Entertainment too

But there were more than the shows. Every ship has a dance band or two. Dawn Princess had The Solutions, a quintet out of Guyana. I liked this band. The first time I caught them was in the Wheelhouse bar and the sound was good and they were playing hot and tight. Then a few other outings, but the location or sound was not quite so satisfying. They play the pop-covers-60s repertoire, perhaps more modern. I was amused to hear a set-long medley of Motown and R&B hits for one outing. Nice. No names other than 5-stringer Sherwin (bass). There were regular mini-concerts from piano man Oleksandr Varyukhin (vocals/piano) and classical/contemporary melodies from the Acoustic Rush Duo (violin/guitar) and dancing from the Alphard Duo (female vocals/male vocals, guitar with midi accompaniment). There was a changeover in Bali and I think I missed virtually all the new performers: I only caught Kevin Philip (guitar/vocal) as a walk on in a stage show, the same with Donna Campbell and here Dolly Parton tribute show, I heard just a little of crooner-styled French Canadian Claude Eric (vocals) and I totally missed Pearson & Harvey, a straight man/funny man variety routine for whom I heard rave reviews. P&H were members of the Four Kinsmen, a '60s male vocal quartet ("one of Australia's most highly awarded groups, stacking up a remarkable 27 Mo Awards including a Gold Mo for Variety Performers of the Year and four ACE Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award" / YouTube). I did catch Jane Cho (violin) a few times and I liked her: classically trained from a Korean tiger Mum who found rock and pop and e-violins. Beven Addinsall (vocals) interested me less, but maybe because I'd not seen his Young Talent Time debut film until this night. Otherwise there were the dancers but they were mostly nameless and two singers, Laura Parks and Darrél Dexter. Darrél was newly on board to replace a recent injury and he was really good: classically trained in Washington DC and a convincing stage singer (tenor/baritone). His demo on YouTube doesn't do him justice. As for names, the stage band was Matt Joseph & the Dawn Princess Orchestra and the others were simply the Dawn Princess singers and dancers. Ivan (bass) played a Warwick 6-string with the DPO.

A few final pleasures were in store at our second port of call, Semarang. Firstly, a welcoming band on the dock comprising perhaps 100 military performers in various uniforms with a few leaders in dragon outfits. Including what seemed like some tough commandos amongst the combined bands: amusing for them and us. Then a nifty quintet playing in the reception/Internet hall. The space was hard and reflective; all instruments seemed to be going through the PA (including miked drums and DI keys and bass) which had copious reverb of its own. Just Beatles and the like, but some nicely minimal drums, effective bass elaborations, nice voice and a lovely understated melodious alto made for a pleasant, if loud, interlude.

That's entertainment

Still on the Dawn Princess. I didn't catch everything, but I did catch most. What I most like on cruise ships is the shows - I don't see dance/song shows like this otherwise, and they are very good. As on another ship, we were introduced to the performers and went backstage to see the minimal dressing space. The competition for these gigs, especially for the dancers, is immense. One male said he'd attended an audition in London with 900 dancers and 9 were selected. They go on a list, get matched into a team considering skills but also presentation, sizes, looks, I guess. Then off to LA to learn the routines in 6-8 weeks, then to a ship for a contract, perhaps 6 months. Then breaks in between and perhaps more contracts. Some had been dancing 10 contracts with Princess. They are good and do it on a rolling ship (more difficult to stand still, apparently) and, to quote Ginger Rogers, the women do it backwards and in heals. No written choreography, so memory is required. The dancers performed different shows most days, each twice daily, mostly with live music. Otherwise there were feature singers or musicians with the show band. Once there was a dance show (British invasion - Beatles, Queen, etc) with a recorded track. The stage band was 7 players, reading charts: keys, trombone, trumpet (leader?), tenor/alto sax, guitar, drums, bass. Nice and supportive rather than featured. Grand pianos available on main stages and a few places otherwise. A truly satisfying PA throughout from Apogee Sound. I love a good PA: there's nothing like shear, clear power.

Incommunicado

Canberra Jazz was off to the waves for a cruise so incommunicado for a while. My apologies. I'm back now so some updates. We were on the Dawn Princess on a two week cruise out of Perth to various Indonesian islands. A cruise is a bourgeois thing being essentially a floating resort. Yes, it's indulgent, a place where we drink and eat too much and share our sicknesses. Gastro and flu runs around the shipping industry and they work hard to protect from it, but there's always something. You spend the first days drinking and eating too much and the rest of the trip recovering and you can arrive home exhausted from the experience. But the entertainment can be good quality and it's an opportunity to meet new people, often and interestingly from outside your common circles, and this is good. We talked US politics with a Maryland gay couple heavily involved in Democrat politics; we came to common agreement with Queensland National Party voters; we genially argued climate change and considered the idea of Guaranteed basic income with a pair entering their nineties; we discussed the pleasures of Canberra with a couple now retired via Tassie to Cairns and early Canberra with a staffer from Menzies' office and must have met half the population of Mandurah. I chatted music with a middle-aged female drummer who plays an electric kit in a rock band; we flitted through ballroom dancing and disco-themed exercise routines (much appreciated given all the food and drink) and quick-visited Kuta and braved Komodo dragons (little bravery required!) and consistently came in near but never top in the trivia comps. Cruise life is like that. I tasted new cocktails (only on hols) and settled on Amaretto and Talisker as regular indulgences. None of this is new, of course: it's what everyone does. I did get in one performance in the Pop choir (unison unless you can find your own harmony) under ever-grinning Canadian leader, Victoria. And regretted, after attending that very ordinary talent quest, that we hadn't managed to form the passengers' band we talked of (we did have sufficient members to do it). But my excuse for no CJ posts for the last 2 weeks is limited Internet access (and some degree of laziness). Cheers to many: Gene, Leonardo, Plexie, Martin, Bruce, Sandra, John, Chris, Norman, Pam, Spook, Pat, Kim, Barrie, Kelly, Leanne, Randy, Romeo, amongst others. More on shipboard music and entertainment to come.