Dwayne Haggins subs the terranean at Lizard Lounge on Friday, 15 March 2024.

The Moran-Tripp Band southern rocks the hyphen in the opening slot.

By the time you read this Dwayne Haggins will be docking after five days on a ship sailing the Miami-Cozumel circuit. It’s booze, blues, and the high seas on the “Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea” cruise.

Why the hell not?

The opportunities for a professional musician to get paid are vanishingly scarce. You only sell so many records, or rack up so many streams, and everyone gets their cut before the money finds its way into the artist’s pocket.

Touring has been traditionally thought of as a privileged revenue stream for working musicians. There are less hands trying to pick your pocket on the road. Just play, play, play as many shows in as many places as you can, and watch the money roll in, right?

The bloom’s off that rose though – check out this infamous blogpost from David Lowery years ago breaking down the financials of a tour. A lot of money spent on food, travel, lodging, not to mention all the industry trimmings.

With all these scary figures, gigging on a cruise ship starts to look pretty good. With less overhead, you keep more of what you make. It’s like touring without paying for touring.

What’s the downside? Maybe you don’t get that same great feeling performing in front of a cruise ship crowd who showed up for “the blues” that you do when you play in front of a crowd who showed up for Dwayne Haggins.

Hey, paying your rent feels pretty great too. The traditional music venues will be there when you get back. And unless you’ve got a plum in-town residency somewhere, you can’t really expect fans to fill a club to hear you play as often as you want to play.

Let’s set sail!

Some bands really lose a lot of sleep over their band name. And some – like the Moran-Tripp Band – don’t.

The four-piece brings a real southern swamp rock energy. The two guitarists upfront grab the most attention, with Ryan Moran leading the vocals and Shane Tripp ripping off solos with a clean Telecaster sound. Don’t sleep on the rhythm section though – extra points for the drummer rocking out with shades at night and a back-turned hat. Danny McBride vibes.

Dwayne Haggins played guitar, of course. But his real role was bandleader for a rotating cast, which started with six players, then swapped in members from the Moran-Tripp Band as the set proceeded.

It was E Street Band energy with a premium placed on showmanship. Guitar solos, guitar duos, guitar trios. Drum solos and conga breakdowns. Fiery improvisations breaking double digits alongside more custom-tailored showcase pieces for Haggins’ range of musical ability, weaving blues, soul, country, jam, afropop, and rock n roll into a vivid mosaic in the bottom floor of the Lizard Lounge.

And through it all, Haggins was waving the baton. Extra points for the intense “death stare” he’d levy on band members when they were unfolding solos, like he was telekinetically willing their fingertips along paths of glory.

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