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the Bruise Cruise in pics & review (part 2)

words & photos by Gabi Porter

Soul Clap

If you’re just joining us, start with PART ONE before continuing on….

Saturday morning we all woke up in the Bahamas, hit the buffet and the pool before the next show, fueling up for a day on the beach and a night at Senor Frogs. Situated on deck chairs with coconuts in hand, two pro-surfers were up-and-at-em bright and early. Alek Parker and Dylan Graves were there to judge Jonathan Toubin‘s late-night Soul Clap party, along with John Norris, Ben Blackwell from the Dirtbombs and others. Parker and Graves set the tone and brought the party – and their bathrobes – to the Lido Deck.

The Vivian Girls held court poolside and Kickball Katy (aka Katy Goodman aka La Sera who plays NYC shows with Tennis this week) won the hearts and lots of hugs from all the kids on board. In their set on Saturday at Senor Frogs they sounded more confident and melodious than I’d ever seen them before, finally growing into their echo chamber garage sound, or maybe it was the fruity “yard long” drinks their biggest fan (seriously, he had a different Vivian Girls t-shirt for every day of the cruise) bought for each of them before the show. Watch out for a cameo from them in the forthcoming Black Lips video.

New Orleans based Quintron and Miss Pussycat closed out the Bruise Cruise with their psychedelic organ fest. Miss Pussycat brought along her absolutely delightful puppet show for that morning’s “Pancakes and Puppets” breakfast. I didn’t see enough of The Strange Boys – if they’d played just one more set I suspect they might have been my faves, but at least that means I have something to look forward to the next time they play New York. They were on the bill at Senor Frogs and I loved their jangly guitars, open sound and the tight and twisted vocals from Ryan Sambol. And ditto for Miami youngsters The Jacuzzi Boys who were loved by many, including John Dwyer from Thee Oh Sees. After all the bands had finished playing at Senor Frogs on Saturday, Dwyer grabbed his beer and said he was off to tell The Jacuzzi Boys “they were the best thing [he’d] seen at this thing.”

Turbo Fruits

Ty Segall‘s one short set on Saturday before Thee Oh Sees wasn’t enough – Ty Segall opened the festival on board the ship that day and played a restrained and somewhat shy set behind his curtain of hair. Someone commented that if they work on their stage presence one day they might grow up to be like Thee Oh Sees.

Everyone was curious how the Bruisers (aka the people there for the bands) would get along with the “normal’ cruisers (who were also on the same ship) (Bruisers were given wristbands so the cruise staff knew they were allowed in the shows), and I’d like to think that we brought a little something-something to people’s normal, regular vacation. Poolside at a photo shoot with Turbo Fruits (see above) one very nice lady asked me, completely unperturbed about the quadruple cannonball photo-op that splashed everyone, “Is that one of the bands on the Bruise Cruise?” I told her it was Turbo Fruits. “Oh, I’ve never heard of them,” she said a little sadly, then she looked at the bright side, “But at least now I can tell people I saw them!”

You already saw one set of pictures. The rest of the pictures from the Bruise Cruise continue below…

Day 2

Bruise Cruise 2011

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Jared of the Black Lips

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Alix Brown of Golden Triangle

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Jacuzzi Boys on the ship

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Surfer Blood

Surfer Blood

Surfer Blood

Surfer Blood on the ship

Surfer Blood

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Surfer Blood

Surfer Blood

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Surfer Blood

Turbo Fruits at Senor Frogs

Turbo Fruits

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Bruise Cruise 2011

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The Strange Boys at Senor Frogs

The Strange Boys

The Strange Boys

The Strange Boys

The Strange Boys

Vivian Girls at Senor Frogs

Vivian Girls

Vivian Girls

Vivian Girls

Vivian Girls

Vivian Girls

Black Lips at Senor Frogs

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

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The Black Lips

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The Black Lips

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The Black Lips

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

Soul Clap at Senor Frogs

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Day 3

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Puppets and Pancakes with Miss Pussycat

Puppets and pancakes with Miss Pussycat

Puppets and pancakes with Miss Pussycat

Puppets and pancakes with Miss Pussycat

Puppets and pancakes with Miss Pussycat

Puppets and pancakes with Miss Pussycat

OJ San Felipe of Golden Triangle

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Turbo Fruits

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Surfer Blood

Surfer Blood

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Black Lips video shoot

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

The Black Lips

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Thee Oh Sees

Thee Oh Sees

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Quintron and Miss Pussycat

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

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Joe Bradley of the Black Lips playing the piano

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More pictures HERE.