This was my
fifth Blues Cruise and this marks the third review of the LRBC I’ve done for
Bman’s Blues Report. I’m not sure if
it’s because I’ve become a well-seasoned cruiser by now, or if it’s because I
had some close friends join me on this cruise, or if the music was any better,
or if the islands were more friendly, but this was the best Blues Cruise yet
for me!
If you
haven’t heard me say it before, I’ll start off with these words of wisdom. A Blues Cruise vacation is exactly what you
make it. You don’t even have to be a fan of blues music to have the time of
your life, but it helps! You can listen
to as much music as you want starting as early as 10:30AM and going non-stop
somewhere on the ship until 6:00AM. One
night I wandered into the Crows Nest at 5:00AM and listened to JP Soars jam
until 5:30AM when they finally called it a night… except for one thing, it was
already 6:30AM because we had crossed from the Eastern time zone to the
Atlantic time zone at 2 o’clock.
So what I’m
saying is you can’t possibly see it all. I know I missed some epic jams but I
also saw some great stuff and came away with a new appreciation for several
artists (as I always do).
As all
cruises do, it started out with a Sail Away Party on the pool deck. This one
was hosted by Curtis Salgado. Curtis has
fought off some very serious health problems including cancer over the past 7
or 8 years yet his voice never sounded better.
I think through the course of the week he brought out his harp and
jammed with just about everyone too.
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| Super Chikan |
The first
morning, I attended the Returnee Party.
I walked to the venue with Scrap Iron, former manager for Little Milton
and co-MC of the Returnee Party (along with Big Llou from BB King’s Bluesville
on Sirius Radio). I asked Scrap who we
were going to see figuring if he’s introducing the act he knows who it is. All
Scrap said was “They told me it was going to be something special. But they
wouldn’t say who it is.”
When Scrap
Iron finally did the introduction he told the audience just what he had told me
privately. And he brought on the
All-Girls All-Star Blues Band! They really set the bar high right off the
bat! This band consisted of triple
guitars, Debbie Davies, Ana Popovic, and Samantha Fish! On keys was Eden Brent. On bass was Danielle Schnebelen from Trampled
Under Foot. And on vocals in addition to
the singing talents of those already mentioned there was Sista Monica Parker,
Tasha Taylor, and the great Denise LaSalle.
On drums was the consummate professional, Tony Braunagel (lucky dude!).
The highlights of this set for me were a) anything sung by Denise
LaSalle, and b) the cover of ZZ Top’s “Tush” sung by Eden Brent. Free drinks aside, this was a party you
didn’t want to miss!
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| All Girls All-Star Blues Band |
While the
Returnee Party was taking place, the Virgins had a party of their own on the
pool deck with the Selwyn Birchwood Band. Normally I don’t mention this party
because I haven’t been a virgin cruiser since the inception of Bman’s Blues
Report. But my virgin friends who attended were very impressed with IBC Award
Winner Selwyn Birchwood, who himself was a virgin cruiser.
Soon after,
this whole cruise just melted into one big party for me. I will only write about the things that
really made an impression on me (there are many) and will not attempt to go in
chronological order. Quite frankly, I
believe my brain cells that kept track of time were lost somewhere in the
Caribbean, most likely during Lil’ Eds set at Margaritaville on Grand
Turk. But some of these sets were so
memorable I’ll never forget them.
One of the
most impressive performers on this cruise was Ana Popovic and her new big
band, Mo’ Better Love. After growing up in Serbia, she now calls
Memphis home and there is a definite Memphis sound to this band. I’ve seen Ana probably 4 or 5 times over the
years beginning back in 2006. Back then,
she struggled with English, both speaking and singing. In those days I remember
saying “this girl can really play but I wish she’d just keep her mouth
shut.” We’ll let me tell you with each
passing year and chance to see her she’s gotten better both on guitar and in
English. Honestly, the metamorphosis
that has occurred for her has been amazing to watch. She is now a master on guitar and speaks very
clearly and sings beautifully in English.
When I got a chance to talk to her I told her I know how hard she has
worked on both and how much it is appreciated by her fans. I saw her play at least twice on this cruise
in addition to the aforementioned Returnee Party and the band was a joy to see
each time.
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| Ana Popovic |
The Zydeco
band for this cruise –every cruise has one– was Corey Ledet and His Zydeco
Band. This band featured Lil Buck Sinegal on guitar although he only got
limited chances to solo. They were very
popular with cruisers. They did zydeco
versions of songs by as diverse artists as Bob Marley, Guns & Roses, and
Cheap Trick, in addition to some fine material of their own.
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| Lil Ed (photo courtesy of Michael Udell) |
In addition
to playing numerous sets Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials were the house band for
two showings of the Joe Plummer play, “Nothing But The Blues.” Just WOW!
This play is set at Theresa’s Lounge in Chicago in the early 1980s. It’s the story of a small blues club in a
basement in Chicago that culminates in what we now know as the Theresa Needham
Award given annually at the Chicago Blues Festival for outstanding service to
the blues community . To find out more
about the history of the real life Theresa’s Lounge, click here: http://www.chicagobarproject.com/Memoriam/Theresa's/Theresa's.htm
Southern
Hospitality (Victor Wainwright, JP Soars, Damon Fowler) were another band who
absolutely wowed many cruisers. I guess
many of them were unaware of this band but I not only was familiar with SoHo
(as they prefer to be called now to eliminate any confusion between them and
Royal Southern Brotherhood) but also each of the guys as solo artists. In addition to their own smokin’ sets, Wainwright was hugely popular as Piano Bar
host where the jams last until the sun comes up. He was often accompanied by JP Soars who was
also a regular in the Crow’s Nest for late night jams.
Kenny Wayne
Shepherd was a “headliner” of sorts mainly due to his popularity. His sets continue to be professionally done
but with little but manufactured passion for what he’s doing. However, in a pool deck jam hosted by
Trampled Under Foot, Kenny and TUF
guitarist, Nick Schnebelen engaged in a
legendary jam. It was the first time I saw Kenny Wayne
really seem to have fun playing guitar since I first saw him in 2002 at the
Chesapeake Blues Fest. This jam was the
talk of the cruise.
Marquise
Knox and Selwyn Birchwood each played a land gig on the island of
Anguilla. They sounded good. But I cannot really say how good because the
venue was totally inadequate for viewing beyond a few dozen people and the sound
system was not the greatest either. This
trip billed as The Ultimate Beach Party and sometimes known as The Chilla in
Anguilla came up far short of expectations although a day on the beach drinking
beer and listening to blues is always fun.
Tab Benoit
was great. His sets were wonderful. And
he practically commandeered the Crows Nest jams to the point that we started
calling it Tab’s Nest! He could be found
up there jamming almost every night and was frequently spotted playing drums
while other people –often JP Soars or Selwyn Birchwood – took over guitar
duty. He also hosted a Bingo game to
raise money for the Voice of the Wetlands which was hilarious. I particularly liked his story of playing
golf with Willie Nelson!
I did not
get to see but a tiny bit of Sugar Ray & The Bluetones but I did hear their
guitarist Monster Mike Welch a few times and he is another artist who has
matured into a really top notch musician.
Tommy
Castro, who is on every cruise, had a CD release party for his new album The
Devil You Know which was very entertaining and his jams with Debbie Davies and
Chris Cain were the highlights.
Chris Cain was
again the supreme guitarist on the ship.
He was often seen playing with Debbie Davies. And they were part of the
Legendary R&B Revue along with The Painkillers. I guess those West Coast blues folks stick
together. His set in the Queens Lounge
(called Theresa’s Lounge for this cruise) was great.
And few besides Theodis Ealey
were willing to cut heads with him when it was his turn to host the jam.
One of the
most entertaining sets I’ve ever seen anywhere was turned in by what was billed
as the Down Home Blues Extravaganza. It
featured the Mel Waiters band with Theodis Ealey on guitar, Latimore on keys,
and blues hall of famer, Denise LaSalle.
The highlight of this set was the 15 minute version of Snap, Crackle,
and Pop by Denise. She had me
practically rolling on the deck laughing as she described how to “make that
coochie snap, crackle and pop” in song while poking fun at Theodis, Bobby Rush,
and Clarence Carter. Theodis Ealey was
a guitarist I gained much new respect for on this cruise. It was almost like I discovered him for the
first time.
Finally, I went to a guitar summit of sorts hosted by Debbie Davies where Ana Popovic, Marquise Knox, Monster Mike Welch, Chris Cain, John Hammond, and Nick Schnebelen all talked about how they got started and how their styles developed. It was very telling to hear how many of them started listening to their parents records at a young age. John Hammond whose father’s work in recording was legendary was to be expected. But Ana Popovic said that all her father had in the house in the former Yugoslavia was blues, soul and r&b records from America. And Chris Cain saying his dad drove a truck yet they had the best stereo system around and how all his dad’s blues and soul records ended up in his room. Or how Cain’s dad took him to see Ray Charles, Charles Brown, and BB King concerts as a youngster. Very enlightening.
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| Guitar Summit |
As usual,
I’ve left some people out. Never got to
see Otis Clay although I did get to speak briefly with him. Same for Sista Monica who remembered a set
she did with Elvin Bishop which I attended back in 2003. Or the Neal Brothers
(Frederick & Darnell) who I found in the Piano Bar late one night/early one
morning. Or Eric Bibb who I saw do 2 songs on the way
to someplace else. Or The James Hunter
Six who my friend who goes by the name Texasbluzer said was phenomenal. As I said, you just can’t see it all.
Bottom line
here folks is that if you are a blues fan and can afford to get away for a week
in the Caribbean sun, the Legendary Blues Cruise is definitely the way to
go. And if you’re not a blues fan, one
week on this ship and you will be!
Thanks Dog!! Bman
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