1st Ekoostik Hookah Show in Jamaica

After watching the sunset with the gang at Fun Holiday, we all headed down to a venue called Risky Business to see Ekoostik Hookah's first show of the week. I took a couple pictures of the venue while Ryan and I were walking on the beach during the day because I saw a sign that said "No Cameras" and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to use my camera for the show.Come to find out, the "no camera" sign was just for the wet t-shirt contests they have there, so I was able to take photos after all. But these were taken before the gates were all put up for the show, so you can see everything a lot better.As usual, Ryan and I were the first two people out dancing. We started partying long before the party really started!!! I learned really quick that dancing in the sand is the best exercise for your calves. My legs and feet hurt so bad after that first night!!!Just groovin' with my baby!!!!These are the Indiana girls. L-R Kelly Anne, TeShannah, me, Liz, and Ashley. I am so fortunate to have gone on a big trip like this with four of my closest girls!!!
Here are the Indiana boys: L-R Matt H., Dave, Ryan, (Liz and some rasta man), Nick, and Matt C.
The opening band was called Cosmic Railroad. They were a lot of fun. They played a lot of Grateful Dead and Phish covers, which always go over well with this crowd. The guys in the band were all very friendly. They actually stopped and talked to us on the beach outside our hotel earlier in the day that day.I offically became the Red Stripe spokeswoman for the week. LOVED IT!!!!!!!
We perched ourselves on this deck a lot through the night to give our legs a rest. And of course, there was always rum punch nearby :-)There was a balcony where a lot of us hung out for awhile. It had a great view of the stage, and a nice hard surface to dance on.Nearly everywhere we went, we felt like dancing. It was just in the air. There's a lot of things floating around in that Jamaican air :-)One thing we didn't like about Risky Business was the fact that they kept raising the price of beer as the night went on. First it was 100 Jamaican dollars, then it went up to 250 J's, and before we knew it, they were charging us 450 J's per beer which is close to five bucks American. There were definitely no set prices on ANYTHING in Jamaica.



So, Ryan and I went to the bar next door to get drinks where they were much cheaper. Here, we're shooting Malibu...yuck, I know, but they didn't have many options besides rum. I was looking for the quick route to drunkenness, and it worked ;-)Steve Sweney was on fire that night, as usual. I was very happy with the stage, because I could get right up underneath him. I could almost feel him breathing on me!! There were times when I would catch myself standing literally open mouthed, just in awe of what I was hearing and seeing. Somehow having the Caribbean waves crashing in the background made the whole thing seem surreal. What a fabulous way to see your favorite band of all time!!!During setbreak, a local started a big bonfire on the beach in between Risky Business and the bar next door. It was so awesome to stand there with the cool ocean air to your back and a nice warm flame in front of you. There's just something very romantic about a fire on the beach. I've never been anywhere where you could have a huge fire in the sand and no body cared. Maybe on smaller beaches in Florida you can do that stuff, but not at any of the beaches I've ever been to. It was a real treat.One of my fellow Hookah fans met us out by the fire for awhile during set break. Her name is Mickey. She and her husband, Larry, renewed their vows for their tenth anniversary while we were in Jamaica. They stayed at our hotel and we were able to get to know them a little throughout the week. I had a lot of fun with Mickey and her gang!!We were in Jamaica during spring break for most colleges, so we had a few run ins with the college kids while we were there. The only time they bothered me was when me, Liz, and Kelly were up front dancing during the second set and the college cuties jumped in front of us. That's when I returned the favor jumping in front of them to the point where there was no where else to go but up on stage. That's when I got this picture. It was pretty funny because we were all a little tipsy by that time and were like "those little college bi*ches better get out of our way. Hookah is OUR band!!!" It only took the girls a couple minutes of elbows and crushed toes to realize they were messing with trained professionals :-) We laughed a lot about that the next day. So, it was a little immature of us, but who cares....we were in Jamaica....when will we ever see those girls again?


So, the first Ekoostik Hookah show went off without a hitch. Everyone had a wonderful time including the band. We even got to hear some great covers like Hush by Deep Purple and Pigs by Pink Floyd. They don't do covers very often, so that's always a treat.


The next day was rough with the little hang overs that we all carried with us, but we managed to have lots more fun. The catamaran/ booze cruise is coming up next....................