Pickup line of the night: “So how long have you been a Jedi?”
Sometimes when you get too much sun, you pass out early. On Jam Cruise, when you finally come to about a quarter past midnight, things are just getting into full swing. After a day on the beaches of Cozumel, Mexico, the MSC Divina departed once again while Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe handled the sail away set on the pool deck that was highlighted by an instrumental cover of Pink Floyd’s “Fearless” and a handful of Prince covers featuring the frontman for Con Brio on vocals.
Meanwhile, a handful of members from Cabinet, Amy Helm, and two of the guys from Greensky Bluegrass hosted a pickin’ party in the atrium that had a killer 80’s theme. Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothin,” and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ “American Girl” were just two highlights of a set that allowed members of their audience to bring their own instruments and groove along.
Day 4 had a Star Wars costume theme but unlike the previous three evenings onboard, people didn’t seem as into it. For anyone just now crawling out of their Doomsday Bunker, pop culture is just a little oversaturated with Star Wars mania right now, and it isn’t hard to understand why folks wanted a break from it during the five least normal days of the year.
Snarky Puppy once again slayed their set like a dragon for the second time of the week, utilizing guest performances by Weedie Braimah on percussion and guitarist Stanley Jordan as axillary support. Jordan, who plays guitar with both hands tapping on the fret board, one playing lead and the other rhythm (just like a piano), is one of the most technically proficient guitarists on the face of the earth and while the two acts had never once performed together, having such a capable player on stage with a well polished machine like Snarky Puppy just made sense. The fact that their collaboration took place during a never before played tune only made the brag factor for Jam Cruisers that much more potent.
As of 5:16am EST, we’re sailing back to Miami and have a full day and one last night of sea ahead of us. Dumpstaphunk bassist Nick Daniels is hosting things in the Jam Room with a rotating cast of funk-circuit All-Stars that have dished up covers ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Parliament Funkadelic.
For anyone familiar with the Boston Marathon, tomorrow is the Heartbreak Hill of our five-day endurance test: the notoriously cruel uphill stretch on the closing miles of the race. While some folks may have crashed early, hoping to reserve energy for tomorrow night, from the looks of the dance floor, a whole lot more seem hell bent not to leave any gas in the tank.
Previous Days Coverage
Day 3- Poker Tournaments & Sabbath Covers
Day 2 – Snarky Puppy & Karl Denson Do Right At Sea
Day 1- Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Oteil Burbridge as Substitute, Bill Murray Tattoos
3 Responses
Really? Just because YOU didn’t like “The Funk is Strong” theme you have to slam it say the rest of us are “just now crawling out of their Doomsday Bunker”. How insulting!
Readers: for the record, Jam Cruisers VOTED by a VERY LARGE MARGIN for this theme and there were Star Wars costumes and references ALL OVER the boat, ALL WEEK LONG in addition to the official theme night.
This guy is an absolute narcissistic moron, if you didn’t know that already from the way he spoke about Dr. John.