While another new addition to the cruise, Monster Yoga, sounded like a fabulous idea in theory, grabbing a quick bite and heading to the photo experience to shoot Queensryche’s photo with a couple hundred fans was my main priority that morning while at sea. We have such a great team and try to move as many people through the line as we can. This year’s room was much more spread out than the Star Lounge, and offered up great views of the ocean and a Starbucks. Big thanks to the Queensryche guys for wearing sunglasses (less blinks to look for) and for being attentive and to my helpers for keeping my voice intact and keeping the line going.
My first show of the day was Hurricane in the Manhattan room. My first show in that new venue, which was a dining room converted into a standing room ballroom with a high stage. The coolest thing about this room was that you could get side views of the band with decent vantage points if you weren’t tall enough to see over the crowd. The worst thing about the venue was that there was minimal seating with minimal sight lines, and their attempt to tape plastic over the carpet for protection caused a bit of a walking hazzard.
The band’s current line-up features brothers Carlos Cavazo and Tony Cavazo as well as Dan Schumann on vocals and Mike Hansen on drums. It was great to see Carlos back on the boat (and back in the band), and we are looking forward seeing him perform with the Stephen Pearcy and Warren DeMartini band at M3 Rock Festival in May along with Blas Elias and Matt Thorne.
Next we caught a stripped down, but powerful performance by Chez Kane and guitarist Harry Scott Elliott (Tyketto) in the tiny little pub called the Cavern Club. While songs like “Rocket on the Radio” most definitely come across better electric, this was a great showcase of her powerful voice. We just wish there was a bit more wiggle room in the venue.
Next, I headed to the pool stage next to get the lay of the land for the Eclipse show, which I photographed for the band’s socials. The weather was beautiful. Of course running around in that heat sure wears on you, but the fans didn’t seem to mind. This was the first of three shows, and the pool stage deck and surrounding balcony areas were jammed with people taking in the show. Erik Martensson, Magnus Henriksson, and Victor Crusner were joined by guest drummer Robin Snygg Nilsson (The Cruel Intentions) who consequently was quite busy on the boat.
Michael Schenker was joined by Black Swan frontman Robin McAuley for this cruise replacing Ronnie Romero, who joined the band on the previous sailing. While I only dropped in with the hopes of snapping a few photos, his second theater performance was a highlight of our final night on the boat. The band also features Steve Mann on keyboards and rhythm guitar, Barend Courbois on bass and drummer Bodo Schopf.
Schenker can now be found touring Europe and then the US in the fall with a focus on his years with UFO which will feature Erik Gronwall (Skid Row, H.E.A.T.) on lead vocals.
Next on the agenda was a “can’t miss” show for me personally as I’d had zero luck catching Michael Monroe live prior to this cruise. I’d wished I had gotten there early to secure a spot along the catwalk, but squeezed in with some friends to shoot from a distance and take in the fun. As I write this weeks later, I’ve just come back from a roadtrip for my fourth Michael Monroe show of the year. So, I’d say it was well worth the wait! For more about what to expect, and the scoop on his touring band, check out my review from Jergels this past week.
We took a pause for dinner in the dining room, with very little time to spare before catching an all-star performance from Jason Bieler & Jeff Scott Soto who recruited Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) on vocals, Joel Hoekstra (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) on guitar, and musician/actor Sean McNabb on bass. And, perhaps the best part of the show was the digital photo album scrolling behind the band, which showcased all of the humorous memes that Jason shares on socials.
While the day had been long, there was so much more to see, including theater performances from two of my favorite bands, Winger and Slaughter, and some late night karaoke. The compromise that kept me going was to forget about the camera sans this one full band snap of Winger and take in the shows from my seat in the theater, because after a decade of cruising, I can say for certain, this is a marathon, not a sprint, my legs were tired and I got plenty of shots of both bands on the pool stage.
Check back for more coverage from the Monsters of Rock Cruise, and check out our recaps of the pre-party and the sailaway here now!
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Live Photos by Editor and founder Kara Marie Uhrlen for The Pure Rock Shop. Posted on 4/6/2025.
