The shows may finally be happening. At the Waikiki show, Jimmy said as much and added "November's looking good" for a date
No-shows
San Diego, Las Vegas, Seattle
An earlier schedule had concerts in these venues for Oct. 15, 17 & 24, and 21, respectively, but are not listed as part of the new tour dates.
It is the land of mahem and margaritas, of land
sharks and Parrotheads, of people "Defying Grafity, with some just
trying to "Survive" and others looking to "Get Drunk and
Screw."
Jimmy
Buffett concerts are daydreamin' in Havana, "Money Back Guaranteed"
fun, and come manyana, the ever-lasting thrill of the day before keeps
people smiling in their sleep.
The PubClub.com
Party Bus at Irvine Meadows in L.A.
Parrothead Samantha
"found parrot-dise" at in MA.
They are all-day affairs, starting with a party in the parking lot unseen
anwhere this side of Ios. In recognition of Buffett's most peopular songs,
people bring active volcanos, blow-up sharks and dress in hawaiian shirts,
grass skirts and straw hats. fish, fins and boat drinks.
Blenders, some powered by electric generators, churn out cocktails by
the shipload. Tequila, rum and other alcohol flows as freely as an overflowing
volcano. Fortunately, everyone is a happy drunk and smiles are as common
as cervezas.
Jimmy is transcends age groups. Though it's largely a mid-20s to late
30s crowd, everyone from grandpartents to grandkids are in attendance.
Tailgaiting turns
a parking lot into the world's largest beach bar.
Mix up rum, tequila
and grass skirts, and it's Margaritaville for a day.
It's a tropical paradise, and all because one man decided some 30 years
ago to sing songs about living in Margarativille, drinking boat drinks
from the deck of a sailing ship and of living in paradise.
It is this life that self-proclaimed "Parrot Heads" live each
time Jimmy comes to town.
The tailgate party starts some four hours before Buffett even takes the
stage. It is about the only concert anywhere in which the entertainer
is a backdrop to the actual event. It's the pre-party, the mingling with
people in grass skirts, hawaiian shirts and straw hats that stir the tropical
social souls at these concerts.
Buffett himself gave up long ago trying to compete with this frenzy and
does not bother to book warm-up bands.
People party so hard in the parking lot beforehand that they rarely make
to their seat before Buffett himself takes the stage, let alone 90
minutes earlier to hear some unknown up-and-comer.
Jimmy on stage while
in the audience, there are fins to the left...
Heck, at some venues, people often bring in their own bands to the parking
lot.
"I just provide the background music for your party," Buffett
tells his audience.
The concerts come only once a year to venues across America and people
clear their schedule months in advance in order to attend.
It's such a regular ritual for many that they keep a running tally of
how many shows they have seen. PubClub.com's Bartender is approaching his Golden Anniversary (most in one year, four, in four different locations) meaning he's in the company of his good
buddy Laz, who has attended 49. Whatever the number, it's never enough.
Such people are termed "Parrot Heads," a spin on the moniker
of Grateful Dead fans' "Dead Heads."
Scenes from the parking
lot, quite simply the World's Best Single-day Party.
For those who don't know, the music of Buffett is best described as a tropical
fantasy. It involves steel drums, congas and lyrics that take people to
places they would rather be. His songs are based on part truths – he
came up with the land shark theme song "Fins" while watching a
bunch of guys trying to pick up a bikini contest winner – and carry
creative titles such as "If The Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me." (Hey, we've all been there.)
Here are some of his most popular titles:
• Margaritaville
• It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (duo with Alan Jackson)
• Cheesburger in Paradise
• Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
• Fruitcakes
• Let's Get Drunk and Screw
• Boat Drinks
• Volcano
Babes and beach bars – that's the way it happens in the far side
of this world.
Prose
From a Parrothead
"I heard I was in town.
Not only is that the name of a Jimmy Buffett song, but it also
pretty much describes the day after a Buffett show.
That's because there is so much high-frenzied partying occuring
all day that by the time Jimmy takes the stage, some of us might
as well be on a Beach House on the Moon.
I owe a lot of my Parrot Head madness to a man named Laz. It
was he whom stirred my Caribbean Soul and I've been thanking my
lucky stars ever since.
Some years ago, Laz and I decided to rent a bus to take us to
a show in Irvine Meadows outside of Los Angeles. The venue itself
is a man-made nightmare, but it has a parking lot the size of a
California beach town and for Buffett fans, this is an invitation
to insanity.
Motorhomes sprouting palm trees and shark fins and buses loaded
with boat drinks line up side-by-side. Temporary tiki bars pop up
like tents in a campground, turning this otherwise innocent patch
of real estate into a tropical beach bash.
We, of course, had to be there.
So one Saturday afternoon, 50 friends piled aboard and we embarked
on an 8-hour adventure that has now become an annual event. Each
time is, as Buffett has said for years to describe perfect settings,
"just another shitty day in paradise."
As I write this, another concert has passed through our lives.
I wish, though, that it could continue. The alcohol high may wear
off by the next day, but the emotional high of a Buffett concert
lingers for much longer.
Until the next "Lovely Cruise", though, this section
of the site will serve as our "Permanent Reminder of a Temporary
Feeling."
Irvine Meadows, Southern California
From The
Bartender, PubClub's Columnist
