This past weekend’s VH1 Best Cruise Ever was an awesome event and a music-lover’s dream come true. The cruise, which traveled to the Cayman Islands and back, managed to squeeze 48 performances by 14 different bands and numerous other events into barely three-and-a-half days. Before my hangover completely wears off and I start to experience gaps in my memory, I thought that I’d share some of my favorite moments from the weekend.

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite memories from the VH1 Best Cruise Ever…

* Safetysuit lead singer Doug Brown taking a leaping jump into the pool during a rainy, afternoon set on the Lido Deck. After being helped out of the water, he returned to the stage and finished the set.

* 7 Day Binge’s Shannon Boone being too hard on his drums. During the band’s final cruise performance on Sunday night, I watched as the kit crumbled under his sticks. His drum tech tried to hold it together, but when a cymbal flew off the stand and landed in his lap, Shannon simply tossed it to the side and never missed beat.

* Although it was really cool, it was somewhat surreal to find myself casually chatting with Shinedown drummer Barry Kerch at the Promenade Deck sushi bar. I mentioned that I caught some good shots of the band’s performance, and he confessed to be a bit of a “camera geek” and asked that I send some to him.

* Green River Ordinance's close to their final performance. The band grabbed their acoustic instruments and waded into the center of the crowd for an unplugged, in-the-round performance. The crowd loved it.

This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2010.