In his decade-long career, Kid Koala has DJ'ed in clubs, basements, parks and even a planetarium. But until recently, he had never performed on a moving ship.
So when he boarded the Temptress, a 160-foot, two-deck cruise ship, from a pier on the West Side Highway a few weeks ago, he really didn't know what to expect. He set up his turntables and the video screen that gives viewers a close-up of his hands. (Kid Koala, born Eric San, is known for his scratching skills.) And as the orange sun set over New Jersey, he waited for the party to start.
It did. Hundreds of people turned up: DJ-heads, young tourists, New Yorkers sick of the club scene. They packed the decks, drinking beer and cocktails, watching the glittering Manhattan skyline recede, swaying and then jumping on the dance floor. The trip was smooth; Kid Koala was a convert. He even found inspiration in the setting, mixing New York, New York just as the Temptress passed the Statue of Liberty. "Hey, you guys know the words!" he shouted. And yes, even some of this too-cool crowd sang along.
One-off concert cruises have long been a staple summertime activity. But recently, they have expanded, offering more frequent outings and greater variety in their acts, with electronica and campy tribute cover bands added to the traditional nostalgia acts. Both New York Water Taxi and Circle Line Downtown added regular music tours to their lineup this year and plan to continue them next year. And the six-year-old Rocks Off series, which booked the Kid Koala gig, has been growing rapidly. It will do 104 cruises this year, up from 66 two years ago, said Jake Szufnarowski, the company's owner.
Thanks to its increasing popularity, the boat-party season has expanded as well. The Circle Line's newest attraction, a karaoke cruise, is scheduled for Oct. 5; Rocks Off has shows through mid-November. And even the Staten Island Ferry is in on the action: through this weekend, it plays host to the FM Ferry Experiment, an installation by the artists Angel Nevarez and Valerie Tevere, which turns the ship into a floating radio transmitter. (A performance schedule is at fmferryexperiment.net.)
"Once you say 'boat party,' people just go for it," said Taimur Agha, a DJ and promoter whose company, Blk Market Membership, sponsored its first cruise last month. It was so popular that the company did another three weeks later; a final outing is planned for late October.
The cruises last anywhere from two to four hours, and usually have a cash bar; many also offer food (buffet or sandwiches). Ticket prices are higher than for a night at a club, but then, a night at a club doesn't have a view of the Empire State Building and a river breeze.
The bragging rights are hard to beat. Marja Tikka, 25, a graphic designer from Finland visiting New York for the summer, brought some friends from back home. "This was the kind of experience they won't get anywhere else," she said.
Even New Yorkers might prefer floating clubs to those onshore, simply because they are easier to navigate. In an effort to eliminate crowding, and quicken boarding, many cruise organizers say they undersell tickets. "We're the most comfortable sold-out venue in Manhattan," said Szufnarowski, who rents two boats for the Rocks Off series, neither filled to capacity. Similarly, the Circle Line Downtown limits its new karaoke cruises to 250 people, even though the boat, the Zephyr, can hold 400, said William Buckley, the company's general manager.
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