Buffett Does Tallahassee
February 12, 2007 | 1 Comment
On Saturday night Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band pulled into the Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center. Needless to say, I was there. It was the first time Buffett played Tallahassee since 2002, when I was a freshmen.
The show was great, of course, and even though I was behind the stage the view was great. It was a fun weekend 18 hours seeing old friends and enjoying some great music.
For those who care, you can find the set list here. It was cool seeing some old stuff including Pencil Thin Mustache, which I hadn’t seen in concert since 2003, as well as some others that I had never seen in concert like Bama Breeze, Changing Channels and the new rendition of Floridays. There were also a cool video called Here We Are (you can find it on iTunes) which shows Parrotheads through the years.
Anyway, it was a great show.
A Buffett Concert Like No Other
February 22, 2005 | 4 Comments
Everyone who is a dedicated fan of a particular band has some crazy story about how they acquired tickets and ended up at a concert in some other town at almost the drop of a hat. Last night it came to be my turn.
As many of you know I consider myself a loyal member of the Parrothead nation and have now attended seven Jimmy Buffett shows in Orlando, Tallahassee, Atlanta and now Jacksonville. I haven’t quite made it to the point where my car turns into a shark and I wear a grass skirt though it really can’t be that far off the horizon. Last night Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band played Jacksonville for the first time in almost twenty years and I was there, enjoying every minute of it. But before I get into the show, I’ve got to build up the story.
Sometimes it just comes down to who you know. My friend Kyle happens to work for the State of Florida and has a few connections that reach into the US Department of State. I won’t reveal the full extent of his connections here so as not to get anyone into possible trouble. But lets just say he knows a guy who knows a guy who is the attorney for the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Stadium. And wouldn’t you know that just happened to the venue where Bubba was playing? Needless to say a request was made and last Thursday afternoon word was passed down the preverbal grapevine that tickets would be waiting at will call for us. Plans were made and around two yesterday afternoon we left Tallahassee for I-10. There were just about a hundred and fifty miles between us and our Parrothead friends.
When we got to the stadium we knew things were on our side as we scored a parking space right next to the exit of the lot. Fighting to leave would not be a problem after the concert. Never having spent more then a fleeting moment in Jacksonville, we had no idea where we could score dinner before the show. What do you do in that situation? Ask a newsman. The guy pointed us to The Amsterdam Cafe right next to the stadium and dinner was had. The cheeseburgers, not quite in paradise but good none the less, seriously showed up minutes after we ordered. These guys were on the ball. Next stop, will call.
Here is where our troubles began. Kyle went up to will call to claim the tickets and was told that there was nothing in the computer under his name but from the sound of who left them, chances was they were in the marketing office. So we went there. These people didn’t really put second thought into it as the names we were dropping seemed too good to be true and when they couldn’t find our tickets either, decided to ignore us. After a frantic phone call to his connection–which resulted in voice mail–another attempt was made at will call with a different teller. This woman seemed to be in a friendlier mood then the first and decided to try all the names the tickets could possibly be under: Kyle’s, Kyle’s connection, Kyle’s connection’s attorney friend. At this point the woman told us to step aside and wait. Ten minutes later she arrived out of a side door with our tickets, Section 101, row B, seats 10-12. It was now only a matter of time.
Once the gates opened we hit up the t-shirt vendor, which was organized madness to say the least. Conversation was made with the woman in front of us about t-shirt selections and, of all things, how to be more visible on a dive boat. Once the purchases were made, it was time to find our seats. We had no idea where they were in relation to the stage as an arena map was nowhere to be found, though from the seat numbers they sounded good. Good is an understatement, these seats were great. Section 101 was on the left corner of the stage and Row B translated to the second row. So there we were, about forty-five minutes before show time and almost close enough to touch the stage. After some small talk with our local security guard, and the realization that people owned tickets to seats one through seven of our row–which didn’t exist–we were ready to go.
Prior to the show, while the owners of the phantom seats were straightening things out with guest services, beach balls were flying across the stadium. There was a little girl, no older then eight, waiting in front of us with her mom while her dad took care of their tickets. Every time a beach ball ended up in our general area (and by general area I mean about a four row radius) it was given to her and in her attempt to spike it into the crowd she would inevitably hit one of us in the face. This little girl is probably the only person in the stadium that was luckier then us last night as when guest services fixed their seating arrangement they ended up right in front of the stage–so close that the girl was able to hand Jimmy, while he was performing, a note she had written him. This netted the girl, upon his return for his first encore, one of Jimmy’s sandals.
Once everyone’s seating arrangements were taken care of, the show began. What a show it was. In typical Buffett fashion he played almost thirty songs, a good majority which was from his older, dust covered catalogue–this made me particularly happy. A few shameless segments, a video tribute to the late Johnny Carson, and two encores–one dedicated to the recently departed Hunter S. Thompson–and nearly three hours later the show was over and it was time to go home. By two in the morning, twelve hours after the journey began, I was in bed attempting to recharge my batteries in time for class this morning. And that is the story of how I acquired Buffett tickets and sat just off the stage and made eye contact with one of the greatest performers of the last few decades.
Back to Reality
April 21, 2003 | 3 Comments
Well, it’s been a fun weekend, and then some. It all started Thursday with a trip to Atlanta. That’s right, Atlanta. Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band were playing in Atlanta, so, being the massive Parrothead that I am, I of course had to go. So I gathered up some friends and headed to Atlanta. We stopped for lunch at an Atlanta (are you wondering how many times I can say Atlanta in one article?) staple, the Varsity. If you’ve not been there, you must go, now. They’ve got the best and greasiest food ever made. We’re talking onion rings that EACH contains a lethal amount of grease. But it tastes good and I love it. After the Varsity, we continued our northbound trek and stopped at my aunt’s house in Lawrenceville, just north of Atlanta. After some down time, it was off to the concert.
The long and short of it, the concert was very wet and muddy. Got to love the outdoor shows. A full set list will be added to the Buffett portion of my site when I feel like doing so. It wasn’t the best concert I’ve been to. I was glad to see that Jimmy played some stuff that he usually doesn’t, I enjoy that stuff more. Yes I’m a Parrothead but no I don’t cream myself every time I hear a song off Songs You Know By Heart. I’d rather hear him play “The Wino and I Know” or “That’s What Living is to Me” or “We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About.” But, it seems like anyone that goes to the concerts anymore have only heard the songs Buffett has on Songs You Know By Heart which is all fine and dandy, but when it comes to other songs that they cant sing along to in a drunken stupor they then talk to their friends and ignore the concert. This again, is all fine and dandy but that prevents the true fans that are there to hear Buffett play, i.e. me, from actually hearing Bubba sing. During this concert I felt something I had never felt at a Buffett concert before, and that was detest. Namely because the one part of Jimmy’s show that I look forward to every year is his acoustic set. I love it because he plays songs that I love and they just sound wonderful acoustically. However this year I didn’t get to enjoy the acoustic set because of the people talking and gallivanting around the lawn section of the concert. I also did another thing that I hadn’t done at a Buffett concert before, and that was leave before the encores. I said at the time it was to beat the traffic as we were in dire need of gas, but I really didn’t want to stick around because I wasn’t going to enjoy them. I kick myself now of course seeing that Jimmy played “Southern Cross” as well as “Pacing the Cage” which I absolutely love, but, that’s the way it goes I guess. The only true saving grace amongst the mud and noise was that after trekking across THE ENTIRE mud covered concert venue in an effort to get closer to where we parked, I ran into Casey who promptly ran up to me which pretty much made my night. If it hadn’t been for her, I probably would have left the concert pretty pissed off and disappointed. So thank you Casey, you made my day, as you do every time I see you. After the concert we went back to my aunt’s where I slept more soundly then I have in weeks.
The next morning we got up and headed down to Orlando. Thankfully the 500 mile drive only took around six and a half hours. To recap I had traveled roughly 750 miles within a 24 hour period. And the weekend was just starting.
In Orlando I had friends from Tallahassee come into town to visit for Easter. Friday night we met up with Earl and Jessica which is always fun. We played Pictionary and joked around till late at night. The next day, we’re now to Saturday, led to Islands of Adventure.
My friends from school all went to the wonderful place known as IOA by us local freaks and had a great time. Lines weren’t horrible and the rides, as always were lots of fun. Every time I ride it, I can’t help but think of how cool the Spider-Man ride is. It’s probably the best ride ever. The day at the park was great. It was made even better because Ryan’s uncle got us all tickets. He came with us and was really a nice guy. This is a big thank you to Ryan’s uncle. After IOA came a well welcomed dinner and the movie Pumpkin which is, to say the least, interesting.
Then came Sunday, Easter Sunday. I went to church–both services–as I do on all “big occasion” Sundays though this time was accompanied by my friends from school. The services were, well, not great. The sermon was horrible and I had the pleasure of hearing it twice. If only our assistant pastor would be given the chance to speak because he is a lot more entertaining that our senior pastor–who thankfully will be leaving in June. At least our church’s Easter tradition of singing the Hallelujah Chorus was upheld. It sounded wonderful.
After church came the Easter festivities. This involved Easter egg hunting, badminton playing, and of course, lots and lots of eating — and some picture taking. Always love the Easter festivities. Then came the ride home.
Now it’s back to reality. The fun is over. I found out that I completely failed my finance test from last week and now passing the entire class could be in jeopardy. Returning to Tallahassee has brought me back to some situations I am tired of dealing with as well as opened me up to more that I have to deal with. Regardless of the situation, the test grades and what not, I always end up getting screwed in the end. But, c’est la vie, that’s life right? Emerson once wrote that “every sweet has it’s sour; every evil it’s good” which was so wonderfully retold in Vanilla Sky. I guess I’m tasting the sour right now. Hopefully the summer, which is now less than two weeks away, will bring something really sweet my way. And to think, I only have to get through five finals first!
Well that’s that. I know this article is a little drab but you gotta write about what you know right? At least that’s what Mark Twain once said. Mr. Twain also wrote the words that inspired Buffett’s “That’s What Living is to Me” that goes: “Be good and you will be lonesome/Be lonesome and you will be free/Live a lie, and you will live to regret it/That’s what living is to me.” Well, sometimes, that is what living is to me. Until next time.