jimmy buffett's concert for the gulf coast

last night jimmy buffett and the coral reefer band played a free concert on orange beach, in gulf shores, alabama. the benefit for the gulf shore region battered by the bp oil spill was originally set for july 1, but had to be postponed because of concerns over hurricane alex. the show was broadcast live, commercial free, over cmt cable - and billed as "jimmy buffett & friends: live from the gulf coast."

because of the rescheduled appearance, the original list of friends was altered. kenny chesney and zac brown couldn't appear last night. but buffett brought on a few local favorites to expand the spectrum of sound on stage. he introduced singer-songwriter jesse winchester (who performed "rhumba man" and "mississippi, you're on my mind") and new orleans legend allen toussaint (who performed "yes we can, can") mid-way through the 90 minute performance

buffett took the opportunity to play up the oil spill and changed the lyrics to "margaritaville" when he declaimed, "it's all bp's fault!" he again toyed with the lyrics of his encore, "when the coast is clear." but the biggest surprise was the extended show beyond the 90 minute cmt broadcast window. buffett announced that there would be, and then played, more music after the live broadcast officially concluded.

if you missed the original broadcast on cmt, check the listings because cmt plans to rebroadcast the show!

here is the setlist:

the pascagoula run
one particular harbor
it's 5 o'clock somewhere
come monday
nobody from nowhere
son of a son of sailor
rhumba man
mississippi, you're on my mind
changes in latitude, changes in attitude
bama breeze
yes we can, can
cheeseburger in paradise
where the boat leaves from
a pirate looks at 40
back where i came from
fins
margaritaville

encore:

when the coast is clear

jimmy buffett "buffet hotel" review

shades of the doors and "morrison hotel" with jimmy buffett's new album, "buffet hotel" - a self titled hotel inspired album :D the spelling of the east african hotel (bamaki, mali) is short one letter - but it's close enough. the "buffet hotel de la gare" (its full name) was the site of some late into the night jams that buffett played during his trip to the "festival in the desert" in timbuktu during 2007. while the hotel may have been in africa, and inspired the title, the music is all margaritaville.

in fact, "surfing in a hurricane," set in alabama of all places, is buffett's first surfer song - complete with the dick dale rifts - and serves to revs up the album's 12 cuts. then there's the uptempo rift on "summerzcool" and the chatty "a lot to drink about," in line with traditional buffett numbers. and "big top" is all parrotheads and the circus-like concert experience. but buffet adds slide guitar and third world tones to the title cut, "hotel buffet" - and it works. there's a lot of sound and ambiance on that 6 minute train station tune!

i must say, the new album release was perfectly timed for me. i picked it up less than 2 days back from cancun - and 10 days removed from having finished his old chestnut "tales from margaritaville." not only was i in a perfect jimmy buffet state of mind, but holiday-wise, the dylan cover of "christmas island" off his newest album (seriously) had been rattling around my head for weeks. now if the warm weather would oblige and stick around...

aside from the good music, the release includes a 24 page booklet with song by song commentaries from buffett. that's a startling contrast to the non-existent liner notes tom petty's 4 cd "live anthology" (petty included extensive material in the box set version). the booklet is a great perk for fans. i find it interesting to read the back stories to the creative process. just the genesis of the title cut adds a new dimension to the album! it's hard to believe that it's been 3 years since buffett's last studio material!

it goes without saying that "hotel buffet" is a must get for parrotheads. but even for the the occasional fan, there's plenty on the album worth listening to - so don't pass it up.

for a guy born on christmas day, here's an early "happy birthday" to you. and thanks jimmy, for the early christmas present for us.

jimmy buffett "a pirate looks at fifty" book review

jimmy buffett's "a pirate looks at fifty," is more than 10 years old and buffet has now eased into his 60's. it's a long book, coming in at 420 pages. but even if it had a 100 fewer pages, it would still be a long book. don't get the wrong impression, i did enjoy the book. but, anyone venturing to read it, ought set aside a good chunk of time. it took me 3 weeks of commuting time (rides to and from the city on the metronorth) to get through, and i finished last night while i proctored the final exam for my grad students.

"pirate looks at fifty" is really two books, an autobiography and a travelogue. the autobiography is awesome. i found buffett's recounting of his childhood in the south, how he learned to play guitar (and become a musician), his hardscrabble days at college(s), and the early days of his career riveting stuff. the travel stories, on the other hand, were pedestrian. one story about the fish that got away is fine - but a dozen of them - too much. pages of what he carries in his flight bag? way too much.

but fishing and flying are this guy's passions (outside of family), so it's easy to forgive the non-existent editing when he lashed together the bits, pieces, and minutia of the three week trip he and his family took across central and south america (plus the caribbean) to celebrate his 50th birthday - christmas, 1996. he loves to sail, loves to fly, and loves the combination so much that he even owns a seaplane (in addition to a garden-variety jet). buffet taught himself celestial navigation on the off-chance that modern electronic wonders (and gps especially) failed him mid-voyage!

while i don't consider myself a parrot head (being a dead head is work enough), i do enjoy buffett's music. he's a great entertainer, and that skill carried over to his story telling. buffett has a breezy and, at times, self-deprecating writing style that keeps the reader interested. what else accounts for me getting through all those "damn the fish got away again" stories. maybe because i loved to fish so much as a kid growing up in sheepshead bay.

the book is (seriously) too long - and he did fess up to that at the outset, "i don't know when to stop telling the story!" it's ironic, however, that he related the genesis of this book as a trade-off to not having another work of fiction in him at the time: "i wasn't able to take on the task of a big book. i didn't know what i was going to write about, if anything at all." he did wind up writing a big (and enjoyable) book after all.