Day 7: the end

It’s fabulous to have the weekend to recover and readjust to winter before returning to work.

Here I show off the sweatshirt I bought on the cruise. Hey, it was a little chilly in the evenings. I needed it.

The post vacation blues were a challenge. I came down with a mild version of Diana’s cold. I was fortunate – pretty much everyone seems to have ended up sick with something after the cruise.

Waiting to hear details of Ships & Dip V -2009.

My absolute favorite photo from the cruise, taken by Kristen Jacobsen. She titled it Exhilaration. I think Alan's expression, in front of screaming fans, totally sums up the experience:

Day 7: the trip home

6:30am. We curse the sadism of cruises when they start making announcements for debarkation. We get ready and go for breakfast – what are they going to do if we miss our group number? Make us stay on the ship? Stay for the Mayercraft Carrier [John Mayer cruise]?

Tediously collect luggage, go through customs, and make our way to the airport. Checking in for our flight is even more disorganized. I’m convinced that I will never see my luggage again. There’s a long line at security, so we buy water to drink while waiting. They won’t let us in the line with our water bottles – even though we tell him that we plan to drink it and throw away the bottle in that trash can, up there by the metal detectors. Lucky we arrived very early since the whole process takes much longer than normal.

We hang out at our gate. We meet Lavonne again – she’s on the same flight to St. Louis.

Airport staff ask us if we’d like to fill out a survey. We grin and say yes. It’s about the food options in that concourse. We write a page of comments that begins with “As frequent travelers, we can state that you have much larger problems than your food selection…”

Once in St. Louis, we learn that we’ve lucked out, and that our plan of avoiding O’Hare was sound – it snowed yesterday, but is okay now, whereas Chicago is snowbound.

We meet some more dippers. Kristen is in our row once we board, so we chat some more. I admire her camera and photos on it. It turns out that she was right behind me at two of the GBS shows. I’ve ended up printing many of her photos because they’re better than mine, yet very similar.

Day 6: BNL show, jam session

We dash to the BNL show. (Mary reports that it started late, so we really only missed a couple of songs.) In spite of our lousy seats way in the back, behind a pillar, it’s also a fun show. Great music, much goofing off on stage. The announcement of Ships & Dip V (yes 5, not 4) is of course the most important moment.

The phrase of the evening, started by Tyler: "You never know what's going to happen on the cruise-ah."

The show goes on until well after 1:00am. Then the party moves to the lido stage for the all night jam session. I watch until about 3:00am (when I thought it started sounding like a bunch of drunks instead of musicians); Diana lasted another hour until the end.

Someone's video of If I had a Million Dollars from the BNL show, (kind of long because they keep pausing to thank musicians and crew):

Day 6: Great Big Gaelic Leaf

As we approached the end of the set, and some folks have started leaving in order to get their seat for the 11:00 BNL show, Alan comments that “We’re supposed to finish up at 11:00.” We cry out “no!” Alan responds, “But wait…Gaelic Storm is playing down in the Aortic until 11:30. What do you say we go join them?” We cheer agreement.

Diana and I look at each other and grin – I guess we’re going to be late for the BNL show.

True to his word, as the last note of Rant & Roar fades, Alan says, “To the other show.” They take off. We follow. Some girls near us say something like “they’re not really going, they’re just trying to get out of signing autographs.” Huh? Clearly they haven’t been on the same cruise as us all week… We just tell them to get out of our way. It’s a mad dash from Deck 9 forward to 5 aft. Hopefully no innocent bystanders were injured. They were definitely perplexed. (At this point, the unexpected was the norm. If I’d been standing around, I’d’ve followed just to find out what was happening.)

We work our way through the crowd in the aortic lounge (really the Adriatic Seas Lounge, but it was immediately known as the Aortic). We could see the word being passed amongst the members of Gaelic Storm. After a few songs, Patrick announces that they have guests for the final song. GBS and CL join them on stage – 15 guys on one tiny stage. Patrick and Sean take the lead in a rousing version of Tell Me Ma. It’s an absolutely amazing experience – we’re jumping and cheering; they all have big grins. What a rush.

The band is now known as Great Big Gaelic Leaf or Great Big Carbon Storm

But the evening still isn’t done…

Day 6: GBS #3

We deliberately chose a spot a little further back along one of the railings, so we could see the entire stage better. “We” being me and Diana; Mary again chose a spot safely distant from all us nuts for her concert viewing.

Music was great, again. Alan was in especially high spirits – at one point Sean commented on it, and asked for a loan. Having seen Sean fairly drunk relatively early the previous evening, I laughed when he said, “I feel like I’ve had a drink with everyone of you last night.” We cheer. He says, “No, I really feel that way.” Oh, I think he’s referring to the hangover…

Musically treat for the evening was finally getting to hear Process Man live. Now I know why people were requesting it – the a capella harmonies are amazing.

For General Taylor, Carbon Leaf and Griffin House joined the boys on stage. They joined in on the singing, and Barry dramatically timed Sean’s long note at the end.

Day 6: anticipation

I got my stylish airbrushed GBS “tattoo,” which I had much fun showing off when I got home.

It’s a beautiful afternoon—sunny, warm but not hot—so we select our desired location for the 3rd and final GBS show. It’s 3:00. The concert is at 9:30. Okay, so the three of us did not actually sit in one place for 6 hours. We took turns going back to the room, getting food, chatting with others, etc. Canadian band Harvey Danger played a set somewhere in the middle. They were okay. I run down to the Red & Black Seas lounge to catch Griffin’s set. Unfortunate that the CL show got moved up, because it was supposed to fill the early evening slot, but the time flew by anyway.

Day 6: songwriters panel; afternoon Carbon Leaf show

Now that it’s the last day on the ship, we finally go down the big waterslide and play a round of mini-golf. Very strange.

The fruity drinks are entertaining, but I’m still appalled by how much alcohol is pushed. The waiter never walk by with a bucket of Coke or bottle water. I wasn’t surprised to see the daily schedule listing the code for an AA meeting (“friends of Bill W”)

We plan to go play rock n roll bingo, lead by Carbon Leaf. When we get there we learn that they will not be there – because their evening show has become a 1:30 show.

Mary and Diana decide to stay for bingo, I head out to go see the show. But I don’t make it until after 2:00. On my way back to the lido deck, I hear music coming from the Caribbean Lounge. I assume someone is doing their soundcheck, so I peek in. It’s the songwriters panel. Supposedly a ticketed event, but the upper level is virtually empty. So, I take a seat. It’s no surprise at all the Alan is in the lineup that also includes Steve, Ed, Sarah Harmer, comedian Boothby Graffoe. The eight panelists take turns performing – sometimes lyrics with special meaning to them and others to show off something about the music. Following Sarah’s half-finished song, Alan comments that it’s better than two of his finished songs, and that he might have to record it first. Ed immediately points out that “They already have,” pointing to the audience members with camcorders. When were you last at a concert that not only allowed cameras, but practically encouraged them? Alan’s first song is an acoustic Straight to Hell – he jokes that Sarah and Boothby might want to move back since the lightening bolt might hit at any moment. Then Boothby starts in on dark comic song about kittens in a bag. Alan dramatically looks heavenward and moves away.

I stay for a second round, but then dash off to hear the rest of Carbon Leaf.

(Luckily there are some good quality videos on YouTube of the songwriters panel, so I was able to see most of it anyway) Here's a great video of Alan singing Boston & St. John's. And one of Straight to Hell -- usually sung in rock god mode, not acoustic :

Day 5 - evening schmoozing

Just because there aren’t any must see shows this evening, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t an interesting night.

It's pajama night, so we change into our cutest & comfiest. Nevermind the pj's, it's nice to wear slippers!

We eat in the formal dining room and then concert hop. We see a bit of Kurt Swinghammer – Canadian songwriter who apparently co-writes songs or plays on albums by numerous Canadian artists. Heard a little of Thinbuckle (BNL Kevin’s side project) and The Vanity Project (Steven’s side). Need I even confirm that Ed had cameos with all?

Howie Beck also sounded good – I listened from the lobby. I'm surprised that the room was overflowing, until I see that he's backed by half of Guster.

Finally try out the red-white blended drink we kept seeing -- it's called a Miami Vice. Very tasty.

Head through the casino to see what else is going on…

It’s an open stage time. We don’t recognize the performer on stage, but it’s clear that he’s not an amateur, so we stay to watch. While we’re still guessing who he is, Sean and Alan hop on the tiny stage and they perform a Tom Petty song.

We prepare to move on. I pause to ask a staff person who the musician was – I learn that he’s Griffin House. http://myspace.com/griffinhouse

Excellent – he was on my “to see” list, but it hadn’t worked out yet. I turn around and am face-to-face with Stephen of Gaelic Storm. I say hi. I notice the rest of GS is nearby at the blackjack table, as are the two Irishmen we’d met at the pre-cruise party.

The rest of GBS has arrived. I let Bob and his wife know about the cute photo of them we saw in the ship’s photo gallery. I chat with their manager Louie and his wife. I ask Louie if there’s a release date for the next GBS album. Sadly, it’s not until June. I guess that before July 1 still counts as ‘early in the year.’ Naturally, I put in a plug for a couple of concerts in Minnesota. I say hello to Sean and get a photo taken with him. He’s unfortunately smoking and rather drunk. I tell him to say hello to his Minnesotan wife – I don’t notice until I load my photos that he’s wearing a 10,000 Lakes tee. I turn to respond to a comment someone is making about the annoying kid banging on the drumset -- It's Murray who was talking.

Eventually Mary and Diana return with Bonnie and Jean. Bonnie points out that two of the guys from Carbon Leaf are there. So, we say hello to them as well. I also chat a bit with Griffin House.

The evening feels very surreal. But, seems to confirm the overall impression that the artists are having as much fun as we are.

Day 5: Jamaica

I decide the Jamaica looks pretty from the boat and don’t want to spoil the impressive, so I stay aboard while Mary and Diana go ashore to do some shopping. It’s a hazy gray day and it does end up raining on & off.

It fun to practically have the Lido deck to myself. I have my pick off deck chairs. I laugh when I hear people (clearly Southerners) complain that they got cold in the rain. I only moved under an awning in order to keep my book dry.

I discover where they hide the Ethnic food buffet. It’s in plain sight, but we thought it had the same crappy looking hot dogs and fries as the other side of the deck… Greek food. Yum.

We spend lazy afternoon writing postcards and people watching from a sheltered area of the deck.

The sailaway gets postponed because it starts raining again and the wind picks up just as Oakhurst gets started. They play danceable bluegrass type music. Would have been pleasant to hang out on deck chair and listen if the weather had remained nice, but I don’t stick around. They moved to shelter and did an acoustic set, I heard.

Day 4: Carbon Leaf

We have a few hours to unwind (read: eat and nap) before the Carbon Leaf show later in the evening. The sailaway show has left such a happy glow, that we don’t really care.

I’m excited to finally see Carbon Leaf. I’ve had several GBS fans recommend their music and live shows. Similarly, they don't have one specific sound. Alt / Folk rock probably the closest description that fits them.

I am not disappointed. I like their sound and stage presence. Lead singer Barry jokes about the wind causing him to have Bon Jovi hair. (Actually, I think his stage persona is more INXS Michael Hutchence).

We notice all of GBS watching at one point or another. Towards the end of the show, Barry asks, "Are there any Canadians here?" (About half the cruise). Sean hops up on stage and states "I'm Canadian." He proceeds to lead them in singing an a cappella "Hangin' Johnny." Unclear whether they've ever sang it before... but I do learn from Bonnie that the two bands have toured together in the past.

Totally enjoyed Carbon Leaf. Will have to pick up more of their CDs.

We end the evening watching a couple of the comedians (which started at midnight every night).

Day 4: GBS sailaway show, part 4

Show then proceeds as usual, although the encore gets cut short because of the extra time the shenanigans took. We spend the next two days telling people, “Yes, Excursion Around the Bay was on the setlist, but got cut. Shouldn’t be a problem getting them to play it at the last show.”

Wow. Can it get any better than this? Probably not -- but there's still a 3rd show coming up on Thursday.

Someone's video of a fragment of End of the World as we know it:

Day 4: GBS sailaway: Speedo Ed

Ed came on stage in a speedo, cowboy hat, and a smile. May I remind you, gentle reader, that I’m in the front row, close enough that I’m practically in Bob’s personal space, of a 3 foot high stage. This puts me entirely too close to a man in a speedo.

Alan and Ed lead our singalong of 500 Miles and Bohemian Rhapsody; Sean crazy dances in the background. I laugh hysterically throughout. While trying to not get any close-up views of Ed.

Yes, there is video evidence of this segment on YouTube. Yes, I can be spotted in a couple of the videos. No, I will not tell you which ones.

Day 4: GBS sailaway show

As is often said, a GBS show is not merely something you hear, it’s something you do.

The Monday night show was excellent, but many of us agreed that the sailaway show is the best GBS show.

The setting: It’s a beautiful afternoon, we’re out on the sun deck overlooking Grand Cayman, and a large crowd is participating in a most excellent concert. The boys are always energetic, but they were most definitely On even more than usual for this show. I could tell that recognized that this crowd would have more people who hadn't heard them before, and adjusted the set list accordingly. They played more cover songs and dance songs than normal.

All of them came on stage wearing their bathrobes, in homage to Monday’s barenaked photo. There was a momentary “They are wearing something under there, aren’t they? It kinda windy out here...we don’t want any wardrobe malfunctions” but we could see that Murray at least had jeans on.

This showed started out with Captain Kidd, followed by End of the World as We Know It (yes the REM song, but faster), so we’re well into 90 minutes of vertical movement. (Some of the banter later is to tell us that the captain assures them that the ship can handle the jumping around). By now the robes are coming off to reveal that Alan and Sean are garbed in coordinating swim trunks. We proceed through the expected favorites and a couple new songs before breaking into the ‘80s song singalong that they sometimes do. Having seen Ed’s cameos the day before, I was expecting him to show up for this part. I was not, however, expecting what he was wearing. Or not, as more accurately describes the situation…

Day 4: pre-show GBS sailaway

Diana and I returned from Grand Cayman after the boat ride. Mary stays awhile to shop for some fabulous jewelry. I consciously decided to avoid temptation by NOT looking at the jewelry -- decided that it would be much less expensive if I spend my time staking out a viewing spot for the GBS sailaway show.

We secure our location at stage front. For the record, we are not the first people there. We have a good time chatting with other fans. It's all quite civil -- no one has a problem with holding your place as we come and go -- fetching food, running back to the room to change, etc. -- we even decide who wants to be on which side of the stage. I opt for "stage Bob" (stage right). It really cool talking to people who saw GBS for the first time the night before and were now in the front rows as fans. (Okay, I'm also a little jealous that they didn't have to wait a year between their shows 1 & 2.)

While waiting, we discover that one of the photos in the big screen slideshow is of me and Mary at the pre-party gathering. I got really tired of seeing that photo over the next couple of days.

Since we're literally up close and personal... when the roadie brings out the setlist, we scope it out (and interpret their abbreviations). Is Diana's request for "End of the World" on it?

Yes - it's song #2. (Yes, this is the R.E.M. song from circa 1991.)

4:30. Showtime...we notice the boys gathering offstage. In bathrobes...

Day 4- Tuesday - Grand Cayman

The day is bright and noticeably warmer now that we've reached Grand Cayman. Getting to the island involves catching a tendering boat. We must get up much too early in order to be at our destination by 8:30. This is not a pretty sight.

We're part of Dr. Evil's excursion to Stingray City -- "Dr. Evil" and his wife are experienced cruisers who recommended booking our own boat for the excursion because it's cheaper and les regimented than booking through the cruise line.

It's a lovely boat ride out to the sand bar populated by numerous stingrays. The water is a brilliant turquoise at the sandbar, but quickly turns purple when the shelf ends.

It's fun to wade in the salt water and touch the stingrays (they're rather soft and squishy). It's a bit windy and wavy, so I don't attempt snorkeling in the nearby reef, but it's fun to watch.

Day 3 - 1st GBS show; Guster

The first show by Great Big Sea was held in the Caribbean Lounge -- the largest indoor theatre. They were the "opener" for Guster, but did get a full 90-minute set, so we weren't shorted on music. We found seats well before the show, giving us time to chat with other fans. Met a few people from the GBS fan message boards as well as folks we'd met yesterday.

As usual, we were on our feet from the opening notes of Donkey Riding until the last note of Old Brown's Daughter. With much vertical movement (jumping up and down cuz there's not room enough to really dance) in between. The boys are in fine form. Alan especially seems to be letting out his inner rock-god. As usual, much banter that is generally of the "you had to be there..." variety. Alan pauses to tell us that he just learned that it was Green night, so he changed shirts (he's wearing a green-ish tee that reads Green Eggs & Ham). Sean quips that he's wearing a green thong. Bob, as usual, looks on in bemusement and remains silent.

We moved to the balcony for Guster's show. Was interested to see the new batch of singing, dancing fans in the front rows that we had just vacated. We enjoyed Guster, but didn't get into the music as much as many of the other concerts we saw this week. BNL's Tyler was filling in for their regular drummer. Ed made a cameo appearance (again). The guys in Guster paused to comment on the surrealness of the day -- they turned it into an impromptu song about listening to beautiful heartfelt music (Sarah Harmer), eating chili cheese fries, and realizing "Hey there's Cuba."

Diana and wander to the Lido Deck for a snack and to hear a few songs by one of the BNL side projects. I joke that it's only midnight, therefore Alan is around here somewhere still talking and drinking... sure enough, a quick scan of people & we spot his long hair. We say hello, take photos, and Diana puts in a request for "End of the World"

Wow. What a day. And it's only Monday.

Day 3 - green dress formal night

The theme for formal night was Green Dress. (song reference: If I had a million dollars). The dining room and subsequent concerts were awash in various shades of green. Most entertaining were the men in green sequined prom dresses.

Day 3 - Monday - beautiful heartfelt music, wave to Cuba

The talk of the day is the Barenaked Photo, 10:00am, Lido Deck. Show up in your robe and a smile. Drop robe for the photo. We send Diana so she could report... 800 participants which is, oh, about 800 more than I'd've expected. (Photo later on sale in Carnival photo gallery in a frame with photo of the ship for a mere...).
Wearing your robe in public is perfectly acceptable for the rest of the cruise.
Morning announcements include "Hey, there's Cuba. Everybody wave."

After a bit of sun, the first concert is Sarah Harmer (later described as beautiful hearfelt music). Seen in photo: Ed (in cowboy hat) makes a cameo appearance during her set.

From our vantage point in the shade, while drinking happy hour Coronas, we spot Jason Collett (looking a bit Chris Isaak). It was common to see artists hanging out behind the stage, listening to the music and chatting.

Day 2: Sail-away show

Everyone gathers for the sail-away party: a BNL concert on the Lido deck. We wait as more crates of band equipment are deposited on deck by the crane. Once this is complete, the open up the starboard side of the deck. It looks like the Oklahoma landrush as people aim for desirable spots along a railing. Virtually all of the almost 3000 passengers are present.

BNL plays as we castoff and the ship heads south.
Wow.

Once I can match names with what instrument they play, everything clicks and I have no trouble knowing which BNL guy is which. (Steve=lead vocals/guitar, Ed=guitar/vocals, Jim=bass, Tyler=drums, Kevin=keyboards).

After supper... We sample a few songs by a couple of previously unheard bands: 54 Seconds and Jason Collett before heading for our evening show: Gaelic Storm. High energy Irish pub band I have seen a few times before. We've met many people who are Gaelic Storm fans -- and asked them all if they'd seen Great Big Sea before. GS is fun but I consider them the warmup for the upcoming GBS show on Monday.
We notice that Alan is standing nearby, so have our first chat with him. I see Murray, Kris and his wife as we're checking out the midnight buffet (nothing exciting) -- the guys are sporting spray on tattoos. Kris seems to have his --along his temple -- because of a lost bet.

Day 2: Embarkation

Sunday: We finally get to meet our Canadian roommate, Diana. Fun to finally see her in person after corresponding via e-mail for months.

Tacky tourist gear is encouraged, so we get into the spirit of things. We're nowhere near being the tackiest, but make a good show of it. BNL's Ed says "It just got more colorful" when he sees us.

The host / headlining band is the Barenaked Ladies. All of the guys mingle with the crowd as we wait in line to complete our paperwork before boarding. Diana's superior knowledge of Canadian band members is useful: Me: (whispering) "Which one is that?"
D: "That's Jim, the bass player."
Me: "Hi Jim. Yes, we're looking forward to see BNL play."



Eventually, we board the Carnival Victory and make our way up to the Lido deck in search of the lunch buffet, after purchasing potent fruity umbrella drink. As we dine...
Members of BNL and other as yet unidentified musicians are seated nearby. Me: "Is that Ed?
D: No
Steve?
No, Tyler.
Just as we start to wonder about the boys in GBS... Alan and Murray walk by.

This is most definitely not going to be a normal cruise.

Adventures of Barb & Mary (& Diana) on Ships & Dip III

January 26, 2008.
Day 1: Saturday
After months of anticipation, Mary (travel buddy extraordinaire) and I fly to Miami in preparation for boarding the Carnival Victory for Ships & Dip III. This music festival on a boat is chartered by a company called Sixthman who does music-themed cruises. It's actually the second S&D -- they skipped number 2 because BNL declared that sequels are just filled with heartache and disappoint, i.e. they suck.

Background: After last summer's East Coast adventure, totally selected by me so I could see multiple concerts by Great Big Sea, Mary mentioned that she'd be interested in going on a cruise. When GBS announced that they had joined the lineup for Ships & Dip, I said, "I found us a cruise..."
The headliner/host band is Barenaked Ladies, plus Guster, Gaelic Storm, Carbon Leaf, and several others that I hadn't heard of (some were side bands by guys in BNL). For me, they're all bonuses to see when GBS isn't playing.

Since the semester began mid-January and the cruise was the end of January, it took a little finagling arrange the time off, but it all worked out.

We arrived in Miami on Saturday evening, in time for the pre-cruise mingler at the hotel, but we actually started meeting fellow "dippers" in the airport thanks to the S&D luggage tags that had been supplied in our survival kits. We were entertained to meet Bonnie and Jean -- a groupie and her enabler friend along for the cruise. Hmm...this does sound familiar, doesn't it? (Not surprising, Mary and Jean did end up chatting fairly often while us nuts were staking out good seats for the concerts. Or pausing to chat with band members.)

For future reference, the members of Great Big Sea are Alan, Sean, Bob, Murray, and Kris.
The members of Barenaked Ladies are Steve, Ed, Tyler, Jim, Kevin.

Side note: Miami airport is not recommended unless you're into eXtreme travel. Disorganized to say the least.