Detroit with Lionel my .02

[CNSBA2]

Well since I am a totally shameless shill for JB and co, i will never give an honest review of a show, so here is your dishonest review of Detroit, But remember a dishonest person is the most honest person you know, cause you can always count on them to be dishonest.
Capt. Jerk Sparrow.


The Great- The value, for your ticket dollar, the entertainment value was excellent, even though some may disagree, Lionel Richie is not someone a lot of us in our 30s got to see, so it was a chance to see him, for that it adds value to the ticket price, The set list as always, and the show itself, as always he did what he says he is going to do , and that is sing for you. Set list was good but I like them all. Gypsies was a pleasant surprise as was Sam Cooke , I miss Fruitcakes tho.

The Good- Courteous staff at the Venue, spacious, and tolerable prices on everything, usually this is a sticky point but the venue was very spacious, the staff was very nice, aisles had plenty of walking room, very few beach balls knocking my cup over, and prices were good on food, bottled water, - Below regular prices at a concert, Pitt 1 bottle water is 6.00 Det, 4.50, better food also. Video board was awesome, but the stadiums scoreboard would have been amazing had they been able to use it somehow.

The Rest- Parking very expensive & Detroit is not exactly the place to leave your car in a place you are not sure about. The stage was about 11 feet off the ground, the first 6-10 rows were movie theater style neck crane seats, sorta looking way up you lost that smaller amphitheater appeal. Shows were on Vegas time, Lionel played about an hour, Jimmy got on stage just before 10p. Show ended just before midnight , Jimmy and Utley seemed to not be on the same page somewhat, esp during Gypsies, and Get drunk/ all night long. I think Utley was trying to hurry the show along. Mac was not very vocal during the show.

Still a great show. For people who wanna complain, please do me a favor and don't go next year .. I need the space to park.... Fins UP
A few Pix
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 1abc9bab37

[Candyman]

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[ParrotHead67]

Great pictures. Where were you seated?

[Dr.Corona]

Well since I am a totally shameless shill for JB and co, i will never give an honest review of a show, so here is your dishonest review of Detroit, But remember a dishonest person is the most honest person you know, cause you can always count on them to be dishonest.
Capt. Jerk Sparrow.


The Great- The value, for your ticket dollar, the entertainment value was excellent, even though some may disagree, Lionel Richie is not someone a lot of us in our 30s got to see, so it was a chance to see him, for that it adds value to the ticket price, The set list as always, and the show itself, as always he did what he says he is going to do , and that is sing for you. Set list was good but I like them all. Gypsies was a pleasant surprise as was Sam Cooke , I miss Fruitcakes tho.

The Good- Courteous staff at the Venue, spacious, and tolerable prices on everything, usually this is a sticky point but the venue was very spacious, the staff was very nice, aisles had plenty of walking room, very few beach balls knocking my cup over, and prices were good on food, bottled water, - Below regular prices at a concert, Pitt 1 bottle water is 6.00 Det, 4.50, better food also. Video board was awesome, but the stadiums scoreboard would have been amazing had they been able to use it somehow.

The Rest- Parking very expensive & Detroit is not exactly the place to leave your car in a place you are not sure about. The stage was about 11 feet off the ground, the first 6-10 rows were movie theater style neck crane seats, sorta looking way up you lost that smaller amphitheater appeal. Shows were on Vegas time, Lionel played about an hour, Jimmy got on stage just before 10p. Show ended just before midnight , Jimmy and Utley seemed to not be on the same page somewhat, esp during Gypsies, and Get drunk/ all night long. I think Utley was trying to hurry the show along. Mac was not very vocal during the show.

Still a great show. For people who wanna complain, please do me a favor and don't go next year .. I need the space to park.... Fins UP
A few Pix
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 1abc9bab37

I hope you're not mistaking by critiquing for complaining. It's a fact that we got 25 songs....2 less than all the other "Lounging At The Lagoon" tour stops so far. Make no mistaica, I'd MUCH rather have been sitting in the stands @ Comerica listening to 25 songs rather than sitting home Saturday night listening to no songs, but thought I'd lend my 2 cents to the Comerica/Buffett experience in the "Who's Going To...thread.
Secondly, No question the pholks at Pine Knob aren't perfect....but if they added another 25 porto-johns in the parking lot they damn near would be!
Awesome pics BTW!!

[CNSBA2]

Naww i will never complain about a show I purchase tickets for, Like my old man used to say "you shot it , you eat it" , i chose to buy tickets, I didn't even really notice the titlist was shortened, but you lose count or in my case dont count at all until you see it on the CT thread. The man is in his mid 60's and puts on a great show... You cant ask for more .

[ParrotheadCMC]

My 2 cents is this....I know Jimmy runs on Island time. After 16 shows, I'm well aware of that. However, the fact he didn't come on till nearly 10pm really made for a different show. My crew should have tailgated another 2 hours!

I come into the show, well drunk. I'm ready to bounce up and down and hear Hot, Hot, Hot. I knew Lionel was opening, so we headed for the stadium at 7:30, not really caring to hear his setlist but wanting to get to our seats (on the field) before Jimmy. As I sat (yes sat) through the hour of Lionel, who started late, I really started to get p***. An hour of beach balls smacking me on the head, and hour of songs mixed with WAY too many ballads, that were putting me to sleep. An our of people walking in and our of our row and frequently stepping or falling on me (if you were on the field, you no how tight those seats were, they took a page from UM w/ how they packed us in).

Thank GOD there is no noise ordinance at Comerica, because I was about to be livid if I got shorted on Jimmy. As it was, we did not get 2 songs, and got All Night Long twice (a jip in my book, but okay). FTR, when Jimmy closed out w/ it, way better then Lionel's set w/ it.

Jimmy was right when he said he knows his crowd. We don't need an opener. A few song by Ilo, sure, or way back in the day when Club Trini used to do that (never actually seen it, just heard about it), fine. But to mix genre w/ Lionel and to go on late and that long, a BIG downer!

My protocol for Buffett has always been to pull out no stops tailgating, then sober up during the show w/ water. Well you can bet coming in at 7:30 and leaving at 12am, I was well sober.

Jimmy kudos for you for another great show. I can't fathom looking out at a packed stadium, from row 26 it was amazing. However, Olympia Entertainment/Comerica, let the man do his own show! Don't tack on openers.

FTW, other then the bums harassing us (and some where VERY ruthless, rude, and threatening), I liked the early tailgate start! However the assholes that refused to let me BUY my friend's spot who was stuck on 94 in traffic for over an hour, can s*** it!

[CNSBA2]

Great pictures. Where were you seated?

Section BB, Row 1 seats 4 & 5

[CNSBA2]

My 2 cents is this....I know Jimmy runs on Island time. After 16 shows, I'm well aware of that. However, the fact he didn't come on till nearly 10pm really made for a different show. My crew should have tailgated another 2 hours!

Jimmy kudos for you for another great show. I can't fathom looking out at a packed stadium, from row 26 it was amazing. However, Olympia Entertainment/Comerica, let the man do his own show! Don't tack on openers.

FTW, other then the bums harassing us (and some where VERY ruthless, rude, and threatening), I liked the early tailgate start! However the assholes that refused to let me BUY my friend's spot who was stuck on 94 in traffic for over an hour, can s*** it!

Yeah notice i did not mention the opening act from Poison-well Louisiana , I would rather have the dude with the whistle, and basketball on his back. The venue tacks them on ? They said Jimmy invited em... My friend in Nola said she has never heard of em which is odd since she is a club singer.

[Tiki Torches]

I didn't attend the show but pairing Lionel Richie with Buffett seems like a mismatch if ever there was one. Probably because I've never associated Lionel's style of easy listening type music with anything Buffett's ever done. I know he's also done his fair share of uptempo tunes but the words "Adult Contemporary" (a radio format) are the first thing to come to mind whenever I hear his name. Probably because as a former radio announcer that used to work at such a station, I had to sit through "Hello" (and similar songs) one too many times.

[LIPH]

My 2 cents is this....I know Jimmy runs on Island time. After 16 shows, I'm well aware of that. However, the fact he didn't come on till nearly 10pm really made for a different show. My crew should have tailgated another 2 hours!

Jimmy kudos for you for another great show. I can't fathom looking out at a packed stadium, from row 26 it was amazing. However, Olympia Entertainment/Comerica, let the man do his own show! Don't tack on openers.

FTW, other then the bums harassing us (and some where VERY ruthless, rude, and threatening), I liked the early tailgate start! However the assholes that refused to let me BUY my friend's spot who was stuck on 94 in traffic for over an hour, can s*** it!

Yeah notice i did not mention the opening act from Poison-well Louisiana , I would rather have the dude with the whistle, and basketball on his back. The venue tacks them on ? They said Jimmy invited em... My friend in Nola said she has never heard of em which is odd since she is a club singer.

If you're talking about Roddie Romero and the Hub City All Stars, Buffett probably did invite them. They pened for him when he did the free show on the beach at Gulf Shores 2 years ago. Roddie (minus his band) also joined Buffett on stage for Margaritaville during that show, maybe another song or 2, I don't remember.

[dv727]

Fan for 30+ years, but only my 2d show. Previous one was at Pine Knob.

The show itself was great beyond words. A selfish, minor disappointment came when he didn't perform "Older But Not Up" (a personal favorite), but that's what I get for reading the set lists, and it wasn't a big deal.

Now for the not good--Comerica and Detroit. I'm not an "anti-Detroit" (have both lived and worked there) person, but it's just not the place. We had a hotel room, and met up with other family who came down to set up tailgate. There were several (10 or more) parking lots scattered in the vicinity of the Stadium. Most, if not all, are owned by Olympia Entertainment. People who walked from one lot to another with an open beer or a drink in a cup, whether it was to hook up with friends or just check things out were frequently hit with Open Intoxicant tickets when they crossed a street--typical Urban $cam by an inept city government. (At Pine Knob you could stroll the lot without fear of arrest.) For those of us who shelled out serious money for seats on the floor, we were directed to enter at gates away from the main entrance, then once inside directed to a spot very near the main entrance before we could go to the floor. The wristbands that were supposed to speed entry to the floor after entry did not--you still had to wait in a line at each stairway and show your ticket. "Security" was comprised of low-grade thieves--one poor guy who had some very small Swiss Army knife was told he could surrender it (and go back through a horrendous line) or take it back to his car. He decided to surrender the knife. The "security" guy disposed of it--in his pocket. The floor seats were less than low quality and very unstable. The beer stands on the floor were sold out of Landshark before Jimmy hit the stage. While attempting to get to the porta johns on the floor and trying to find the end of the line, I was yelled at by "security" to "keep moving." When I couldn't get five feet (another "security" type was in the way) the same clown grabbed my arm and yelled louder. When I told him HIS co-worker was blocking the way, he said he "wasn't talking to me," even though he, AT THAT TIME had hands on me. As far as the seats went--20 rows @ serious money (and Olympia Entertainment's scalping "convenience fee") were not as good as twice as far back (at less money) at Pine Knob.

Make no mistake--Jimmy was worth the money. Next time, it will be Pine Knob, or Cincinnati or somewhere similar. It will never be Comerica again. Ever.

[nutmeg]

I did not particularly like the Comerica location since it is not very convenient for us, but I did enjoy Lionel Richie. While it was an odd paring to Buffett, if I'm given the chance to hear an artist I like and have not seen in person before, I'm going to enjoy it. Since I don't drink, I had no problem with losing my buzz during his set.

The floor seats were folding chairs that had been fastened together with plastic ties so they were pretty impossibly close together. Someone in our row brought nail clippers and our whole row freed ourselves up a little space to breathe.

No fault to Comerica, but all the ramps to I75 were closed by the park meaning we, who are not familiar with downtown detroit, had to wander about trying to find our way home. A well posted detour would have helped. By the time we finally got out of the parking lot, traffic and Detroit, we would have been home from Pine Knob.

The resetting of the stage between Lionel and Jimmy did seem to take forever, possibly because we hadn't used the nail clippers yet and were sitting elbow to elbow with our neighbors. The employees were extremely polite to us. Took pictures when asked nicely. We also thought it odd that they routed us entirely around the stadium to get in and the front entrance would have been closer. No problem except that our friend had undergone knee surgery recently and we really weren't expecting to make her walk that far after we had already spent a good bit of time walking around the lots. I thought it humorous that they gave us wrist bands to show we were on the floor, but you not only had to show your ticket to get down from the food court, but get your purse reinspected as well. Since it was inspected on the way in, I figured I was done with that and zipped it up after buying food. Of course with my hands full, they wanted me to open my purse. The purse was so tiny you it could not have held anything dangerous. It barely fit my wallet and phone. These are all petty complaints and nothing to do with Jimmy, but might give those attending a future stadium concert some ideas what to expect.

the worst part for me was that I couldn't understand a word Jimmy said. I thought the sound was awful. (Lionel had come across fine) But Jimmy's was extra loud and distorted. Someone else who was sitting on the other side of the floor said the sound was fine, but others around me said they couldn't understand either.

All in all a Jimmy concert is a great experience no matter what, but I wouldn't attend a concert there again. I missed seeing my friends in the parking lot and the beautiful shade trees and lovely grounds of Pine Knob.

I did enjoy seeing Comerica's s Tiger in the Buffett concert shirt. Oh and that was another disppointment. All the Tiger's gear shops were closed. I'm a big Tiger's fan and would love to have gotten some Tiger's goodies.

It was one of those I'm glad I did it, but wouldn't do it again things.....

[sandra88]

i just visited the account. sandra