not the ’98 blues cruise, but a similar vibe
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 30, 1998
By Steve Newton
There’s something about drinking cold beer in the hot sun on a big boat with a smokin’ band that just makes me a happy human. Local blues musician and impresario Norm Casler—aka Storman Norman, the host of the CFOX Sunday Blues radio show—likes the idea, too, and that’s why he’s organized blues cruises every summer for the past four years.
This time around, the cruise coincided with the release of the debut CD by Casler’s nautical rockers of choice, Brick House, so he celebrated that fact by booking a bigger boat than for previous excursions. Last Sunday afternoon (July 26) 400 party-primed patrons clambered aboard the Queen of Diamonds for five hours of sun-drenched maritime merriment.
It was already scorching when the ship set sail from Granville Island at 1 p.m., but local blues veteran Hans Stamer set to warming things up on the top deck with a rollicking set that included the traditional “Easy Rider”—also featured on the new Casler-produced Live at Rhino’s CD—and Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”.
The former lead vocalist for the R&B Allstars was accompanied by a crack band that included session guitarist Russ Marsland, drummer Darrell Mayes, bassist Dennis Marchenko, and Jack Velker on accordion.
When Stamer took a break, I headed down to the middle deck in search of shade and came upon pianist-vocalist Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, who was cooling things off with his choice brand of boogie-woogie and jump blues. His repertoire included standards like “Got My Mojo Working” and “Route 66”, but Wayne also rolled out some breezy originals from his new CD, Blues Boss Boogie, which sports such locally inspired ditties as “Kitsilano Stomp” and “Burrard St. Boogie”.
At about 3 p.m., the cruise’s main musical attraction, Brick House, took over on the upper deck, and the popular quintet was soon surrounded by sweaty bodies cavorting to its funky brand of bluesy soul. Guitarist Neil Cruickshank now holds the position previously occupied by axe masters Todd Taylor and Tim Porter, and he acquitted himself with a solid and controlled performance.
Saxophonist Oldrich Zitek shone on several artery-bulging solos that seemed to inspire lead vocalist and harmonica player Rob Bracken to push himself to the limit of harp-blowing exertion. Bassist Ray Keesh and drummer Geordie Bolton were the rock-solid combo on which Brick House built its groove-heavy party tunes about pool boys and malt shops.
The group’s new self-titled CD was recorded live at the Yale last winter and is an accurate document of the band onstage, but Brick House is an act best experienced in the flesh. Check it out at the Fairview Pub on Mondays, or wherever you have to go to track it down on weekends.
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