What STYLE of concert would like to see from JB this year?

[Nole Pirate]

That's what I heard from a very reliable source (not Heather).

Larry did they say anything about Nadirah & Tina too?

I was wondering the same thing, I really like what Nadirah and Tina adds to the show and the music.

[LIPH]

That's what I heard from a very reliable source (not Heather).

Larry did they say anything about Nadirah & Tina too?

As far as I know Nadirah and Tina will be back.

[Piratical]

That's what I heard from a very reliable source (not Heather).

Larry did they say anything about Nadirah & Tina too?

As far as I know Nadirah and Tina will be back.

Thanks! And I am sorry to hear about your lose.

This quite a shock.

[Jahfin]

I have different answers for different venues. As great as Aspen sounded, I can't imagine a large venue without the steel drums, congas and pedal steel guitar.

I can, as he played large venues for years without those instruments.

To each his own!

I agree, I'm just saying he hasn't always played large venues with that lineup of instruments.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

I have different answers for different venues. As great as Aspen sounded, I can't imagine a large venue without the steel drums, congas and pedal steel guitar.

I can, as he played large venues for years without those instruments.

To each his own!

I agree, I'm just saying he hasn't always played large venues with that lineup of instruments.

I know. But I wasn't ever living close enough or able to travel to a show back when the band was smaller, so my baseline experience is the large band. Not saying it was better or worse, only that I have a hard time imagining the stripped down version in a large venue.....

[tequilatom]

for a large venue......all out full show


Jimmy only ........small intimate venue!!

[rudybreno]

While like most people here, I'm used to the big-band, horns-and-dancers, silly-skits-and-video-clips show he's done the past few years, getting away from that may be a good thing! I love his knack for showmanship, but I remember instances like the "Beach House On The Moon" tour (I think it was) with all the video clips and the notorious, "That's one small step for man, and one giant leap for gumbo!" line. And the Domino College tour with the "graduation" skit at the end. Granted, I'm aware that I worship and am paying money to see a guy who garnered fame with a 4-minute pagan to a cheeseburger, but occasionally those skits were cringe-worthy!

If he steps away from that and like many have mentioned, plays deeper, lesser known track from the EARLY catalog (I'm not talking "Math Suks" here!) and cuts out some of the hits (Trade "License To Chill" with "Brand New Country Star" perhaps?), I'd be happy. Basically I'd like to see a "Live By The Bay" style show, just him and the band, loose and rocking out, with the entertainment coming from the music and Jimmy interacting with the crowd...

[DoorNo.3]

Bring back MARVIN GARDENS w/ Fingers Taylor and play the whole Havana Daydreamin and A1A records

[ALittleRnR]

I miss the older shows. I mean, I remember the Beach House on the Moon tour with the Walter Cronkite gig. Give me a break - cheesy. I stood there wondering why people enjoyed it.

I'm also sick of slide shows of Jimmy flying his plane and surfing off the coast of Africa. I mean really, who cares. That's hardly the life of the beach bum that made most of us fall in love with his music in the first place. If this stuff interested me, I could go see the ex-Enron executives play a set with instruments that are probably stolen. Buffett Beach Bum has so much more appeal than Buffett CEO.

Unfortunately, his linkage with country music has been great for his business but it is taking the persona and evolving it into a sell out. The crowds have changed dramatically over the past few years.

Back to the basics! Nothing beats a few good tunes and a small band playing it. No gimmicks necessary. He'll really impress me if he can make my spot on the lawn feel like a rough around the edges beach bar with a good band, cold beer, and a room full of strangers who suddenly have become my friends.

[changingchannels]

the tour is called "party at the end of the world" referring to key west isnt it??? if thats true then i can see him doing a more old school type show. he cant get rid of the steel drums and bongos because they are an intrigal part of his music.

[boatdrinkjim]

No Heather. No Horns. Not as much fun!

If Jimmy is going to scale back, I would like to see him go all the way and just show up at some intimate venues (a la St. Barths) with just his guitar, a small amp and a mic. Now, that would be special.

By the way, I voted full-on show!

[Wino you know]

Jimmy Buffett AND the Coral Reefers WITH Amy Lee, WITH T.C. Mitchell, AND Club Trini doing their once-popular pre-concert concert.
If we have to raid our I.R.A.s to attend these concerts, we should have SOME say so, right?

[jaytrader]

I just finally got to hear the Freddie and the Fishsticks show from Aspen and that is EXACTLY what I would like see/hear. Open up the sound a bit and let Peter shred some more.

You gotta think he caught that bug and maybe will give that a go this summer. That's my bet at least.

And if that is the case, I wonder what this new album is going to sound like. I really don't see him sticking with the "country thing."

[LittleMrMagic]

I think you older Phans may have got lost in "the way things used to be" in talking about a stripped down show. As cool as it is and as intimate as it feels for one or two songs at the end of the show for Bubba to just come out with his guitar and sing to "You", the whole show would be monotonous if done this way. . . at the very least it would lose its charm. As already pointed out, he's got to sing his "money" songs so it isn't like you are ever going to get the "Theater in the round" type feel of "Nautical Wheelers" in the old Key West film. . . face it, those days are gone and trying to recapture that at 60 would be a stain on those old memories.
I just saw "Live By The Bay" VHS for my first time last week. I honestly have to say (with maybe the exception of the Don Johnson introduction) it seemed "too much business" to me. He flew through the songs, there was energy there, but not like there was last year and last year was twenty years later!
Maybe that energy is coming from all of the periphery. Maybe its coming from all of the other players on the stage! I'll admit it, I wasn't around in the early days. . . maybe I missed something, but the bottom line is those days are gone.
The evolution of the Coral Reefer Band isn't a bad thing. For a guy that grew up on Rush concerts with only 3 guys on the stage, or U2 with four, seeing Jimmy Buffett and his "Big Band" is what makes it so special.
The loss of Amy and T.C. and the dancers is as sad of news to me, as losing "Fingers" was for you old timers.



On a far more cynical note, I find it repulsive for all the money that he has made, that he cut the band in the same year ticket prices rose by 30%. . . You would think the result would be a cost savings to the fan (what with four less mouths to feed on tour).

[LittleMrMagic]

On a side note. . . Where I said I felt the "Live By The Bay" VHS was lacking something. It definitely wasn't fingers, I loved seeing him in action. I know now why everyone complains that we're missing something without him.
I thought initially when Jimmy cut the horns, maybe there might have been a chance he was bringing Greg back, but then I heard Greg went under the knife for back surgery, so probably not.
Does anyone here know if John Popper is available? Next best harp player I can think of. . . Could you see it? Wow!

[conched]

Can someone describe a Buffett show before Fruitcakes and since the Mayers joined in? Was Off to See The Lizard their first show. What was Feeding Frenzy like? It sounds fun on the CD. When did the shows change from the Live By The Bay type show, (where Mr. White Overalls and Fingers were the dancers?)

I have only been going to Buffett concerts since 1994 when he was doing the Fruitcakes Tour so it has always been the big show for me with the parrotvision, shots of Jimmy IN THE CITY, shots of the seaplane and fishing and traveling, skits, costumes, and the dancers, horns, etc...the whole production.

I'll enjoy whatever he does. I'm positive the scaled down version like he does when he shows up at MoTM would be entertaining. Having Jimmy and the musicians on the monitors enjoying playing should be all good too. It's hard to imagine songs like Come Monday and One Particular Harbour without female vocals.

[Wino you know]

I think you older Phans may have got lost in "the way things used to be" in talking about a stripped down show. As cool as it is and as intimate as it feels for one or two songs at the end of the show for Bubba to just come out with his guitar and sing to "You", the whole show would be monotonous if done this way. . . at the very least it would lose its charm. As already pointed out, he's got to sing his "money" songs so it isn't like you are ever going to get the "Theater in the round" type feel of "Nautical Wheelers" in the old Key West film. . . face it, those days are gone and trying to recapture that at 60 would be a stain on those old memories.
I just saw "Live By The Bay" VHS for my first time last week. I honestly have to say (with maybe the exception of the Don Johnson introduction) it seemed "too much business" to me. He flew through the songs, there was energy there, but not like there was last year and last year was twenty years later!
Maybe that energy is coming from all of the periphery. Maybe its coming from all of the other players on the stage! I'll admit it, I wasn't around in the early days. . . maybe I missed something, but the bottom line is those days are gone.
The evolution of the Coral Reefer Band isn't a bad thing. For a guy that grew up on Rush concerts with only 3 guys on the stage, or U2 with four, seeing Jimmy Buffett and his "Big Band" is what makes it so special.
The loss of Amy and T.C. and the dancers is as sad of news to me, as losing "Fingers" was for you old timers.



On a far more cynical note, I find it repulsive for all the money that he has made, that he cut the band in the same year ticket prices rose by 30%. . . You would think the result would be a cost savings to the fan (what with four less mouths to feed on tour).

Well said, L.M.M.
This "older fan" agrees with you 100%.

[Quiet and Shy]

On a far more cynical note, I find it repulsive for all the money that he has made, that he cut the band in the same year ticket prices rose by 30%. . . You would think the result would be a cost savings to the fan (what with four less mouths to feed on tour).

You're assuming the two actions are related. I honestly doubt they are.

[pbans]

Honestly, when I watched the Mini Matinee with the talking tiki gods, I thought it was stupid and annoying. I like the dancers, they're so pretty and give Larry wood, so that's a good thing....but I'm not outraged at the thought of them not being part of the tour. I'll miss hearing Amy Lee, but the horns were overpowering at times......
A dream concert would be one like in Aspen....just Jimmy and a few of the key band members....and a few hundred of my closest friend.

[Jahfin]

The first time I remember seeing the big production style show was in the early 90s on the Outposts Tour. I did enjoy it but as the years progressed it grew and grew to the point where it turned into a spectacle with dancers, props, that dumbass dance routine where he absolutely ruins Hiatt's "Tiki Bar", etc. Prior to that there might have been a few palm trees onstage and that was the extent of the production values. As the show became more of a production something was lost along the way, that would be the emphasis on the music and the dynamic that existed between Buffett and the band. Somewhere inbetween lies a happy medium. Hopefully he's getting back to that.