Setlists For In the Clouds

wrong show
this was the weekend of my 21st b-day. The way I remember it was the band was in Coolville OHIO for Hempstock. Did I IMAGINE THE WHOLE THING.

One of the Best
Ive seen Hookah since 97. But this show right here was a throw down. I remember leaving the theater covered in sweat. Especially after the the 2nd Set. This show rocks from start to finish and i think Hookah was the last act to play at this place before they tore it down. LIsten and Learn b/c you wont find another set list like this now. Im glad I was there. Peace Ya'll Robby

Fun in slantville
Don't ask, don't tell…: o) Friday started out so slow. Work was really bringing me down. Even though I really don't do anything at work, I still felt utterly exhausted. I had to be there at 6:30 am which really sucks when you know you have a four hour drive to look forward to. Finally when my day was done I bid everyone farewell and rushed back home to finish packing. Joel an I set the tent up earlier yesterday so really the only thing we had to do was get our clothes and blankets packed up and hit the road. But of course Joel was a little lagged from not getting much sleep the night before. He insisted we stay home and take and hour nap. All I could do was look at him and laugh, ummm yeah that's not happening. I told him that I would drive and he could sleep, he was hesitant, just wanted that few extra minutes but he eventually rose and helped me pack. Once we double checked to make sure we had everything: Cell phone: check Money: check Camera: check I.D: Check Tent and Clothes: Check Blankets and pillow: Check Joel: Check Markers and Construction paper (For signs of course, they are essential): boooooo, Joel said No…the stinker Once I checked and double checked to make sure I had everything, ya see Joel didn't bring much so everything he needed was in his pockets, and we were off. There was a bit of traffic on the highway, as if everyone else knew that it was going to be a great weekend too and they wanted to get to their paradise before anyone else. As I sat in the drivers seat, munching a bag of funions, Joel ever so slowly……..drifted into…………sleep. Only to grab my leg and jerk back awake and say I'm up I'm up. All I could do was laugh and tell him to put a pillow over his head. He finally fell asleep again as I sat bouncing in my seat singing to myself and flipping the radio stations, not satisfied with one channel for the mere fact of what I knew was coming in store for us tonight. Joel slept for about an hour before he arose a cranky mess. He proceeded to flip my radio station from a song that I liked and was singing too and tell me how bad my driving was. All I could do was laugh; I'm used to his crankiness by now so I foreshadowed it. We took a stretch at the rest stop and proceeded, minus a cranky Joel who was now becoming increasingly exited. Since it was a merry hippy holiday Joel pull out his refreshments and started to light one, when seemingly out of nowhere the fuzz are directly behind us. Of course sketchy Joel is telling me slow down your going to get me pinched. I'm a good driver so I just kept with the speed limit and thought nothing of it. What seemed like forever really was only like five minutes when the cop finally pulled around us. Joel just laughed and I continued to tell him about my sparkling clean driving record and how he had nothing to fear. No more than three minutes later a nice ass car like a convertable or something literally flew by me goin 100mph, where was the cop then huh? Oh well, even that couldnt dilute my excitement. By this time I was gettin antsy and we were getting close to Pa, so somehow I cowersed Joel into taking the wheel for the rest of the way. We followed the mapquest directions to a T. Note: If you ever are goin to Mr smalls or the Pittsburgh Pa area, it is best to find a hotel in advance before you get there. Id also like to Note: that we did not!!! Once we hit Pa the air turned weird, I say this because and I quote "I am an Ohio country girl through and through." The, well lets call it landscaping, was definatly very interesting. Many of the bulidings were delopidated, falling down, already fell down, or on a slant or a hill. Slanty shanty town is what we nicknamed it lol. Everything seemed to be on a shift as though the town had gone through a earthquake and they all just decided to leave it that way. Dont get me wrong, Ive never meet any of the people that live in this town and my hometown is no New York city either. When we finally got to the "town" area we couldnt figure the roads out. It must be our simple Ohio brains but normally stop signs help to show people where they need to stop and when someone is goin to stop for you. We ended up on the tinnnney street that was Full of buildings. ALl shapes, sizes, and slants. I thought that for real mapquest had like a brain fart and got us totally lost. Just then I looked up at this really pretty church, with a really odd sign out front. It was like a bulletin board, I was expecting it to say "repent for your sins", or "god is my homeboy"...but low and behold it said Ekoostik Hookah. It was the Mr Smalls venue, I asked Joel if this was for real? There was no parking lot, where would stage be? and I cant drink alcohol in a place of worship, do they want us all to go to hell LoL. I was confused He said it must be the place and I was relieved at least we knew where it was....so ok we found the venue, now what? We didnt want to drive all the way to NLQP after the show at like 1 in the morning so we decided we better find a hotel...Please please please read the NOTE above again!!! So we started to trek to find a hotel, after twenty minutes of driving around in what seemed to be a ceasepool of buildings so close that a mouse couldnt even fit through cracks between them...I finally hit my boiling point. There were no hotels in site, no way was I goin to go into the city and pay 200 smackers for a mere couple hours of sleeping it off. I called a friend that lives in butler for advice. She gave us directions to the econolodge, and after thirty more minutes and six phone calls later we FINALLY found it. Thanks LaCrisha. The econolodge was lets say, not horrible. It was under construction and covered in dust. The carpets in the hallways reminded me a episode out of csi, like they didnt wash the blood stains out of the carpet they just left them. Oh quite it, ur scaring me lol. We reached our room and by this time Joel and I both were a bit cranky from being lost in a city we didnt know...and woohoo two beds lol j/k. Being "home" gave us a chance to freshen up a bit. We turned to the t.v on and were happy to find that it changed from an array of colors form being bright green to purple but it was still better than nothing. Lucky for us my friend, LaCrisha, lived like 10 miles away and she knows the roads and said she would drive and even pick us up at the hotel. Shes a saint. We got ready to go and waited for LaCrisha. After a few she made it in and we were off to mr smalls. Unfortunalty I just got my new camera and I wasent 100 percent comfertable taking it to the venue so I have no concert pics... Once we paid and walked it, I was directly smacked right in the face with sweney and his blaring guitar. With this venue you walk right into the stage pretty much, but you know us were lushes so we headed back to the bar. Ir was way in the back, as they ordered I boogied to Right back out in the streets. The place was pretty packed, I guess for as big the place was. I couldnt see cause we were way in the back int he bar area and we couldnt take out drinks past a certain point...I mean there was like a guard there making sure! Sheepdog made me stomp my feet and do the chicken wing, by the that is a dance copywritten by me and no one can steal it...NO ONE lol! I was suppose to meet Dave when we got there but we ended up getting later than we expected so we didnt get to meet up. By the time they played goodtime, voodoo stew and deep river blues most of us were flying high. By the begining of the second set we were def front row center on Daves side. When he saw me he gave me a wave and I recipricated with a girly wave. Sun goes down I definatly was acting a fool, and when Cliff messed up his lyrics *D'oh* I pointed it out....loudly. Oh well, we all got to be the ass sometime right? My friend LaCrishas was having a great time, even though she procalimed that all the old guys would hit on her and it def came true. I saw at least three, shes like a magnet. I met some fellow hookahheads by the bathroom that were heading to washington Dc, OMG i cant remeber names...I feel horrible, I remeber Chris but the ladies names totally flew out my head. Indica-bottle of wine made me think of us wino girls talkin about drinkin. I wanted to txt Kelly but my phone was being a butthole and wasent working. By and when I die my ears were ringin horribley and because I had been up since 6 am that morning I was definatly done in. I got the last little bit of boogie out of my pants and followed LaChrisha out. She was our ride and we didnt want to be stranded. I really wanted to get something to eat but the only place that was open was "Sheets", we got our hamburgers and headed "home". Hugs and airkisses to LaChrisha and we were off to bed. Joel ended up passing out with his eyes open, i thought he was dead. He kept telling me to eat my hamburger and so I did, then he woke and yelled at me cause he wanted to eat with me...Im confused lol. He apologized and said he was drunk and tired and we headed off to bed. ...sleepy time, next stop NLQP....and bathroom to get rid of that horrible burger

My after birthday show
Yesterday was my birthday and I had such an awesome time with my family and friends. My mom brought me some cutie clothes and got a cake, my coworker got me a few awesome things, and my boyfriend took me out to see a movie all in all is was a pretty awesome day. But today has nothing to do with my birthday it has to do with Ekoostik! For all those that don't know Ekoostik is one of my top three favorite bands ever in my life that I've seen over a hundred times and travelled near and far for. They are a really awesome Ohio grown band that has a freaky unique style of music that consists of rock, jam, bluegrass, and you know it just is what it is: Ekoostik style. Ekoostik style is the rough yet harmonious vocals of John Mullins and him sometimes forgetting his lyrics, the always mind melting soulful twangs of Steve Sweney's guitar the sound as if the guitars a vocalist in itself, the always funky bass jam of Cliff Starbuck or the way he plays the harmonica like it's a body function and him sometimes forgetting his lyrics, Eric Lanese's boom in your chest beat of the drum but ever melodious thunder in his voice and yet again hard rock Harley driving side, and Dave Katz intoxicating voice and the way he plays his piano like making love to a sexy lady sometimes soft and slow, and sometimes rough and dirty. We have gone through many trials and tribulations with our fellows, good times and great times. I've been traveling to see Ekoostik for the past 7-8 years and that's not even a lot compared some people. We are a tight knit group of people. I've made many long lasting friends that I consider my family. Traveling around with Kellyjo and brookie, attempting cheerleading costumes with Allie, going to ville after ville festival after festival, listening to the ever wise words of Nem, getting bear hugs from BrotherMike, always looking up to Liz and Corrine, being jealous of the photos that Chris takes, riding a bus to Georgia with all the crazies there are too many too even mention. Over the years I've gotten to know the members of the band and their families as well and consider them my family. Anyway what was I talking about again, oh yeah the hookah concert. So I woke up today alone since Joel had to work early and I'm giddy but there's no one here to share. As soon as I heard his key in the door I jumped for joy and skipped down the stairs. I was going to ask him if he remembered what today was but I hadn't let him forget for the past few weeks so I settled with a kiss. I cashed my check, paid some bills, watched Joel play Mario tennis while I put on makeup and doused myself with black glitter then we were on our way. Being a hookahhead through and through I knew that the show was at headliners instead of the before planned Civic Theater. I wanted to be there at 9:00 but we didn't end up getting there till 9:30. Of course we made the usual bet of when hookah was going to go on, I always think it's going to be earlier and Joel always knows it isn't. He said he knew that they weren't going to be on when we got there and he was so positive he took the long way to prove it too me. The whole way I kept asking "are you lost, are you lost". We finally did arrive and so did hookah and it was lights camera action time. How else can I describe Ekoostik except to say fun was defiantly had by all! The first set finally let me release that bouncing energy that I had built up over the past weeks but it had enough slow moments to not let me burn completely out. Tumblin defiantly is always a great way to start the show. I once again floated my way to my front designated spot, if you don't know its Katz side for me. I was always bouncing even in while unhealthily smoking "What, u guys don't know how to slither like a Serpentine?" I was singing and dancing while smoking, waiting in line for my beer, and even in the bathroom. The guys appeared to be really enjoying themselves and that always makes the shows so much better. They really seemed to be in sync with each other. As soon as I got up front, saw Dave and he wished me Happy Birthday before going into the next song I knew this was going to be a fun one. Deep River blues was a great added feature because I always love hearing Eric sing, his voice was smooth like butter. In the clouds sent my head floating up to the risers. The soul in Dave's voice like put me in a trance that felt like a dream. Then John took it into stuck in the snow and I felt like a zombie but instead of brains I feed on intense lyrical content and deep meaning. Too much metaphor, I'll try my best to stop but it's so hard. Sheepdog was like icing on my birthday cake. It seemed like you could hear more feet stomping then Eric's drumming. I always feel like I'm at some crazy psycadelic hoedown where all the people are cover in tie-dye and patchwork yet still slapping their knees and doe see doeing. At one point I literally had to stop to breathe, damn cigarettes. I used the little I had left to boogie to shadane then got relieved when john said they were taking a break. I needed to sit for a minute, hey what can I say, I just turned 25 the day before I'm old. Joel jokingly said "I got my Sheepdog, I'm ready to go." I just laughed, he knew there was no way he was dragging me out till the fat lady sings or at least till the encore. Black Mamba started off the next set of what I thought was just pure magic. Before the show Joel and I made a bet on a game of Mario Tennis, If he won he would have full control of the show. I mean full control like where to stand, when to go up front, and gasp how much beer I could drink and the bet was vice versa. Can you tell who won? I used the bet to my advantage so by long way home I was up front center Dave side, the best side. Take that! Just kidding. Anyway carry on, Isis set us raging. Cliff was on point and at one point he used his head bandana to channel Jimi and took his bass all the way to the ground and brought it back up. He plucked his bass with fury and spit the harmonica with so much intensity. I was up front with a girl that made me giggle. She had a teeny tiny loner sign and she was trying to show Dave. Being the queen of the signs, I told her she needed it to be a bit bigger if she wanted to get his attention, then we jumped up and got his attention. The crowd was going crazy bananas by the time that here today started we all were on a definite cloud nine. The guys must have thought that all the bouncing built up an appetite because before we got to gone tomorrow we had a scrumptious bit of loner in there. Yummy! Many of you know me well and you know I don't like to be touched, stranger wise, and I stand my ground and I'm stubborn! So needless to say when a super drunk old bald guy came up and wacked me right in the head to get to Dave it was more than I could handle. I'm a Katz side girl but I'll hold my ground like those crazy Sweney siders. So as he was winding up for air POW number two, I grabbed him by the arms and said "If you touch me again ill punch you in the face." Joel was right behind me and seemed a bit nervous that he was going to have to defend me in a fight, but without blinking an eye I started dancing it up again like nothing ever happened. By the end of loner I turned and that guy was completely gone, score one for me. After loner we were expecting a slow again but that didn't happen when they added the cheese to our sandwich by playing grass. Grass made us fly high and finishing loner then gone tomorrow, the here today was earlier, we were all stuffed to the brim. Of course during reciprocity Joel wanted to smoke but he doesn't understand the meaning it has for me. My first Ekoostik album ever was dubbabuddah; I listened to that CD for literally a year straight before I got another one. That CD was dust when I was through with it so he definitely didn't get cigarette time. By the time reciprocity was over he was fiending for a cigarette and they had said goodnight but in hookah tradition we knew the encore was coming soon. After a couple minutes of "Hoooooooooooooooooookah" Steve came back out and with the first minute of playing I knew what was coming. And when I die isnt one of the songs I requested but that's ok because it is one of my top five. After finishing my exercising for the night I blew Dave air kisses and we went on our way, what can I say I was exhausted! All in all hookah was on point, the crowd was full of devoted fans and my hookah belly was full, defiantly satisfying!