Is he still any good?
'Cause he coming to town on the 24th. It sounds like fun.
But I wonder. Lots of older acts that used to be great still tour occasionaly, but just kind of suck. They play the same old stuff, but the passion is gone. It’s just nostalgia, but not very enjoyable musically, of it’s own merits.
So, has anybody heard him live recently? Has he lost it? Or does he still rock?
And as a check question: did you catch the recent Who tour? (It was on PBS) And did you like that?
Well, he tours every summer, always sells out, often to the same people, and he isn’t doing it because he needs the money. A Jimmy Buffett show isn’t really about the music, it’s more of the whole Parrothead experience. Sure, it’s a crowd of aging yuppies trying to recapture their lost youth for one evening, but everyone seems to always have a good time. I’ve never managed to get tickets, and refuse to resort to scalpers, though, so I don’t really know for sure.
As for the Who, I saw them a few years ago when they did Quadrophenia, and they were pretty good. Haven’t seen them since.
Yes. And be sure to get there early for the parking lot party that starts hours before the show. The comments by waterj2 are spot on. It’s about the entire experience rather than just the music. It’s a party with a live band, basically.
I’ve seen Jimmy live about three times, the last being five years ago. He never seemed like was just going through the motions. Jimmy evoked the angst, drama, and alcoholism of Boat Drinks every time.
Thanks for the responses. That was more or less the direction I was leaning. I just wanted to make sure nobody would say “don’t bother, he’s lost it.”
The reason I asked about the Who was that I caught their show recently on PBS, and I thought it was pretty lame. Low energy, boring. So if anyone said they thought that was good, I’d know our opinions differ. 
Of course, another problem now presents itself…last night I found out the Buffy season premier is on the same night as the concert! Well, I guess that’s what VCR’s are for.
I’ve seen Jimmy four times in the last five years. As stated earlier, get there early, wear a Hawaiian style shirt and bring plenty of beverages. Yes, he does play some of his oldies, but they’re usually crowd favorites. Just watch the parrotheads when Jimmy sings ‘Fins’. But he continues to put out CDs and the new music is good. Plus, he has a very good band backing him.
Go and enjoy.
I concur - get there early & party on the lawn. Saw him a few weeks ago in Indianapolis - it stormed & POURED – Jimmy still played and noone (well - hardly anyone) left!
Check out his new album “Far Side of the World”. “USS Zydecoldsmobile” ROCKED live and on this tour he & the Reefers do an “Appalachian” version of “Boat Drinks” that is funnier than hell… and if you haven’t heard his cover of “Southern Cross” … wow.
You might be able to catch a concert beforehand on Radio Margaritaville.
Poli the Parrothead
Been to see Bubba live about a dozen times. Depending on your capacity for tolerating drunken fans screaming out the words to every song, you should have a blast. Wear some of those fake Hawaiian leis around your neck, and take a pool toy (shark would be best) to wave around in the air. Ah yes, the smell of rum and weed…oh wait, that was the Beck concert I went to last year.
Interestingly, we were in our late 30’s at our one and only Buffet show, and seemed to be the old folks there. Agree with beckwall about the intoxicated fans. We like a few boat drinks, too, but it felt as if the concert was secondary to the party. The party had begun at the tailgate, and concertgoers were barfing in the parking lot long before Buffet took the stage.
A drunken young couple in front of us were sniping at each other all evening, and eventually both were taken away by security when the guy began strangling his girlfriend.
I went for the first time to see Jimmy Buffet this past summer and everyone in my group was under thirty and there were a ton of other people there our age as well. I had a good time but I doubt that I’ll ever go again.
The party in the parking lot was a lot of fun. Everyone was friendly and it was neat to see what props people brought to give more of a carribean feel to a Virginia parking lot. My fave was the group parked across from us who brought a cooler full of sand and dumped it behind the bumper of thier SUV and than placed thier lawn chairs in it.
However the concert itself did nothing for me. I’ve never been a big fan of Buffet and only went because I had heard so many great things about his concerts. The party in the parking lot lived up to the hype, the concert less so. Buffet played a ton of covers and the songs that were his I recognized less than fifty percent of the time. I eventually wandered off, got something to eat and called my girlfriend. Everyone else I was with however had a great time.
So I guess the question is do you really dig Buffet? If so, go, you’ll have a great time. If not, don’t. Seeing him live won’t make you like or dislike him any more than you already do. Or you could just go and hang out in the parking lot and not get a ticket for the concert. I might do that when he comes around again.
Hey Politzania… I was at the Indy concert also… you know the one where it “sprinkled.”
I was the guy wearing a hawaiian shirt under my rain pancho… I was also standing up and dancing most of the time… and holding a beer… perhaps you saw me.
I’ll sixth or seventh or whatever that he is still going strong.
And just to correct a recurring typo, it is “Buffett” with two t’s.
And go to the concert. There’s nothing like 20,000 drunks singing.