael Wilbur of Moon Hooch opening with a full set of his original compositions, blending brass with EDM: A high-energy tee-up for The Motet.
Michael Wilbur at The Atlantis. Photograph by Jonathan Nevius
To be honest, I was unfamiliar with both acts prior to the show, despite the nearly four combined decades of musical prowess between them.
Reigning from Boulder, Colorado, The Motet were formed in 1998 by drummer Dave Watts and originally consisted of a rotating band of musicians from the Boulder area. Since their founding, they’ve undergone frequent changes, not only in their lineup, but in their style and fusions of genres they showcase throughout their performances. For the purpose of this story, I’ll focus only on their current lineup and sound that we experienced at the November 8th performance.
Dave Watts of The Motet at The Atlantis. Photograph by Jonathan Nevius
The Motet’s current lineup includes: founding member Dave Watts (drums), Sarah Clarke (vocals), Joey Porter (keys), Garrett Sayers (bass), Drew Sayers (keys and saxophone), and Ryan Jalbert (guitar).
As we explored the venue prior to showtime, we took note of the crowd that had gathered that Saturday night, which we found in stark contrast to other shows at The Atlantis. The audience mostly consisted of Millennial and Gen X attendees, straying from the younger, Gen Z crowds that usually fill up this space. As a harbinger of the pleasant things to come for Rahal and I, we spotted more than a few Grateful Dead t-shirts - a personal favorite of ours.
Once The Motet took the stage and counted-in to their opening song, with Dave Watts tapping on his cymbals like the tease of a white water rapid we’re about to ride, there were a few things we noticed right off the bat.
First was the setup of the stage, and how it attributes to the band’s character. There is no “lead” in The Motet, neither a lead instrument nor band member. While they don’t play “jam band” music, they are set up in a way where each individual member can take the lead based on where they take the music, who can carry it furthest, and the vibe in the room.
Sarah Clarke of The Motet at The Atlantis. Photograph by Jonathan Nevius
The second thing we noticed was a microphone malfunction during the first song - but not in a bad way as you’d expect. When Sarah Clarke noticed her vocals were light in the mix, she immediately signaled for help, and the malfunction was solved with a stagehand bringing out a new microphone within seconds. Once she had that new microphone in her hand, her strong, impressive vocals engulfed the small room, her powerful voice closing bouncing off every corner of the room and closing in on the energetic crowd.
If I could boil their music down into a single genre, it would be funk, which is how they describe themselves. But it’s funk that incorporates elements of jazz, R&B, soul, improvisational jams, and straight-up rock and roll.
Drew Sayers of The Motet at The Atlantis. Photograph by Jonathan Nevius
During some of their more intergalactic jams, the crowd’s personality began to show itself. We spotted a man dancing like he was skiing down a double-black diamond, with others slowly joining in with the same style. We watched a couple, dancing separately, find each other and noodle their way into each others’ arms like instant Ramen. We noticed many solo concertgoers who didn’t mind at all, because we watched the audience in The Atlantis blend into a single group - they were there with hundreds of their closest friends.
The music created on stage that curated this vibe was unique and impressive - a type of music you can’t get from any other band. Bassist Garrett Sayers drove much of the groove, exploring his fretboard like he’s solving a Rubik’s cube and eventually figuring out a whole side of the cube at once, driving into the bassline he found with the rest of the band following in lockstep. Dummer Dave Watts held down the pocket to allow the others to shine while simultaneously adding in his own flavor.
Ryan Jalbert of The Motet at The Atlantis. Photograph by Jonathan Nevius
Guitarist Ryan Jalbert showed us exactly why we spotted so much Grateful Dead insignia in the crowd as he channeled his creative solos from the cosmos without repeating cliche Jerry Garcia or Trey Anastasio licks that you hear at so many improvisational shows. Another notable jam-adjacent element came from Drew Sayers when he picked up his saxophone. His playing, alongside the rest of the band in improvisational moments, reminded me of Branford Marsalis’ iconic shows with the Grateful Dead in the early 1990s.
As the set came to a close, we came to our final conclusions. The Motet made us feel as though we were in a perpetual video game as the main character, in a cutscene that takes place in a boogie-down nightclub where the floor is an ever-changing conveyor of rainbows.
The Motet at The Atlantis. Photograph by Jonathan Nevius