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 Entertainment | February 2005 
Jimmy Buffett's Concert is a Treat for Parrotheads
 Howard Cohen - Herald.com
| Jimmy Buffett remains one of the five top money-makers in the music business, and fans like these are the reason why.
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When only four other acts in the music business made more money last year than Jimmy Buffett did, well, if you're Jimmy you don't have to change a damned thing. It's workin'.
So how wonderful it is to report that there was no coasting at Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band's top-flight performance Saturday night at a packed Office Depot Center. There was another big event in town but Buffett had no trouble filling the arena.
"This is not The Miami Boat Show, this is The Parrothead Boat Show," Buffett said after opening his 2.5 hour, 28-song concert with a spirited Ragtop Day.
Shows like this one help explain Buffett's longevity. According to Rolling Stone's list of the 50 biggest money-makers in 2004, Buffett earned $36.5 million, ranking fifth. (Prince was No. 1 with $56 million, followed by Madonna, Metallica, Elton John and Buffett. Usher was No. 16.)
Sure, the chief Parrothead did his staples Saturday. The multitudes gathered at the altar of Buffett - many sporting glowing parrot head head pieces or straw skirts - would not take kindly to the star omitting Margaritaville, Fins, Volcano, Come Monday or Cheeseburger in Paradise.
If Buffett had a dime for every time he's sung Come Monday in concert over the last 30 years he'd knock Prince off his perch.
And yet, when Buffett hit that part of the ballad where he calls out, "It's so nice to be in Florida again," emphasizing the state in which he's made his home, his joy seems genuine. The song felt fresh. Even Margaritaville did - or maybe he had simply earned enough goodwill by that point in the show that he could do any hoary tune and it would delight.
When someone is so obviously enjoying what they are doing it's infectious.
What made this "A Salty Piece of Land Tour," named for his best-selling novel, a bit more special than the average Buffett show is that the singer-songwriter had a batch of new songs from a No. 1 album, License to Chill, that fit seamlessly with his favorites.
It's been awhile since a new Buffett CD has proven so memorable.
Such highlights included the heartfelt Coast of Carolina, Chill's rowdy title track and Piece of Work. You can imagine hearing these songs again, sandwiched against Cheeseburger, when Buffett embarks on his Sailing Off to Retirement Tour. That may be, oh, sometime in 2025 at the rate he's going. (He'd be 78 - and why not? Tony Bennett's still on the road at that age).
An even bigger treat was hearing some refurbished and unexpected oldies this band hasn't played live in years. Woman Goin' Crazy on Caroline Street, from 1974's Havana Daydreamin', sported a more driving arrangement than the slick original.
When Buffett delivered the line about guzzling a 35-cent beer he cracked, "This is an old song."
Longtime fans were also treated to Presents to Send You (remember that 1974 B-side?), A1A's Life Is Just a Tire Swing, now peppered with a Bob Marley Catch a Fire rhythm, and 1985's lively Gypsies in the Palace, reborn as a country two-stepper, island-style. Buffett paid tribute to the late Johnny Carson with an affectionate video presentation during intermission.
For one of the encores Buffett gave his audience a choice between his own Boat Drinks or his cover of Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl. With the venue's 11 p.m. curfew looming and A Pirate Looks at 40 still to come there wasn't time for both. The Parrotheads voted by applause. The Buffett tune won out. "This show is definitely not prerecorded," Buffett said.
Kudos, too, to the fine Coral Reefer Band, in particular guitarist Peter Mayer. And for eye-candy nothing - not even the hovering shark balloon during Fins - topped the lovely bikini-clad Coral Reefer Dancers. |
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