Photos by Andre C.Y. Choo Quan

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We're All Out of Love...

Touch down in St. Lucia about 3:00 PM and the excitement is in the air. How can you beat sitting down across from Anita Baker on a flight to a Jazz Festival where she is one of the headline acts? I though to myself that would be the highlight of the trip, little did I know there were many many highlights in store. By the way, Anita says she still gets nerves before a performance, can you imagine?

So we in a taxi now, $1.5 million US (seriously, it's about $150 US) to get to town, and the trip is more than a hour long, through the hills. Of course, we had to make the taxi ride into an event as well. We make the taxi man find a roti spot in some village along the way and we end up knocking back x-amount of Piton, St. Lucia's local beer. Piton ent half bad and it cheap too!! How yuh could beat cheap beer that doh taste cheap?

By the time we link up with the rest of the TJJ crew, it was Friday afternoon After Work lime time. That's were the lime really kick into high gear. We link up with a local partner, Justin, but from here on in we will refer to him as "The Big Show" ... TBS for short! So we in TBS ride and we headin to cruise ship complex at Pointe Seraphine for some libations and good old West Indian Friday evening lime with live jazz and other local entertainment. Lime was going nice too bad, but it we had to make moves so we could hit the main Jazz venue at Pigeon Island.

That's were the Friendship Inn comes in, only the finest for Team TJJ! The first and hopefully the last time I ever stay in a zero star hotel. But we go take that one up with the union when things cool down a bit. Talking bout everywhere else was sold out... hiyayai. So after a quick pit stop in the zero star hotel to freshen up and break the knob off the A/C, we on the way to jazz, moving 3 miles an hour the whole way, if yuh see traffic. Plenty time to think about that early morning Caribbean sun beating down of the room in the Friendship Inn with no A/C!!

We reach the festival now, park a ways away and jump into one of the many shuttles to the venue. No issues getting into the venue at all, everything was computerized, credentials were scanned and we were on the inside. Big respect to the St. Lucia Tourist Board for the hospitality. First big act up was Air Supply, remember them (www.airsupplymusic.com)? Them men have REAL tunes! They had the festival in a frenzy from start to finish (you should see Dre singing along stage-front ... classic). The venue was a natural amphitheater. Rolling grassy hills with a backdrop of the Caribbean sea and a moonlit cloudless evening with that signature Caribbean breeze, with a drink in yuh hand. Make yuh stop and give thanks yes. Thousands of people were in attendance, we were told that it was the biggest Friday night attendance in the history of the festival. Folks everywhere, all enjoying the evening in different ways. Some people were in the VIP tent watching the monitors, some watching the stage and some watching jumbotrons while on beach chairs or a blanket. Everyone was allowed to get as close to the stage as room permitted, all at the same price, a very nice touch indeed. Air Supply took the crowd into an even bigger frenzy when they came down off the stage into the crown and performed "Here I am". Graham Russell (The Song) with his acoustic guitar and lead singer (The Singer), Russell Hitchcock - real styles!

The sound system was no joke either, whoever that sound company was had those line arrays sounding perfect, no matter where in the park you were. Of course, Air Supply were called back on the stage when they tried to end their set at around 11:30pm and obliged, performing another two songs before they made room for Michael Bolton, who did his thing for the massive audience who stayed to the very end.

Jazz off to an excellent start, the night sill young we off to The Pulse nightclub with TBS for more action. Who decide we should sleep with the door open? Yuh ever wake up Saturday morning after a night of heavy liming and see the Inn keeper in yuh room trying to fix the A/C??!! Of course, we have more stories for days so standby for the Saturday action!!

Wados aka The Appraiser for the TJJ Fam.

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