Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas

by Chuck Klosterman

With the possible exception of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, I have never seen an audience like anything as much as these middle-aged cruise patrons like Styx. And what’s even crazier is that I think they like Journey more. Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me … Two days after Thanksgiving, the Carnival ocean liner Triumph leaves Miami for seven days, scheduled to loop around Cuba and make one-day stops in Cozumel, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. This is a standard cruise itinerary. However, this particular voyage is different; this particular trip includes the presence of three bands who have not been famous since the introduction of New Coke. On Monday afternoon, Styx will conduct a casual “question-and-answer” session in the ship’s thousand-seat lounge and then perform that evening in the same intimate location. On Tuesday, REO Speedwagon will follow suit with their own conversation and concert. A friendly Q&A session with Journey is set for Thursday afternoon, but they’re not playing until Friday night, hours before we redock in Florida.