Jump to content

BB King Blues Club


zcruizer
 Share

Recommended Posts

I can't recommend this highly enough, GO SEE THE BB KING BLUES CLUB. They are FABULOUS!!! I know they are playing on several HAL ships. They do 3 shows per night. They play Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Michael Jackson, Temptations, KC and the Sunshine Band, Etta James, BB King and many more . The musicians are incredible. This is a complete band with m & f lead singers, keyboards/real organ, drums, bass, lead, trumpet and sax. It is so refreshing to listen to raw live music. DON'T MISS IT!!! Their sets are well rehearsed and from what I have seen, they do not do requests and really don't need to, so better not to ask.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds (pun intended!) very promising!

 

Is the BB King Blues Club in place of the HALcats or the Neptunes, or do the ships have all three groups?

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

I can't recommend this highly enough, GO SEE THE BB KING BLUES CLUB. They are FABULOUS!!! I know they are playing on several HAL ships. They do 3 shows per night. They play Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Michael Jackson, Temptations, KC and the Sunshine Band, Etta James, BB King and many more . The musicians are incredible. This is a complete band with m & f lead singers, keyboards/real organ, drums, bass, lead, trumpet and sax. It is so refreshing to listen to raw live music. DON'T MISS IT!!! Their sets are well rehearsed and from what I have seen, they do not do requests and really don't need to, so better not to ask.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds (pun intended!) very promising!

 

Is the BB King Blues Club in place of the HALcats or the Neptunes, or do the ships have all three groups?

 

igraf

 

Just off the Westerdam and I have to say that I agree, BB Kings' is the best thing I've ever seen in entertainment on HAL. HALCats could be found elsewhere too. On Westerdam, they played in the Queen's Lounge/Culinary Center in the evenings from 8:30 to 11:30 with 2 breaks on all but 2 nights. One night they are the show in the Vista Lounge with 2 performances that are totally different from the Queen's Lounge performances. Motown, Chicago Blues, Delta Blues, Disco, Pop.... they can do it! They had 8 members playing sax, trumpet, bass and rhythm guitars, keyboardist, drummer and 2 singers.... just outstanding!

 

We went every night and thoroughly enjoyed their shows. They are very professional, top notch musicians! :cool:

Edited by 0bnxshs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just off the Westerdam and I have to say that I agree, BB Kings' is the best thing I've ever seen in entertainment on HAL. HALCats could be found elsewhere too. On Westerdam, they played in the Queen's Lounge/Culinary Center in the evenings from 8:30 to 11:30 with 2 breaks on all but 2 nights. One night they are the show in the Vista Lounge with 2 performances that are totally different from the Queen's Lounge performances. Motown to Chicago Blues, Delta Blues to Disco to Pop.... they can do it!

 

We went every night and thoroughly enjoyed their shows. They are very professional, top notch musicians! :cool:

 

Rich, Welcome back trust you enjoyed your cruise. I totally agree that the BB King bands are the best entertainment we have seen on Hal.

 

Hal is finally realizing that us Baby Boomers grew up on this type entertainment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rich, Welcome back trust you enjoyed your cruise. I totally agree that the BB King bands are the best entertainment we have seen on Hal.

 

Hal is finally realizing that us Baby Boomers grew up on this type entertainment.

 

Hi Bruce! Yes, we had a lovely time even though the ocean was a bit rough. Hope you guys enjoyed the sail away and all the toots... Captain Noel O'Driscoll was already clued in to the idea that Westerdam might be in danger of losing her "Queen of the Horns" title. A very nice man but he just couldn't find any calm seas. He did fight with them over HMC and won that battle and we had a lovely day there. Hope your upcoming Caribbean cruise goes nicely too.

 

Agreed, most of us grew up with the sounds of Motown and they just nailed that on Westerdam. They are worth a listen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like 3 sets, not three shows. Still a great production.

 

Yes, I would call their nightly Queen's Lounge show 3 sets. They have arranged several medleys and mix them up on a nightly basis. Also, the Westerdam group did take requests on the final night in the Queen's Lounge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They do 3 sets/shows per night, except one night, they do 2 stage shows in the Vista, which are completely different than the ones in the Queens lounge. Since this a "multi" production effort, they have one playlist for all ships so that the experience is the same. Glad they took a request. This is a 10 day cruise and they get at least 2 nights off; one of them is tomorrow. I go every night they play. HAL is crazy if they don't keep them on for a few months per year. We had a big discussion after the mixology class today and thought that folks would actually schedule cruises around them.

Edited by zcruizer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the above comments and more!!! The BB King Blues Club is so professional compared with most shipboard entertainment that I will be looking for it on the next cruise we book. We were on the Eurodam for Thanksgiving and had lousy weather but good food, service, drinks, and BB King!!! Life is good!!! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We enjoyed this group every night on Eurodam last April. All other entertainment, including the piano bar, went by the wayside. If BBKBC was playing, then we were there.

 

Yes, they do take requests. Just ask & they are more than happy to oblige. Of course, the only songs I requested were from the R & B playlist, which they probably were going to play anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't recommend this highly enough, GO SEE THE BB KING BLUES CLUB. They are FABULOUS!!! I know they are playing on several HAL ships. They do 3 shows per night. They play Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Michael Jackson, Temptations, KC and the Sunshine Band, Etta James, BB King and many more . The musicians are incredible. This is a complete band with m & f lead singers, keyboards/real organ, drums, bass, lead, trumpet and sax. It is so refreshing to listen to raw live music. DON'T MISS IT!!! Their sets are well rehearsed and from what I have seen, they do not do requests and really don't need to, so better not to ask.

 

So basically, they don't play blues in the blues club. Other than BB King, the other artists on your list are soul, pop, r&b, and Motown artists.

 

If you have a blues club, they should be playing Buddy Guy, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Walter Trout, Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton , Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, or Albert King.

Edited by YubaSutter
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So basically, they don't play blues in the blues club. Other than BB King, the other artists on your list are soul, pop, r&b, and Motown artists.

 

If you have a blues club, they should be playing Buddy Guy, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Walter Trout, Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton , Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, or Albert King.

 

They do a selection of some of those artists as well. It is a cross section of music influenced by the "Memphis Sound", which includes people who may be known as R&B (which stands for Rhythm and Blues, as I recall) performers. For example, on our Eurodam cruise, I remember Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn...

Edited by CruiserBruce
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So basically, they don't play blues in the blues club. Other than BB King, the other artists on your list are soul, pop, r&b, and Motown artists.

 

If you have a blues club, they should be playing Buddy Guy, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Walter Trout, Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton , Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, or Albert King.

 

Yes Yuba, they did play Gary Clark, Jr., Muddy Waters, BB King, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughn, CCR, Luther Allison, et. al. The other artists and genres just show the range of music they are very capable of playing, but they are, no doubt, a blues band. Most people don't know blues music but do know, and will dance to, Motown, R&B, pop and, yes, even dreaded disco! :cool: So don't be fooled by their range. They even did spoons and 2 string acoustics during the main lounge show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes Yuba, they did play Gary Clark, Jr., Muddy Waters, BB King, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughn, CCR, Luther Allison, et. al. The other artists and genres just show the range of music they are very capable of playing, but they are, no doubt, a blues band. Most people don't know blues music but do know, and will dance to, Motown, R&B, pop and, yes, even dreaded disco! :cool: So don't be fooled by their range. They even did spoons and 2 string acoustics during the main lounge show.

 

I could live with that. I'll check it out next time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So basically, they don't play blues in the blues club. Other than BB King, the other artists on your list are soul, pop, r&b, and Motown artists.

 

If you have a blues club, they should be playing Buddy Guy, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Walter Trout, Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton , Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, or Albert King.

 

This is a franchise that carries BB King's name. All of these musicians are from Memphis. If the only artist's they played are those you listed, we would not be having this conversation. It is the Rhythm & Blues playlist they have mastered that makes them so good. Name, dancability (fun) and song recognition are key. Even the blues they play, like the "The Thrill is Gone" were popular with masses in the day. If you go and expect to hear more blues than rhythm, you will be disappointed but there is nothing disappointing about the show. It is well done and first rate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One other thing about the requests. These bands are not bands that have been performing together for ions. Some have played together in Memphis and some have not. A request was placed for Chuck Berry. Answer was not no but nicely and humorously ignored. If they haven't rehearsed the song together or if the song is not is not on the franchise list or they play it and it sucks and gets posted here then it is not worth it to them or the franchise. The object of the game is to get invited back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And that is just fine with me. Do people shout out requests at the symphony or at a play? I would much rather listen to a well-prepared performance.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

One other thing about the requests. These bands are not bands that have been performing together for ions. Some have played together in Memphis and some have not. A request was placed for Chuck Berry. Answer was not no but nicely and humorously ignored. If they haven't rehearsed the song together or if the song is not is not on the franchise list or they play it and it sucks and gets posted here then it is not worth it to them or the franchise. The object of the game is to get invited back.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...