Monsters Of Rock Cruise 2024 – Review and Photographs from Dawn Osborne

Once again the Monsters of Rock Cruise was a highlight of my year!! There is so much going on, nobody, no matter how energetic can take in everything with multiple stages and events going on at all times of the day until about 2am. I don’t drink, eat as quickly as possible in the buffet, and get to and photograph as many things as I can from 10am till the early hours, but anybody’s account can, necessarily, only be a personal one.

Magic Casino Preparty

There was just one preparty in Miami this year and I make it over to the Magic Casino to catch the first taste of the cruise! Ted Poley, Mr Magnanamous himself, kicks things off doing Danger Danger and ‘Purple Rain’, a good choice as Ted’s sunny personality is always feel good, wholesome fun (despite Danger Danger’s lyrics) bringing his mum to underline the family atmosphere! I catch some Rhino Bucket with Brian Damage of Kix amidst greeting everybody that I have not seen since the last cruise. Going to the Cruise for me is like going to the old regular rock clubs you know everybody is gonna be there and everyone has come to Rock. Importantly the regularity creates the community atmosphere. I mix it up enjoying Hardcore Superstar right at the front who inject the wild Rock ‘n’ Roll into proceedings and leisurely enjoy the perfection of Y & T from the stands. Superb bands to kick things off!

 

HCSS pack it full of their best known songs like ‘We Don’t Celebrate Sundays’ and ‘Last Call For Alcohol’. The American crowd are typically laid back, but Jocke Berg refused to take that lying down and constantly beckoned upwards and claimed to be deaf and explained he had been bragging how loud the crowd were till they submit and start making a lot of noise.

Dave Meniketti’s distinctive voice and guitar tone treated us to wonderful versions of the bands greatest songs. He stopped to chat between songs giving the background to the atmospheric  ‘Midnight In Tokyo’ (with its melodic intro, Rockin out middle and stunning acapella close), mentioning the band’s 50^th anniversary, the early days in the Oakland Bay Area, and 1983 as a great year for the band before ‘Mean Streak’. A signed bottle of Meniketti wine, cymbal and poster is auctioned off for over a thousand dollars for charity. I will never get tired of hearing ‘Summertime Girls’ and it’s just a perfect track for the eve of the Cruise.

Day 1 Saturday – Boarding Day!

The first day is only really late afternoon and evening by the time you have boarded, but getting on the boat goes smoothly and I make to Glenn Hughes’ Q and A with Eddie Trunk and Will Howell. Glenn talked about the 50^th anniversary of ‘Burn’ tour and how growing his hair helped him get back into that groove, his excitement about the new Black Country Communion record and a new planned solo album and tour (with a tantalising reference to a new look to go with the new music and a promise that there would be some Trapeze in the set). He took questions such as to the secret of looking after his voice (sleep, water and leaving fear behind) and whether he would work with David Coverdale again (they are in touch, but as Eddie commented David is currently contemplating retirement and Glenn has a full schedule planned for the next two years). Glenn had that dazed and confused look that most artists have when they first get on the Cruise and try to make sense of a massive floating Rock city on the sea!

My first show in the theatre is Quiet Riot fronted by Jizzy! I actually never saw Quiet Riot without Jizzy and I love Love/Hate, so I am completely open minded and enjoy their lively energetic show at first, from the front to get pictures, and afterwards with a Bird’s eye view of Rudy Sarzo lifting up his bass over his head and holding it out to be touched by fans. I also have loved Slade since my earliest memories when they were on UK’s Top Of The Pops so their biggest songs tap right into my deep sub conscious for a massive thumbs up. ‘Blackout In The Red Room’ is a nod to Jizzy’s history and gets a great reaction. There’s also a touching dedication to the recently departed Frankie Banali.

Safety is fortunately paramount on MORC and the pool stage is not ready, so I catch a little Rare Hare in the Star Lounge including the kick ass Courtney Cox of The Iron Maidens and Ace Johnson from LA Guns and Faster Pussycat. I was also interested to see a little Joe Satriani who was playing to a packed out mesmerized audience in the Royal Theatre and called up Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme and Richie Kotzen to jam with him during the show.

On my way to see CrashDiet I got a selfie with Justin Hawkins of The Darkness who had just invested in a giant fluffy cocktail from one of the stores on the main walkway across the ship. Well, he doesn’t drink, but if you don’t have a cocktail in your hand on MORC then you’re not doing it right.  I also meet Glenn Hughes who is also just wandering around the ship to get his bearings. One of the most magical things about the Cruise is that no matter how big a Rockstar you are there is safety from attention, in that there is so much going on, and so many other Rockstars on the boat that it is also possible for the artists to enjoy themselves and get out and about if they want.

CrashDiet killed it in the theatre with their brand new singer John Elliot (from Confess). It is their first shows with him in place and there’s a lot of curiosity. In my view he suits the band better than his predecessor with a more Sleazy old school look: he hits the notes in a more rounded way, not just screaming and they gel well and sound great. It’s so nice to see Peter London on bass back in the  band and looking happy. They are part of the growing Scandinavian Sleaze band presence on the boat that is bringing back Glam for those such as me who miss it so bad. They express how incredible it is for them to be on the cruise and dedicate ‘Queen Obscene’ to all the ladies and finish on a high with ‘Generation Wild’. It’s exhilarating and I am still on UK time so I decide to quit feelin’ great and hit the hay excited for more to come!

Day 2 Sunday – The First Full Day on Board

I start the day at 9.45 at the Joel Hoekstra Hangover Jam which is now in Studio B the largest capacity venue on board as it is incredibly popular due to complimentary Bloody Marys (paid for by Joel himself) and the amazingly large number of ‘free shit’ he gives out including several record turntables featuring his ‘13’ album artwork and other special edition Hoekstra merch such as Bobble heads (Joel’s is apparently in the Bobble Head Museum wherever that is). He is jovial about the fact that the merch is the big lure to get people to come to a show so early in the day, and admits he overslept so did not get his vocal warm up done making his voice a little more gravelly that usual, but it’s a spunky performance, puts everyone in such a good mood and everyone has a great time, so it’s a great marketing ploy!

I check in to see Kip Winger who is painting David Bowie with cruisers! He is relaxing and mingling chatting to the Cruisers in the class.

I pop in to see some Pat Travers who I have never seen before live. Although I am not really familiar with his material he has a packed audience enjoying the midday show! I pass by ‘Smuggler’s Alley’ a place where Cruisers can bring home made mementos of that year’s cruise and swap them with others and which has really grown into a big deal, now billed as an event on the Cruise Schedule. There are dozens of stalls offering keychains, 3 D printed skulls, stickers, pins and all sorts of shit you didn’t even know you wanted till you saw it!

Cooking with Rockstars (with Taime Downe, Jimmy Chalfant of Kix and Paradise Kitty) overruns in Studio B and so the usually relaxed Ted Poley is a little stressed as his show is late, but everyone waits patiently and reassures him that it’s fine and he starts to smile chat and take selfies with the waiting crowd (and photographers (including me) in the pit). And once the show gets going everything is A OK!! As with the pre party it’s a largely Danger Danger set with ‘Purple Rain’, but also with the ‘Monsters of Rock Theme song’. Ted chats to the crowd urging them to support their local animal shelter and telling them that “when they put me under this is what I’ll see”.

I have my picture taken with Ace Frehley, Extreme, Joe Satriani and April Wine at the Photo Experience putting a smile on my face!

I catch some more Y and T in the theatre! With Dave Meniketti’s health scare recently I want to see as much of this great performing band while I still can! Every time I see this band I remember just how much I love them. They vary the set with tracks like  ‘I Believe In You’ and ‘Rescue You’ added,

Although I would have stayed for the whole thing if I could, I only get to pass through the Crazy Lixx Q and A and find out they got their name from a misremembered name of a toy guitar once owned by their singer Danny Rexon as I make my way to the Darkness on the Pool Deck. What a show! Many people are only discovering The Darkness for the first time in the USA and people are amazed!

Not only the band’s catchy hits, but also Justin Hawkins (complete with stunning Freddie Mercury style black and white jumpsuit exposing his midriff) climbing high into the sky on the Pool Stage lighting rig, jumping so high that stills look like he is practising for a witches’ sabbat, doing the upside down jumping jacks headstand on the drum rider, walking around the crowd on someone’s shoulders including through a hot tub and engaging the crowd with cheeky banter (including some unfortunate chap from Liverpool who gets his glasses worn and gets abused for telling Justin where he is from). It’s all in good humour for the crack (only the metaphorical kind these days).

Even Justin is wise enough not to pick up on Malificent who also knows that the Darkness show on the pool deck is the place to be. Her long black horns can be seen on a number of my photos. How an earth could she bear to wear a tight rubber headdress in the afternoon sun? Just another MORC mystery!

I popped up to see Y & T relaxing and answering questions from fans and have a quick chat with Adam Parsons (Manager of Europe and other big bands) and get a selfie with Dave Meniketti. The band talked about who made them feel star struck (Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Steve Harris and Rudy Sarzo). Dave was drawn on the subject of when Ozzy got down on his knees and begged Dave to be his guitar player, which Dave quickly declined, because he wanted to write and perform his own material and did not want to be a replacement for someone who had passed away, explaining that money has never been a motivation in music for him. One comedy oops moment was when Dave told everyone he did not have a first wife, until someone pointed out he did and he was still with her!!

I catch some Enuff Z Nuff on the Pool Deck, but have to leave early as everyone is dying to see Ace Frehley in the theatre since he has cancelled so many shows recently. How would it be?

Personally I loved it! Ace played my favourite song ‘Shock Me’ and he has lost weight and looks in a lot better shape than when I attended his album release at the Rainbow a few years ago. Although he plays ‘10,000 volts’ from his new album it’s largely a KISS set finishing with ‘Rock and Roll All Night’ and he wears his blue nail polish showing that his heart still belongs to Glam. He can still play super fast, I had never seen his flashing and smoking guitar before live and I loved the whole thing even when he gently threw a bottle that accidentally hit me on the hand between ‘Detroit Rock City’ and ‘Cold Gin’. I might have changed my mind if it had shattered, but he only tossed it and so a few of us getting wet was the only upshot and my camera somehow managed to stay dry. He throws in humour announcing ‘Love Gun’ as “a great song I think Paul Stanley wrote about my dick.”

I catch British Lion in Studio B featuring the British Rock giant Steve Harris who tirelessly engages the enthusiastic crowd. I met him in the buffet where he was happily signing and taking pictures with fans, a really down to earth guy.

I stop by to see Faster Pussycat on the Pool stage. Taime is several years sober, but the bands performance remains as sleazy as ever. It’s a set of favourites including  ‘Don’t Change that Song’, ‘Your So Vain’, ‘Poison Ivy’ plus a few surprises, a cover of the Heartbreakers’ song ‘Pirate Love’ and the first performance of ‘Ship Rolls In’ since 1989. With special guests Ace Von Johnson, Jacob Bunton and Paradise Kitty they rock n roll through finishing with ‘Bathroom Wall’, ‘Shut Up and Fuck’ and ‘Babylon’.

I call it a night after another dose of HCSS in Studio B. It’s a longer show than the pre party and they vary the show including deeper cut tracks like ‘Kick On The Upper Class’ and ‘She’s Offbeat’ as well as additional favourites like ‘Moonshine’ and ‘My Good Reputation’ finishing with ‘You Can’t Kill My Rock ‘n’ Roll. It’s the early hours of a very long day, but Jocke Berg seems to come alive at night encouraging the crowd to “Scream For Me MORC, Scream to my ass! You guys are so beautiful and amazing” The Cruiser wearing a tight rubber mask in the audience goes crazy when they play ‘Bag On Your Head’ which was another MORC priceless moment.

Day 3 – Monday – half way through!!

We’re in Mexico, but I don’t get off the boat, I have been there before several times and I have too much to do!! Starting with CrashDiet again in Studio B .. if this is Groundhog Day I’m In!!! They play all the main songs again such as ‘Chemical’ and the same encore, but add ‘Tikket’ ‘In The Raw’ ‘Fallin Rain’ and ‘XTC Overdrive’.  It is well attended, so obviously people prefer CrashDiet to Mexico! The band have had a chance to find out what the Cruise means and say it’s the best trip they have ever been on. The band have been around for over 20 years and so it’s quite the compliment and obviously genuine! I see Jocke Berg outside the CrashDiet show, as usual the Viking marauders are making a splash on the Cruise!

I catch my second dose of Quiet Riot on the Pool Deck. It’s the same set, but seeing it in the bright sunshine provides a completely different experience! Jizzy jokes that it’s so hot, but of course he opted to wear his heaviest vest. He also entertains the crown by comparing MORC to Ancient Rome after a woman dressed as a mermaid tried to seduce his wife!

I cut to Playmakers to see Eddie Trunk interviews. Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme has turned up this time, he was supposed to do it last year, but was in the basket ball game that seriously injured his knee. As Eddie rightfully points out it is a cautionary tale and, strangely enough, there is no basket ball game this year. They discussed the fuss the ‘Rise’ solo caused, and sold out shows around the world spelling a renaissance for the band. Nuno explained that truly great guitarists like Eddie Van Halen and Brian May choose the right solo for the song irrespective of ego, there’s a place for ‘Eruption’ and a place for the solo on ‘Ain’t Talkin About Love’ depending on the song. He never forces a solo if it doesn’t happen naturally. Extreme wrote about 5 album’s worth of material, but filtered it with a high bar (whether they would play that song to their heroes and whether it made them excited like a child again).

Dana Strum of Slaughter popped in and discussed the upcoming biopic film which he says will tell the real story of the band. He was asked why the band don’t play the Vinnie Vincent songs and he confessed they had done at one point, but the memories from that time with Vincent were not all that great and Vincent wouldn’t like it, even though he is not currently active musically. The whole of Faster Pussycat arrived and although Taime is long time sober, Danny is obviously already drunk heckling Eddie and grabbing the mike. News included that they will be on the next MORC in 2025, that they are planning a new album through Golden Robot hopefully for release in the autumn and Taime is working actively on his autobiography. Comedy moment when Danny announces that as well as his comics he too will launch a book in competition with Taime called ‘Dirt’ (!) 😉

I am transfixed by Richie Kotzen’s  ‘You Can’t Save Me’ in the theatre one of my favourite Rock songs ever.

The Sailaway was postponed to leaving Mexico and the Extreme show. I had recently seen the band in the UK and they are still filled with the same enthusiasm for their new material, so as well as the old hits ‘Decadence’ , ‘Kid Ego’, ‘Hole Hearted’, ‘More Than Words’ and ‘Get The Funk’ Out’, we get ‘#Rebel’, ‘Banshee’, ‘Other Side of The Rainbow’ and ‘Rise’ from the new album equally if not more exciting.   Nuno addressed the crowd to apologise for sitting down at last year’s theatre show after injuring himself, promising to make up for it now “in god’s room” on the Pool stage which they certainly do (despite some technical difficulties with drums during Hole Hearted). No-one thought an apology was needed anyway. Nuno always plays brilliantly and Gary Cherone was his usual acrobatic, flexible self never resting on his laurels for any performance.

Nuno was generally in a good mood telling stories about his handmade western hat for which he overpaid and then found someone else with the same hat, despite pretending to be cross with roadies trying to fix the drum issue “Get Off My Fuckin’ Stage!”.

 

Next up was Glenn Hughes for his set of classics for the 50^th Anniversary of ‘Burn’. Despite his partying years, he looks and sounds amazing and crowd are treated to awesome falsetto and giant riffs ‘Stormbringer’, ‘Might Just Take Your Life’ ‘Mistreated’ ‘You Keep On Moving’ and ‘Burn’. Rarely has the tag ‘Monsters of Rock’ been so appropriate. It’s really windy on stage leading him to exclaim “Can’t Sing, my hair’s everywhere”. Luckily he could! He takes time to chat to the crowd, telling that he loves them, asking them how they feel and promising them new music next year “Gotta Keep Creating!”.

Next is the Quiet Riot Q and A, but with Don Jamieson hosting, a lady dressed as a Viking in the audience and questions about “who gets the most snatch?” (Jamieson quips “they’re married they don’t have sex”) it’s hard for the band to answer questions in a conventional way and, giving up, Rudy closed down, just saying to questions about Ozzy, “read my book”, so I guess we will.

I finish up with another dose of Faster Pussycat in Studio B. It’s a similar greatest hits set, but with some changes notably ‘Jack The Bastard’ to start and ‘Non Stop To Nowhere’ midset. Chad the drummer is wearing a humourous T-shirt ‘Yes Today Satan’. Tyson from Vixen provided Honky Tonk piano on Bathroom Wall.

There was also an auction of a Taime Down nutcracker and a signed Mick Mars solo album (Jacob  Bunton guesting with FP again sang on that album) which raised several hundred dollars for charity.

Day 4 Thursday – Penultimate Day!

I am up early again to get to the gathering for those who have attended all the cruises and am photographed holding up my miniature commemorative MORC guitar and giant pick. I can’t stay for Larry Morand’s speech (the owner of the Monsters Of Rock Cruise) as I have to rush off to paint Angus Young at paint class. My Angus looks a little bit Mick Jagger, but I am hoping the horns assuage any doubt that this is the Australian guitarist. Soto & Bieler are billed to take part, but Gary Cherone of Extreme also turns up towards the end to have a shufty.

Next stop for me was having a photo taken with The Darkness, Glenn Hughes and Richie Kotzen all of which I know a bit from interviewing them. I whisper to the Darkness that they are the talk of the ship everybody thinking they were fantastic live and Glenn gets a chance to tell me he loves me. Glenn loves everybody he is a generous and beautiful soul!

Having missed Larry’s speech where he usually announced a few acts coming up on the next cruise I catch up with him and he tells me there are plans to get Tesla, Hardcore Superstar, Michael Monroe, Michael Schenker, Faster Pussycat and The Answer on the ship.

Having missed KK Priest’s first set I make a point of catching them in Studio B and I thought they were great, full of energy with a great line up led by KK Downing including Tim “Ripper” Owens on vocals and the statuesque Viking AJ Mills on second guitar. Old school metal with Priest classics like ‘Breaking The Law’ !

Went to The Darkness Q and A in the Viking Crown and they showed endless patience on questions about Queen  (Roger Taylor being the drummer Rufus’ father) and even in the face of a particularly impertinent line of questioning likening Justin’s physique to a “chicken carcass”. I have to say that from where I was sitting Justin was one of the fittest men in the room and need not have any worries on that score. More sensible topics included how they decide songs are good (if they sound good acoustically when they get together) and how they choose songs for an album (a ballad may go on instead of a banger if it makes the album more of a classic). When asked about the band name, they referred to how mens’ mental health has been responsible for a great deal of creativity and how they have been described as a band of three depressives and a manic depressive, saying with some seriousness that the band has kept them alive, not just providing them with a living. Justin put his  cat suits down to the opinion of their mum who used to hang around with Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones in the 60s and always told them that they could not look like they had just finished working in the post office and needed to look the part “which sounded like a good idea until we played a neo-nazi pub in East London”. There was plenty of such humour explaining why it took so long to recoup their albums (as they were yet to work out the hidden charges for caviar and cocaine) and how the documentary had shown Frankie’s normal side (goodness knows how wierder he could be) and how Dan had tried to sack Frankie several times, but he didn’t get the e mail.  When asked why they had no t-shirts on the cruise for people to purchase Justin explained that they were all available on the Darkness web site and that if people bought two of the same item he would “kiss them on the mouth”.  The band stuck around for photos and signing stuff with fans afterwards, but in these post covid times, mercifully no kissing.

Next up was Ace Frehley’s second set and this time he throws me a pick which is much more appreciated than a bottle! He expresses frustration that as KK Priest overan the show is late and he had to cut his set short,  although I thought it was actually longer than the theatre show, there was quite a bit of overlap between the two sets but this one had ‘Parasite’, ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and ‘Deuce’ added. He plays my favourite ‘Shock Me’ again explaining how he wrote it about being electrocuted onstage. As he left he told everyone they had been a great audience and not to get drunk or fall overboard!

Crazy Lixx gave an energetic show on the pool stage bringing some more Scandinavian vigour to the line up. Great songs like ‘Hell Raisin Women’ and ’21 ‘till I die’ always make them a Cruise favourite. It’s pretty windy and they describe being on the pool stage as ‘one big blow job”.

Back to Studio B and the delays have started to pile up meaning that when Justin Hawkins hits the stage he is furious expressing frustration at Ace Frehley saying “ I don’t care how big a Rockstar you are, if you make The Darkness late you are a C**t.” and making jokes about wigs “there’s a reason he doesn’t play the Pool stage in a hurricane” (although Ace’s hair doesn’t look like any wig I’ve ever seen and I am pretty sure it is real). I hear that later, following a little bit of squaring up and explanation that it probably wasn’t Ace’s fault, they KISS-ed and made up (see what I did there).  I myself uttered an expletive when Justin took my camera off me and luckily I got it back unharmed with the addition of a picture of his crotch that was waiting to be discovered by me later in my cabin. I dutifully shared it on the Monsters of Rock Community page, sharing the love. Also as I was leaving he said my name on stage “Don’t forget the photo shop Dawn” motioning to his non existent double chin. He needn’t have worried I never photoshop anything in or out of my photos, taking the attitude that Photoshop is the photographic equivalent of using tapes on stage affecting the authenticity to an unacceptable level.

The photographers were not even out of the pit when he invited all the audience to invade the pit to get closer to the band. Luckily the lateness didn’t affect the show, as quirky and energetic as always. There are plenty of hijinx. Puttin someone’s cellphone down his crotch, putting a pic in someone’s drink and kicking a pick and catching it are just some of the things he gets up to as well as singing the songs. He expresses great satisfaction that after playing a cover of Led Zep’s ‘Immigrant Song’ their own song ‘Love Is Only a Feeling’ got a bigger cheer, but refused to play it until the audience bounced quipping “it reminds me of my time in borstal to see all the heads going up and down”. He announces that this will be their last song of the cruise ‘Love On The Rocks With No Ice’ saying he will get withdrawal symptoms and how awesome it had been to hang out with Glenn Hughes, Richie Kotzen and Nuno. Tantalisingly he said “See You Next Time”. I head off to bed posting a killer shot of a jump from the drum riser and an upside down jumping jack before I go to sleep, as I could not resist taking a look at the photo Justin gifted to my shots.

Day 5 Final Day

We’re in Nassau, but it’s raining and I have no plans to go ashore having been there several times. Having been super disciplined about getting enough sleep I am, however, up early again to get to paint class this time Ace Frehley with some of his band members attending. I pass Larry Morand on the walkway and spontaneously tell him “I can’t stop smiling” as the cruise is sheer heaven for me year after year.

I catch a little bit of Bad Marriage rockin out on the pool stage before I go to see Eddie Trunk interviewing KK Downing of KK Priest who is propositioned by a self confessed very drunk groupie during questions which does make me do a ‘see no evil’ hand across my eyes as it was a bit cringy, but it had nothing on when she got up to chat to Ace Frehley who was next, telling him that “we did it in a record store, it was the eighties!” In front of his new fiancé it was nothing if not awkward! Apparently the best place to catch Ace hanging around on the ship is the casino! When asked if he cared about Justin Hawkins comments he said “No I was already in bed” and explained that he was not, in any event, the reason the schedule was running late and his own set had been cut short. He explained touring was going well, and that he had wanted to go to Europe but the authorities did not want to give back his passport (not explaining why). He has a dry sense of humour “If I knew I was going to influence so many people I would have practiced more.” Kiss’s efforts not to have him put ‘Hide Your Heart ‘ on his album just meant that he couldn’t wait to do it. (Ace’s album ‘Trouble Walkin’ featuring the track was released four days before the Kiss album featuring it  ‘Hot In The Shade’.)

Extreme are up next in the theatre getting a chance to re-do their show after Nuno had to sit down for it last time. They seem happy and relaxed and the show goes without a hitch.

There’s always some tragic clashes on the cruise when you want to split yourself in two and I have to migrate between Winger on the Pool stage (where I catch their Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, Dokken and Starship medley, ‘Heading For a Heartbreak’ and ‘Madalaine’) , Glenn Hughes in the theatre (where I catch ‘You Keep On Movin’ and ‘Burn’ for the second time), and Richie Kotzen in Studio B (where I get some shots in the pit) an impossible choice and I have to zig zag between stages, my least favourite thing when such talent is on offer.

Lizzy Borden was my final gig, a fittingly theatrical ending to something which is always a dramatic part of my year. I get some pictures, but make myself scarce when the theatrical blood comes out. American flags for ‘American Metal’ are a fitting end to the cruise. The twins are gone with Colton Seaver of Pretty Boy Floyd and Jet Black Romance in on bass and AC Alexander and Joey Scott on guitar. It was great to see some songs from ‘My Midnight Things’ their latest album that I loved (being completely different to their early material) and giant beach balls, black balloons and black roses come out for the final track also from the latest album  ‘Long May They Haunt Us’.

It’s always sad packing up all your gear for the long flight home, but the fact that the Cruise only happens once a year makes it all the more special. As a vacation rather than work per se I never try to see everything, which would be impossible anyway, so there were bands I never caught at all on the Cruise, as some of you may point out (again!) The fact that two people can go on the Cruise and have two completely different experiences and sometimes see some bands several times is dependent on schedules, personal taste and to some extent the luck of the draw. But nobody can ever complain about the diversity of choice, the quality of entertainment on offer and the value for money. Thank you Larry! Till Next time!

Dawn Osborne