BB Kings

[hunt182644]

I have no problem with loud music I usually turn the radio up when driving by myself. Have stopped at BB Kings several times never stayed way to loud for that small area. Seeing as how people say Holland draws an older crowd perhaps those who do not find it to loud are hard of hearing. Myself I am no youngster and the left ear does not work like it used to. Still feel that way down the hallway is a good place to listen to their songs.

[FPJC03]

Wow, this must be an older demographic! HAL is looking to lower the target ages of new passengers, so different music, ambiance and cuisine. We will be on the Koningsdam in January and look forward to the modern touches and great music venues. After reading some of the negative reviews about Kdam, I have concluded that many folks don't tolerate change and want everything to stay the same. Welcome to the 21st century!

[Jinty684]

We have listened to numerous BB King groups and think that Carlos & Ashley are among the best. They are currently on board Eurodam but I believe their contract is over in November some time. I doubt they will still be on board in January but one never knows...

 

I'll keep me fingers crossed....I spoke with Carlos and he loves being on the HAL ships, so maybe, possibly, they'll gt offered a new contract back on the Eurodam :) I've heard them on the Eurodam and on the Oosterdam.

[blueboro]

If you plan to go there, take ear plugs AND noise cancelling headphones and plan to listen to the music outside of the venue and even then the sound level will be too high to be enjoyable.

 

DON

 

We have been on 2 HAL cruises in the past 18 months and never found the BB King band to be too loud. To us it has been the perfect volume. With that said, when you have a 6-7-piece band with horns and 2 singers it is hard to play at a volume like a string quartet.

[POA1]

I wonder why they call this venue “BB Kings Blues Club”? they play only popular music that everyone knows.. Motown.. R&B and soul. I requested a blues song.. the answer was “we don’t play blues”! A name change on this venue is needed to “You have heard these songs at least 150 times or more... come to the non blues sing-a-long”.

They license the name from the BB King clubs - which by the way, play pretty much the same stuff you'll hear on the ship. Unless you have a special blues act at the club, you'll hear the house band playing what you hear on your cruise.

[Tinknock50]

We have been on 2 HAL cruises in the past 18 months and never found the BB King band to be too loud. To us it has been the perfect volume. With that said, when you have a 6-7-piece band with horns and 2 singers it is hard to play at a volume like a string quartet.

Good point. But then , with the small space, wouldn't it be pretty loud and sound great with hardly any amplification? Seems like only the singers would need mikes.

[lakelodge]

It's hard to dance to music played at a soft volume...we like to hear the beat and feel it too! BB King band on Nieuw Amsterdam was the highlight of the cruise for us!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Niagarawine]

The band typically operates off a set list that they've rehearsed and the music has to be licensed. Off the top of my head, I am pretty sure we have heard:

 

I Thank You, Soothe Me, Soul Man, Wrap It Up, Hold On - I'm Coming, and Gimme Some Loving from the Sam & Dave catalog. (Clearly, we spent a bit of time catching the BB King shows.)

 

I've only ever made one request, "Green Onions," but they did play it. Our band was from the Memphis BB King club and that's one of their bumper songs.

 

If you want something specific, try to find some of the band members after the show and buy them some drinks. It works exactly like it would in the real world. (Except that there are fewer people buying drinks for the band, and the band is pretty easy to spot in the crowd on a HAL ship.)

I will buy drinks for the band and you sound like so much fun, I hope to sail,with you and husker chick one day, your reviews are unreal

[Becoming]

I spent most of my evenings in BB Kings as the entertainment in the main theater was usually not appealing. Volume in BB Kings is fine.

 

Enjoy!

 

Patti

[schwarzerrogen]

Good point. But then , with the small space, wouldn't it be pretty loud and sound great with hardly any amplification? Seems like only the singers would need mikes.

 

Then we get into the problems with drums getting buried by guitars, or the bass guitar pumping on specific notes due to their amp's inherent design and speaker selection. Adding to that, horns can never sound right when dealing with a drumset unless miked.

 

Ultimately the FOH should re-enforce the sound, not change it. Volume is a subjective measurement. What I think isn't that bad some people may think as way too loud. What often happens here is it's not that it's too loud, but that it's improperly mixed, so ti sound trashy, therefor it's harder to listen to. The term is strident. Mostly happens with guitars and cymbals.

 

Sorry, the audio engineer in me loves these discussions.

[Tinknock50]

Then we get into the problems with drums getting buried by guitars, or the bass guitar pumping on specific notes due to their amp's inherent design and speaker selection. Adding to that, horns can never sound right when dealing with a drumset unless miked.

 

Ultimately the FOH should re-enforce the sound, not change it. Volume is a subjective measurement. What I think isn't that bad some people may think as way too loud. What often happens here is it's not that it's too loud, but that it's improperly mixed, so ti sound trashy, therefor it's harder to listen to. The term is strident. Mostly happens with guitars and cymbals.

 

Sorry, the audio engineer in me loves these discussions.

 

Interesting. I guess I am just feeling bad because I thought they were excellent, but I will never be able to stay in the room and hear them perform at high volume. :( Doesn't sound like they will be cranking it down just a bit so I can.

 

But I did manage to enjoy Billboard and Lincoln Center , so there is that.

[RandyinDEN]

On our last cruise I heard one of the best Tina Turner sets I have ever heard in my life. That singer could really belt it out.

[freestyling]

On the Koningsdam (42 days) we spent many nights listening to the band. It is a bit loud but I didn’t feel it was driving me to leave the area. The band members were from 5 different states and 2 different provences. They told me that they had 20 different song sets and were comfortable playing all of them. Seemed like I heard a couple sets (6 songs) a hand full of times.

[mek]

We have enjoyed them on both the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Koningsdam. They do not take requests. Although they call it Blues they also do Motown and disco. A lot of 70’s and 80’s.

 

I was on Eurodam last December and was really disappointed with this venue. It was way too loud and while I expected a blusey jazz atmosphere it was really more like a disco.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Then we get into the problems with drums getting buried by guitars, or the bass guitar pumping on specific notes due to their amp's inherent design and speaker selection. Adding to that, horns can never sound right when dealing with a drumset unless miked.

 

Ultimately the FOH should re-enforce the sound, not change it. Volume is a subjective measurement. What I think isn't that bad some people may think as way too loud. What often happens here is it's not that it's too loud, but that it's improperly mixed, so ti sound trashy, therefor it's harder to listen to. The term is strident. Mostly happens with guitars and cymbals.

 

Sorry, the audio engineer in me loves these discussions.

 

Professional musicians should know how to balance amplification and make it suit the venue. BB King is way too loud for such a small space. But on one of our cruises, they did a show in the main showroom. They did some real blues and did not try to blast any eardrums, and it was excellent.

 

The first time I discovered the Neptunes, I was escaping the showroom where the piano was so over amped that it sounded tinny. How can you make a grand piano sound like a kid's toy piano???? It was horrible to listen to, so left. After the Neptunes finished their set, I chatted with the piano player and commented that it was nice to hear music that wasn't amplified. he said, "Oh, we're amplified. I just know how to do it right."

[schwarzerrogen]

Professional musicians should know how to balance amplification and make it suit the venue. BB King is way too loud for such a small space. But on one of our cruises, they did a show in the main showroom. They did some real blues and did not try to blast any eardrums, and it was excellent.

 

The first time I discovered the Neptunes, I was escaping the showroom where the piano was so over amped that it sounded tinny. How can you make a grand piano sound like a kid's toy piano???? It was horrible to listen to, so left. After the Neptunes finished their set, I chatted with the piano player and commented that it was nice to hear music that wasn't amplified. he said, "Oh, we're amplified. I just know how to do it right."

 

I agree, a professional should know how to balance themselves, but I've noticed that it's less and less common as time goes on.

 

I will say, in some lame defense (and there's really no defense) that piano is not easy to mic in a live situation. At that point it's hard to blame a performer for the tech crew's incompetence; it the band is mixing themselves, then it's shoddy abilities.

[Tinknock50]

Professional musicians should know how to balance amplification and make it suit the venue. BB King is way too loud for such a small space. But on one of our cruises, they did a show in the main showroom. They did some real blues and did not try to blast any eardrums, and it was excellent.

 

The first time I discovered the Neptunes, I was escaping the showroom where the piano was so over amped that it sounded tinny. How can you make a grand piano sound like a kid's toy piano???? It was horrible to listen to, so left. After the Neptunes finished their set, I chatted with the piano player and commented that it was nice to hear music that wasn't amplified. he said, "Oh, we're amplified. I just know how to do it right."

You encapsulated exactly my view on it. Wish i could have heard them in the showroom.

[Tinknock50]

I agree, a professional should know how to balance themselves, but I've noticed that it's less and less common as time goes on.

 

I will say, in some lame defense (and there's really no defense) that piano is not easy to mic in a live situation. At that point it's hard to blame a performer for the tech crew's incompetence; it the band is mixing themselves, then it's shoddy abilities.

I recall a few years back that Celebrity had the same problem and I had to leave the showroom and listen in the hall...... and that was just Broadway type music! They seemed to have fixed that after that.

I have often felt that high volume was an attempt to cover up for a bad act. But with BB Kings , they are great and don't need to do that.