Yes it is true, we do have guest bloggers!! And I guess I’ll be the first one to speak up. Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a fantastic Sam Bush & Ekoostik Hookah concert in Columbus, Ohio. After traveling from Cleveland through that huge snowstorm that rocked the Northeast, I was ready for some serious music, and was by no means disappointed.
Sam Bush had started a fire in that place that wouldn’t let up. His mastery of the violin, mandolin, and mandocaster coupled with an energy level that is just something you have to see in person. Same Ol’ River and Is This Love were easily my favorites of his set, but he was not done just yet.
Ekoostik Hookah soon took the stage with a rare opener of Lady Vanilla, setting the stage for the wild ride ahead. After listening to a few songs, it seemed apparent that Mr. Bush wasn’t going to just sit back and watch. So he jumped on stage and finished off the set with them, climaxing with a killer Abdega Gaga (ekoostik Hookah instrumental song) with guest saxophonist Fred Gablick from the band Deep Blue Groove.
The second set was a barnburner! It’s wonderful when a set is just a perfect mix of old and new songs with the occasional cover. I guess Sam just got everyone in a great mood, and it was time for Hookah to rock every last bit of energy out of the crowd. The Backwoods Rose – And When I Die sandwich had everybody captivated, unexpecting of the one-two punch of Alexander II and Keeping Time – both ekoostik Hookah classics. A Better Man and Don’t Do It ended the night in true Hookah fashion, leaving you exhausted but begging for more. Big thanks goes out to Fred Gablick for joining in on Don’t Do It with some exceptional sax. (always love to finish an article w some “exceptional sax”)
2005-01-22 – Hookah & Sam Bush – Newport
Sam Bush:
The Mahavishnu Mountain Boys, A Better Man, Eight More Miles to Louisville, They’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone, Spirit Is The Journey, Bananas, King Of The World, Same Ol’ River, Howlin’ At The Moon, Big Rabbit, Funk 55
(Is this Love) also thrown in there somewhere
Ekoostik Hookah
I: (10:15PM) Lady Vanilla, Merry Go Round, Alexander I, Backseat, Lax, (rest of set w/ Sam Bush) Bound to Ride, Through Hiker, Anthony’s Song, Sun Goes Down, Abdega Gaga (w/ Fred Gablick (from Deep Blue Groove) on Sax) (12AM)
II: (12:30AM) Sundial, Backwoods Rose> And When I Die> Jam> Backwoods Rose, Alexander II, Keepin Time (1:35AM)
E: A Better Man, Don’t Do It (w/ Fred Gablick on Sax) (2AM)
