Buffett pleases Parrotheads at Shoreline
By Jim Harrington, STAFF WRITER
IKNEW from the second I was hit by a beach ball advertising tequila that the summer music season had begun.
There's only one reason that kind of thing happens to this nocturnal, mostly landlocked, music critic:
Jimmy Buffett was back in town.
Capt. Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band returned to the Bay Area to kick off the season at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View Tuesday night. Both Buffett and the band, which featured Little Feat's Billy Payne on keyboards, sounded superb.
As usual, Mr. Margaritaville drew a mostly full house of his colorful fans, the Parrotheads, who played with beach balls in the aisles, swilled Coronas by the gallon and wore delightfully silly outfits. If you see someone with a stuffed parrot on his shoulder, a pirate's eye patch under a shark-fin hat, and a grass skirt wrapped around his waist, you can bet he's on his way to a Buffett show.
The party was in full swing well before Buffett took the stage. The Parrotheads always treat a Buffett show like a holiday — a holiday from reality — and Tuesday's gig was no different. They boogied and drank with gusto while records were played through the amphitheater's sound system.
The last pre-concert selection was Buster Poindexter's "Hot Hot Hot" and — even though the weather was not, not, not — the crowd was clearly warmed up by the time Buffett walked out to perform a solo acoustic version of "Boat Drinks."
That's all it took to wipe away the unseasonably chilly weather and memories of recent rain-soaked months. It was like some kindhearted airline had delivered us all from Alaska to the Caribbean. Suddenly, all of these Hawaiian shirts and baggy shorts didn't look so out of place.
Buffett's 12-member Coral Reefer Band soon joined the captain and the large ensemble proceeded to blow through such sunny selections as "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes," "The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful" and the fairly recent hit "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere."
"Some of you may have started (partying) at 5 p.m.," the vocalist-guitarist said as he looked out upon the sudsy crowd. "Some of you may have started at 5 a.m. It doesn't matter."
Honestly, it didn't seem to matter much. This audience, while certainly enthusiastic, was fairly well behaved. There were even a number of families in attendance — mom and pop training their preteens to become future Parrotheads.
"God damn," remarked Buffett, who turned 59 on Christmas Day. "Since when did I become family entertainment?"
The singer can expect the youthful population to increase at his shows. In fact, he's counting on it.
Having proved himself in numerous realms, including as a best-selling author and successful restaurateur, the salty seadog is now taking on the highly profitable
"tween" entertainment market. He produced, co-starred in and did the soundtrack for the new family film "Hoot," which opens nationwide on May 5.
The film is solid and the soundtrack is even better. "Hoot" should be something kids love and parents more than just tolerate.
Local fans got a taste of the "Hoot" soundtrack when Buffett performed the newly recorded version of the oldie "Floridays." Unfortunately, he didn't play his rendition of Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" or the killer "Wondering Where the Lions Are," both of which can be found on "Hoot."
But there were so many worthwhile tunes that he did play that it was hard to argue about what he left off the set list.
He pulled out a gorgeous version of the ballad "Come Monday," which Buffett explained was written during a "bad night in a Holiday Inn in Mount Tamalpais," and wowed listeners with a triumphant take on "One Particular Harbour," which closed the first set.
There were, of course, a few lesser moments. Most came with the newer songs, such as "Jamaica Mistaica" and "Bank of Bad Habits." Buffett has a tendency to draw on cutesy bumper-sticker mottos in his lyrics, which is probably why he appeals to many country fans. Sometimes it works for him. Sometimes it doesn't.
Most everything was working in the second set, which burst open with a terrific run through the Grateful Dead's "Scarlet Begonias" (featured on Buffett's 2004 CD, "License to Chill").
Cover material continues to be an important part of the sailor's shows. Having charmed the crowd in the first set with the classic "California Dreamin,'" Buffett seasoned the second set with the Crosby, Stills and Nash favorite "Southern Cross," Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" and Little Feat's "Dixie Chicken," which came as a respectful nod to keyboardist Payne.
But Buffett's own material got the greatest reaction from the crowd. He brought the show to its summery conclusion with fan favorites "Volcano," "Fins," "Margaritaville" and "A Pirate Looks at Forty," which he dedicated to local boys Jerry Garcia and Bill Graham.
Then, just as suddenly as he appeared, Buffett was gone — along with the warm weather. And we all seemed to reach for our jackets at the same time.
