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.