From the Blog: Fireworks, Calliopes & Clowns"

[rastagirl777]

When we arrived the next night for the Opening Night Jam featuring Mark Karan and Friends we experienced that A.I. Royal Treatment first-hand. Ron and Les delivered the two cheesecakes Ron and Peg had gifted the band to Grand Lido’s kitchen with firm instructions for their care. We settled into one of the restaurants off the Main Bar, the Cafe Lido, trying to really absorb this “all-inclusive experience”. It was a bit of a comedy routine – talking about splitting appetizers and whether or not to get a bottle of wine as if we actually had a budget for this fancy meal. We got over it pretty fast. Niah ordered a steak, something he’d been talking about doing all day. The food was good…but not great. The service was very friendly…but slow. The best part of the meal was when we were all done eating and drinking we simply got up and left. It was a dine and dash with no need to worry about getting caught.

Mark started off his gig solo, playing two of his original tunes. As the set progressed each band member took the stage for a song or two until all of them were up there. Bobby made a guest appearance for two songs. I danced hard, so hard that my body just about gave out. All the excitement and anticipation in combination with the drag-out from Rebel Salute overtook me so I found a nice plump lounger and lay back, eyes closed and feet tapping for the last two songs of the set. When I opened my eyes Les, Matt and Weir were standing a few feet away from me talking. I joined them as we discussed Jamaica, her beautiful waters and sea life and lifted a glass to some mutual friends who were no longer with us.

The following night was the first Rat Dog show. We had dinner at Cafe Lido again – and again the service was mighty slow. So slow that I was afraid we might miss the beginning of the show. While outside having my third cigarette while waiting on the food I ran into Matt. “No problem Mon,” he said with great cheer and his best Jamaican accent, “We’re on Jamaica time!” When you combine Jamaica time with Rock and Roll time you get plenty of time. So I went back in and ordered another cocktail.

I am having a hard time finding the words to describe dancing on the beach in Negril to Grateful Dead songs. From the first notes of Help on the Way it was as if my two happy places collided head-on. I enjoyed Ron getting his Grateful Dead groove on – I’d never been to a show with him. He hadn’t been to a Grateful Dead show in fact since the early ’80s so he was living proof that those musical buttons can be pushed at any time in any place. I enjoyed watching Peg enjoying her first “Dead Experience”. I enjoyed dancing all along the beach of Bloody Bay, in the shoreline waters and among my tribe. It was all so familiar and magical, I felt drunk.

Well, that’s probably because I was. I was digging this all-inclusive thing. After a while it got a bit tedious to keep going back to the bar for single cocktails, so I moved on to bottles of champagne which I shared with my friends and anyone else wanting a pull.

After the show Ron handed out slices of cheesecake to the band and crew thanking them for a wonderful show. As we celebrated we made plans with Matt for the next day, their day off, for a bit of off resort adventure.
The party at Grand Lido was just beginning. Out at the “Far Bar” a grill was going, the drinks were flowing and tunes were playing. By the time we made it out there the chicken was “finish”. I asked for a hamburger which was slapped down on my plate. When I asked for a bun…”finish”. Finish? Really? You can’t get anymore? “No problem, ” the grill man said, “Mi soon come back”. And with that he left, meat still on the grill. So we waited. And we waited. It became pretty clear pretty quick that dude was not coming back, the meat on the grill was starting to burn and more folks were lining up for food. Les and Brenda jumped right in, flipping burgers and feeding the hungry hoards. Brenda even found a tray of fish much to the delight of the non-meat eaters and got that going as well. These guys kept feeding everyone, even after the plates ran out. When the last morsel of food was handed out Les closed the grill ceremoniously, announcing “Finish!” to the crowd.