Monsters of Rock Cruise 2016 – Monsterwood

Waking up early and the ship is already rocking and rolling as the wind has kicked up and the ocean is pretty active. A fairly kick back day today as we are in no real hurry to get moving. The first show is Shark Island at the pool deck at noon under the gloomy skies that were not in the forecast. Richard Black is great on vocals and the band is pretty tight considering they don’t play together very often. Richard is quite the comedian on stage and the show is very enjoyable. Today we also get another shot at the London Quireboys who had to cancel earlier in the cruise as part of the Cathouse equipment fiasco on day 1. If you have no clue who the Quireboys are, they are a mix of early Rolling Stones (the good stuff), the Faces and Aerosmith. The enigmatic Spike on vocals leads this outfit from London England who quickly pulls you in with his smoky Rod Stewartesque vocals and his Steven Tyler swagger. Always a lot of fun to watch and listen to, the Quireboys always rank high on my list of must-see bands on these cruises. They are a fan favorite and can be found in every bar on the ship 24-hours a day. I don’t think Spike ever sleeps. Buy him a shot of Jägermeister and he will tell you plenty of great stories. The rest of the day for me included shows by Pretty Maids, Firehouse and LA Guns. And for some reason, I chose to play in a blackjack tournament that led to the derailment of the rest of my shows for the day. The Pretty Maids show in the theater was my #1 show of the cruise. They sounded great, it was intimate and up close and the set list order was better than the first show on day 1 as they ripped through several of my favorites. Others in our group went to the Atomic Punks, Winery Dogs, Rough Cutt, Rhino Bucket and Warrant. As the last night of the cruise was coming to a close we reflected back on how much fun these cruises are and how much real value we get out of them. Sure, they seem expensive on the surface, but when you total up all the shows you attend, plus the endless food options, lodging, and other fan related opportunities, the value is easy to understand. There is a reason why the majority of the MOR cruisers are repeat customers. The MOR cruise is truly a rock and roll vacation and so much more than just a bunch of concerts on a boat. We are on day 8 of our vacation and it’s time to get off the ship and back on shore for more rock and roll as the party rolls out to the Sunset Strip in Hollywood with more shows on Wednesday and Thursday night.

For months leading up to the cruise, Riki Rachtman, owner of the Hollywood nightclub the Cathouse, had been advertising 2 special shows celebrating the 30th anniversary of the infamous club (look it up). When tickets went on sale they sold out immediately and become a hot topic for discussion on Facebook. The shows were advertised as “You won’t know which bands are playing until they hit the stage.” The first show was set to go off at the Roxy on Sunset, Wednesday night, the same day the ship pulled back into the Los Angeles Harbor. If you were lucky enough to have a ticket for this show, you were treated to something really special. Only 1 person in our group had a ticket for the show at the Roxy that featured performances by Kings of Spade, Gilby Clark, Jetboy, Junkyard, Little Caesar, Faster Pussycat and a surprising performance by Twisted Sister. Don’t know how Riki pulled off having TS close out this show, but that is some cool shit. All of this was for a $30 ticket price. Amazing and a great job by Riki.

The last Cathouse show ever was being held Thursday night at the Whiskey a Go Go on Sunset. Everyone in our group was able to get tickets for this show and we were treated to an opening set by Frankie and the Studs followed up by Rhino Bucket, Bang Tango, L.A. Guns, Faster Pussycat, Buckcherry and an all-star tribute to Lemmy Kilmister to close out the night. L.A. Guns featured a return to the band by founder and lead guitarist Tracii Guns who are recording new music and heading out on tour together in 2017. The all-star jam in honor of Lemmy featured Gilby Clark, Shooter Jennings, Damon Johnson, Ricky Warwick, Corey Parks, Sean McNabb, Riki Rachtman and Tiny Biusso. As with the first night, Riki put this show together for the fans with a $30 ticket price. No media, no guest list, no freebies. You either bought a ticket or you were not getting in. I respect that and appreciate the hard work that went in to putting this 2-day 30th-anniversary celebration together in two of Hollywood’s most iconic music venues. I feel quite privileged to have been able to attend the last Cathouse show. After 8 straight days of music and over 40 shows, sadly, it was time to call it a night and an end to the Monsterwood – Monsters of Rock cruise 2016.

We had a very long, yet rewarding and amazing time. We made new friends, met up with old friends and introduced some in our group to new music. We went to over 40 shows, checked off Pretty Maids from my bucket list and attended the last ever Cathouse show. It was worth every penny we paid for our rock and roll vacation.

Keep an eye on the MORC website for information regarding 2017 and 2018 cruises: www.monstersofrockcruise.com.