Thousands of parrotheads pulled into West Palm Beach Saturday, all looking for that “One Particular Harbor”. They gathered in the parking lots hours before showtime, building make shift tiki bars and sharing “Boat Drinks”. Not a stranger in sight. It was as hot as a “Volcano”, the sky was blue and I remember thinking, man I love these “Floridays”, now someone fix this pirate a “Cheeseburger in Paradise” before I grow a “Pencil Thin Mustache”!
In short, the Buffett “Welcome to Fin Land” concert in West Palm was outstanding. Jimmy was clicking on all cylinders with topical adlibs, funny stories and he even cracked on himself for the now famous faceplant off the stage in Australia. My favorite adlib was when singing Fruitcakes, Buffett tossed in the lyric, “Fruitcakes getting f**ked by the oil tycoons”. Yes, Jimmy dropped the F-bomb and it sent the flocks of parrotheads into a roar.
The tailgating scene did not disappoint. We pulled through the gates a little after noon, and started setting up our plot of paradise. We met up with Carl from Conch Republic Bikinis before hitting the lots so we could waste away in Margaritaville together.
Carl was the proud owner of a huge luxurious tent. Yes past tense. This thing was huge, it was the Ritz-Carlton of tents . It had a cupola on top and extendable wings on two sides for additional shade. Wings indeed. Not long after we set it up a moderate wind gust picked the tent up and tossed it on to the car and parrotheads behind us. Sorry guys! Bent and broken, the tent was no more. Sorry to pour salt on the wound Carl, makes for a good story though!
The colorful and creative people in the lots were great as they always are. Everyone was extremely friendly, sharing food, rum, beer and games. Here are some photos of the fun.
Friendly Pirates
Umm, Nice Bird?
Shot Ski
Click here to see the rest of the photos on the RSR Facbook page.
As you can see by the photos, good times were had by the masses. One little thing that added a dash of spice to the tailgating was that Carl had a model show up to sport some of his bikinis and take photos with some of the interesting people and creative tailgate setups. You think that might have generated just a smidge of attention…umm, yeah. I even played flash blub carrying dude for a little bit, but was quickly distracted by a competitive game of corn hole and beers with two guys from Miami.
While I was walking into the concert fellow Castaway Craig S. recognized my ugly mug. Craig is an active commenter on the RSR Facebook page and as soon as he introduced himself I knew exactly who he was, even in my pineapple and rum state of mind. It was great to meet you and your friends/family Craig, enjoy the koozie mate.
I get through the gate of the Cruzan Amphitheater and find the closest beer vendor. I quickly grab two 24oz. Bud Lights and try to find my buddy JR who came in earlier. Difficult to do when carrying two jumbo beers and a paper ticket.
Jimmy was phenomenal, plain and simple. He sounded great, joked with the crowd and played some great great songs. Here is a clip of Buffett performing “Fins”.
Here is the set list from the concert. (Thank you BuffettWorld.com)
| Set: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Wino and I Know | ||
| 02 | Fruitcakes | ||
| 03 | Off to See the Lizard | ||
| 04 | Havana Daydreamin’ | ||
| 05 | It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere (w/Mac) | ||
| 06 | Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes | ||
| 07 | Life is Just a Tire Swing | ||
| 08 | Come Monday | ||
| 09 | Boat Drinks | ||
| 10 | Son of a Son of a Sailor | ||
| 11 | Pencil Thin Mustache | ||
| 12 | Cheeseburger in Paradise | ||
| 13 | One Particular Harbour | ||
| 14 | Use Me (Bill Withers Cover, Nadirah Sings, Jimmy takes a break) | ||
| 15 | Stranded on a Sandbar | ||
| 16 | Volcano | ||
| 17 | Treat Her Like a Lady | ||
| 18 | Margaritaville | ||
| 19 | The Great Filling Station Holdup | ||
| 20 | A Pirate Looks at Forty (Acoustic w/Jimmy and Mac) | ||
| 21 | The City (Jimmy and Mac trade verses) | ||
| 22 | School Boy Heart | ||
| 23 | Fins | ||
| 24 | Southern Cross | ||
| First Encore: | |||
| 25 | Brown Eyed Girl | ||
| 26 | Floridays | ||
| Second Encore: | |||
| 27 | Tin Cup Chalice (Solo Acoustic) |
As you can see he played many of the classic greats. Then ending with two of my all-time favorites, Floridays and an acoustic Tin Cup Chalice, you just can’t ask for anything better.
Barefoot and bald, Jimmy held us in his hand for over two hours and sent us home feeling high as a kite, minus the illegal drugs. I hope Jimmy never finds that salt shaker he misplaced many years ago, because as long as he keeps searching for it, we will keep helping him find it, and find ourselves along the way. Cheers to you Jimmy, the original Castaway.
If you were at the West Palm show we would love to hear what you thought.
Fins Up,
RumShopRyan
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About the Author: RumShopRyan
