Buffett's 4 Majors

[boatdrinks84]

Alpine's up there when the weather is right. It's hard to top when it drops into the mid-70s at night with a nice breeze rolling through. Last year was a perfect evening, and 2013 was almost just as good.

It can also be pretty miserable when it's a packed house with 90-something degrees with ninety-something percent humidity, and no wind.

What would make Alpine even better is less Packers paraphernalia all over the place.

[wiscoleeds1]

I don't notice too much Packer stuff at Alpine, but then again living in Wisconsin I'm used to seeing it everywhere. But I agree I don't understand going to a Buffett show and setting up your tailgate like you're attending a Packers/Brewers/Cubs/Bears/Iowa State game etc.

I'm looking forward to comparing Cincy to Alpine. From what I "see" I'm amazed at how small the Cincy tailgating lots appear.

Cheers
Wiscoleeds

[boatdrinks84]

On the latest GITP edition of the Margaritaville podcast, the guys unanimously said Alpine is their favorite venue, mostly attributing it to the weather (cooler compared to a lot of their southern tour dates), the crowd size/energy, the tailgate, and the location.

They also gave a lot of praise to Pittsburgh, Boston, and Tampa, and talked about how Cincinnati was crazy in the 90s.

[Finzup16]

I've been to Cincinnati twice.... Jones Beach and Mansfield a dozen times each. Pittsburgh 2 or 3 times. Along with a few Florida, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Carolina stops.

I'm not saying nothing beats Mansfield, Cincinnati and Jones Beach (in no particular order) and yes, Pittsburgh deserves honorable mention but.......... IF anything beats those places I REALLY need to get there !!!!!!

[LIPH]

I always thought people who rave about Alpine haven't been to a lot of other venues. I've been there twice and it's one of my least favorite places to see Buffett. I think it's way too big and it may be the most poorly designed music venue I've ever been to. And the tailgate is nothing special, in my opinion. I'd take Jones Beach, Great Woods, Pittsburgh, Tampa and probably a few other places over Alpine any day. Your mileage may vary.

[jbfins]

Atlanta has to be in the top 4. People down South know how to do it right.

[TommyBahama]

Atlanta has to be in the top 4. People down South know how to do it right.

Atlanta isn't always on the tour stop. And not to many people , outside of the area Travel there , compared to GW , JB , Cincy , Alpine or Tampa. I don't even think it would make the top 10 as far as destinations or top tailgate destinations. Not much is talked about Atlanta like other venues. Nothing against Atlanta ( except the traffic).

[PeoriaTom]

Atlanta has to be in the top 4. People down South know how to do it right.

Atlanta isn't always on the tour stop. And not to many people , outside of the area Travel there , compared to GW , JB , Cincy , Alpine or Tampa. I don't even think it would make the top 10 as far as destinations or top tailgate destinations. Not much is talked about Atlanta like other venues. Nothing against Atlanta ( except the traffic).

I guess, what should we be valuing here? I've never seen him in Atlanta, but it's always seemed like Jimmy's 1B to Cincinnati. First Parrothead Club started there, and Jimmy always talks about it on the live tracks like Atlanta holds a very special place in his heart. He always says it was the first place that would pay to see him.

I don't know, maybe I'm biased from growing up listening to Feeding Frenzy, but it always seemed like as far as hotbeds of Buffett fandom, nowhere touched Atlanta and Cincinnati, and I'm surprised I seem to be alone in this thinking.

[jbfins]

My concert experiences are a little dated, but I've seen 6+ summer shows in Atlanta and multiple shows at Jones Beach and Great Woods. Most of the years I saw shows in the South and the North on the same tour, because I spent summer's in Georgia and went to school in the Northeast. Here is how I would sum up the difference:

When I walked around the parking lot in Georgia, I heard Buffett's music come from the car radios. When I walked around Great Woods and Jones Beach, I heard a variety of other stuff. A lot of it crap. One year, a coach bus was at Great Woods and they had a DJ. The DJ played dance music, and it was really loud. I found the "organizer" of the bus group and when I asked if the DJ could play some Buffett I was told, "you will hear that in the concert." At Jones Beach, someone stole my "JBFINS" license plate.

Basically, the people at the two shows are different. In my opinion you have a lot more Party-Heads in the Northeast.

[wiscoleeds1]

Well, we did Cincy. Had a great time but have to say it's pretty minor league compared to Alpine Valley. It was like a Brewers home game on a Tuesday night except for folks wearing leis and Hawaiian shirts. The only "win" for Cincy was that we were able to start tailgating before 8:00 AM.
Thanks for the hospitality.
Cheers
Wiscoleeds

[boatdrinks84]

Not to beat Alpine to death here, but one thing that I think gets overlooked based on the posts I re-read is that Alpine is a very regional show, not just a Wisconsin show. It draws people form Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and even as far away as Canada and Nebraska. The collection of license plates in the lots is ridiculous, not to mention the line of busses that bring people in from all over the midwest.

In the Chicago area, there are still a lot of people who hold a ten-year grudge against Tinley, refuse to go there, and opt for Alpine instead.

Alpine's location is very deceiving. It's not some little middle-of-nowhere country show. It's the big leagues.

[PeoriaTom]

Bump: Just listened to a few old recordings of ATL shows (thanks to this wonderful site!), and there's no way Atlanta doesn't make a "big four" for Jimmy. In the preshow interviews, he talks about it as being on par with Cincinnati as far as "where it all started" in every single one. I think it's clearly Cincinnati, Atlanta, Great Woods and a pick 'em for number four.

[Cuervo]

Well I usually don't chime in on these kind of topic because its soooo objective. BUT.... i'm a little "lubed up" (no posting while drunk).
I would say what decade??? Things have changed over the years. For the 00s I would say

Atlanta
Greatwoods
Dallas
Tampa

Just an opinion. These are some GREAT memories