#he would only sing Jimmy Buffett and The Beach Boys

[sscrambledmeggss]

I think what irks me so much about Mr Schue, is that I know exactly what type of Florida tourist he would be.

[thethirdencore]

Eagles and Jimmy Buffett in Minneapolis, June 30, 2018

Here's my complete review of the Eagles concert at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN.

Now that I've gotten my thoughts together about Saturday's Eagles concert in Minneapolis, it's time to post about it!

First off, I want to mention that the venue of Target Field was... hectic, to say the least. There was seemingly one entrance to the whole stadium where everyone had to file through and go through bag checks and metal detectors. Apparently there were over 42,000 people at the show, so you can imagine the pace of just getting through the line to go in!

It was incredibly hot, surprisingly, for a Minnesotan summer day. Jimmy Buffett even called it "tropical." It would have been considered uncomfortable and almost unbearable if the anticipation of seeing the Eagles play hadn't set in. But, Jimmy Buffett came first as an opening act, and thankfully arrived promptly to the stage right at 7.

I'm no "Parrothead," but I found Jimmy and his Coral Reefer Band's set to be enjoyable. He played all of his recognizable hits, like "Cheeseburger in Paradise," "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes," "Come Monday," and "Margaritaville." He also played "Knee Deep" and "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," songs that were originally recorded with Zac Brown and Alan Jackson, respectively. I was also impressed with his cover of Crosby Stills and Nash's "Southern Cross," a crowd-pleaser that brought everyone together to sing along to the chorus, as well as Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl." He also included the live rarity "Gypsies in the Palace," which he attributed beforehand as a co-write with his late friend and former neighbor, Glenn Frey.

Walking around the stadium and seeing the droves of fans, I found it striking that so many of them had on Margaritaville t-shirts and parrot hats. One guy seated in my section was swinging his hips to "Fins" wearing a belly-baring tube top, a skirt, and a hat piled high with an assortment of fruits. He looked like the mascot for Chiquita bananas!

After reading the review of the show in the Pioneer Press, I was surprised that the reviewer called Jimmy's music "terrible." Are his lyrics filled with deep meaning? For the most part, no. But his music is something enjoyable that you can get up and sing along to. It's also the first show I've seen where the crowd bops beach balls back and forth throughout the whole stadium. Something about that was oddly appealing to me, even though I got hit in the face with an errant ball not just once, but twice. 😂 His set just gave off a chill, easygoing vibe that I think set up the Eagles show pretty well. And I'm sure Jimmy doesn't care one bit that the Pioneer Press called his music terrible... I'm sure he's laughing all the way to the bank, considering he's got a successful Broadway musical to his name, as well as Margaritaville retirement communities and his own Land Shark Lager beer.

FUN FACT: According to the Wikipedia article on "Parrotheads," Timothy B. Schmit was the one to coin the term during his tenure with the Coral Reefer Band.

Now, onto the Eagles set. They opened the show promptly at 9 PM with "Seven Bridges Road," which I thought was a great song for an opener; it was a song that I thought should have been in the set list for the History of the Eagles tour. The three remaining Eagles' voices meshed with new voices Vince Gill and Deacon Frey perfectly, and it shows that they've really been working at perfecting the harmonies in this new phase of the band. The second song was "Take It Easy," which introduced Deacon Frey on lead vocals. Later when Don introduced Deacon to the crowd, he said, "We are particularly delighted, our hearts are full, and we are grateful to have Glenn's son Deacon up here with us." The crowd erupted into applause as Deacon emerged into the spotlight to soak it all in for a few seconds, wearing a Minnesota Twins jersey with "Frey" emblazoned on the back. As the applause died down, Deacon thanked the crowd and went on to say that he had spent some time in Minnesota before, saying, "My dad used to take me fishing in Brainerd." Some can recall that Glenn played a concert with Deacon in Brainerd in 2008 at the Manhattan Beach Lodge. It was probably one of the first, if not the first time that Deacon took the stage with his dad publicly. Fast forward ten years, and that young man's playing in front of 42,000 people at Target Field! I'm sure Glenn would be so proud of how cool, calm, and collected Deacon is onstage! He delivered solid performances on "Already Gone" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling," and I honestly believe that he's perfectly capable of handling more of Glenn's songs in concert.

The third song was "One of These Nights," and I was honestly in awe that Don Henley could still hit those high notes almost spot-on, after all these years! Next up was "Take It To The Limit," which introduced Vince Gill on lead vocals, and, in my opinion, it was perfection. He seemed to hit all the high notes just right, and I would venture to say that it's the best I've seen the song performed since Randy Meisner sang lead vocals on it in the 70s.

Can we just talk about how great Vince Gill is for a second? Not only does the guy have the voice of an angel (seriously, look up his solo work if you aren't familiar with it), but he can keep up and hold his own playing guitar licks, too! I'm thrilled that he's playing with the Eagles now, because I've been a fan of his for a long time. His backing vocals add something special to the mix, too, especially on songs like "I Can't Tell You Why," where he's singing harmony to Timothy's lead vocals. Vince recorded his own version of "I Can't Tell You Why" for the Common Thread album of Eagles covers, and that's a great listen, too!

Some reviewers have said that Timothy's voice sounds "rougher" than it used to, but in my opinion, it still sounds really good. As I said before, Vince and Timothy's voices compliment each other well, and Timothy gave great performances of "I Can't Tell You Why" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive."

I was pleasantly surprised to hear a track from Long Road Out of Eden played at this show, with Deacon and Don trading lead vocal duties on "How Long." I actually captured a video of the full song, so I'll post that soon. It also shocked me that Don didn't sing as many songs as he used to during this tour, but instead chose to stay in the background, playing drums. I suppose this is all by design, to get the audience acquainted to the new faces in the band, but I still missed hearing him sing songs like "The Long Run" and "Victim of Love." Still, his live renditions of "Witchy Woman," "Life in the Fast Lane," and "Those Shoes" can't be beat!

Another welcomed surprise was the addition of a Vince Gill solo song to the mix, "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away." Vince traded a few guitar licks with Joe Walsh and Steuart Smith, and the audience ate it up. I heard a guy in the stands behind me yell, "Atta boy, Vince!" Atta boy, indeed.

Speaking of guitar riffs, I should mention that this latest incarnation of the band has not just one or two, but THREE skilled guitar players between Joe, Vince, and Steuart. I have no other words to describe Joe's playing on Saturday except that he kicked ass! In my opinion, he's got to be one of the greatest guitar players of all time, and it still shows to this day when he just blows everyone away with his guitar licks. From "Funk #49" to "Rocky Mountain Way," Joe had the audience up and energized!

Just to mention a few random tidbits:

•Don began the show by saying, "We are gonna play about two and a half hours of music for you... because we can!" 👏 👏 👏 I was so relieved to hear that the Eagles are still a band that plays 25 awesome songs every night!

•The horn section is back in action! They played a big part in the performance of "Funk #49" and the instrumental horn introduction to "Hotel California."

•Since I mentioned "Hotel California," I'll mention that NOTHING beats the sound of 42,000 people singing right along with Don, and the rhythm of that fantastic guitar duel between Joe and Steuart... absolutely nothing!

•The screen graphics for this tour are pretty cool. Songs that had graphics that stood out to me were "Witchy Woman" and "Hotel California." Both gave off a creepy-in-a-good-way vibe, with "Witchy Woman" panning past scraggly-looking trees and barbed wire fences in a night lit by a full moon, and "Hotel California" passing through the empty, tiled corridors of the mysterious hotel. My description doesn't do it justice... just go see a show to see it in person!

•A photo of Glenn was projected on the screen at the end of "Peaceful Easy Feeling," and I came close to crying. Not out of sadness, totally, but for the fact that Deacon was up on stage, doing such a great job of keeping his dad's legacy alive.

•The main difference I noticed between this show and the one I had seen when Glenn was alive was how much I missed Glenn's jokes. Now the joking is almost solely Joe's thing, and I miss hearing, "This was written for my first wife, Plaintiff," before "Lyin' Eyes," among other things.

•I also miss Glenn's band intros. We all know that Glenn was an illustrious master of ceremonies at Eagles shows, and he always took the time to introduce each and every member of the band, along with where they were from.

All things considered, the Eagles still know how to put on a good show, even without Glenn. Moving forward with Deacon and Vince singing Glenn's songs is keeping his legacy alive for future generations of Eagles fans. And while things will never be quite the same without Glenn, I'm sure glad that these guys chose to continue playing together, "because (they) can," and I can't wait to attend another show!

[thepeanutymermaid]

Margaritaville

Allison - “Do you know who Jimmy Buffett is?”

Me - “Yea, he sings that shaker of salt song.”

Allison - “So then you’re definitely not a Parrothead then huh?”

Me - “What’s a Parrothead?”

Allison - Face Plant.

That conversation happened more than 5 years ago on the night I met one of my best friends, Allison. We had a lot in common right off the bat, and became instant friends. We both loved The Rocky Horror Picture Show, celebrating Halloween, relaxing at the the beach, dancing to 80′s music, being fabulous fruit flies, and most importantly... Alcohol. In ALL forms.

When it came to anything outside the realm of 80′s music, we had varied tastes. When we were hanging out by the pool or at the beach, we would often fight over the radio. Whoever got to the radio first would listen to their music and torture the other. This is how I was truly introduced to Jimmy Buffett.

Allison is a Parrothead. She loves Jimmy Buffett more than a fat kid loves calories. She knows every word of every song, and the underlying stories behind the songs. During the summer of 2013, we listened to Jimmy Buffett over and over and over and over.... Some of his songs started to grow on me, and I found myself no longing feeling tortured when Jimmy came on. Allison told me that we needed to go to a Jimmy Buffett concert together so that I could truly understand what a Parrothead was. She convinced me that I would have a ton of fun, and that all his concerts were just huge tailgate parties. Who doesn’t love a tailgate party? So I promised Allison that we would go see Jimmy Buffett together as soon as he came again. My husband Sean was less than thrilled, but even he agreed to go.

January 2014 Jimmy announces an April tour date in Tampa, Florida. Allison and her fiance’ were only four months away from getting married. The date was set for April 26th and Jimmy Buffet was scheduled for April 19th. Only one week before their wedding day. Sean and I decided that the best wedding present for Allison and her fiance’ Steve would be concert tickets to Buffett; It would also be a little present for myself.

January 2014 - April 2014 Who knew there could be so much planning involved in attending a concert!? Allison and I bought straw hats, plastic signs, margarita shaped sunglasses, flowery leis, a palm tree shaped cooler, sunscreen, and giant margarita glasses to drink from. Allison created tacky hats made from straw and blow up tropical creatures. We bought several pounds of ice, 2 cases of beer, and a couple bottles of liquor. We packed hot dogs and hamburgers, a portable grill, a table and chairs, condiments, plates, utensils, and we even remembered to bring a trash bag. I felt like we were going on some tacky tourist camping excursion. Allison made a Jimmy Buffett playlist, and I made sure to pack along my mermaid tail. Fins was one of the only songs I really knew, and Allison said I would fit right in with my tail.

April 19th The Concert. We loaded up my husband’s F-150, and plugged in our Jimmy playlist. We arrived at the fairgrounds around 1:00pm. It was an extremely overcast day for April in Florida, but it shielded us from the heavy sun. Our only complaint for the weather was how terribly windy is was outside.

We set up shop about a mile from the amphitheater, but made sure to park close enough to the port-a-potty’s since beer makes me pee. We had a little trouble with our tailgate decorations because of the heavy wind, but overall, it was a perfect scene. After everything was all set up, Allison started making liquor drinks for us in our giant margarita glasses. Mine was super strong, but I figured we had arrived fairly late to the tailgating party, so I needed to make up for lost time. One of the event staff volunteers noticed our mega bottle of vodka, and asked us if we would sneak him some vodka in a water bottle so he could drink it with his soda. We were already off to a great start, and making friends!

We sat at our tailgate for about 2 hours carrying on and watching people in crazy outfits walk past us. I decided to put my mermaid tail on over my pants just for fun. The more I drank, the friendlier I got! I started waving my tail around and singing at the top of my lungs “Fins to the left, fins to the right”. People walking by were snapping pictures of me in my mermaid tail, and my crazy straw hat.

Allison made several drinks for us, and they were getting stronger and stronger. Eventually I had to slide out of my mermaid tail, and make a trip to the port-a-potty. The line was over 20 minutes long, and miserable. Everyone else  was still at the tailgate laughing and carrying on, and I was stuck in the potty line -- with no drink. Then a man with a rolling cooler came by. He was passing out jello shots! I took several and stuffed several more in my bra to bring back to the group. Everyone was thankful, and I think I even inspired Sean and Steve to “break the seal” and head to the pottys for more jello shots.

When we were all empty bladdered, Allison decided she wanted to take a walk around the fairgrounds, and scope out other people’s tailgates. We refilled our giant margarita glasses a fourth time, and asked some nice Parrothead’s nearby to watch our stuff.

Walking around the fairgrounds in the hours before a Jimmy Buffett concert is almost indescribable. It is an alcoholics dreamland. You really have to SEE it to really understand. Even though Allison had spent the past three months trying to prepare us what it was like, no amount of preparation would have been sufficient. Parrotheads are truly a different breed of human.

We saw... Trailer beds transformed into fully functional tiki bars, complete with bar stools, beer on tap, and shelves full of liquors. Kiddie pools filled with sand,  water and palm trees. Truck beds made into mini wading pools. Slip and slides made from tarps. Jimmy Buffett themed prize wheels with free shots as prizes. A totem pole covered in women’s bras. Grown men wearing shark costumes, grass skirts and coconut bras. A giant beer pong match made from trashcans that were painted like Solo cups. And of course... Boobs. Everywhere boobs.

Each time we stopped at a prize wheel, we won free shots. Each time we passed a new tailgate, we were handed a shot. Each time we made a new Parrothead friend, we were handed a shot. By the end of our walk, none of us could see straight. Well, none of us except Allison. She had already mentally prepared for the plethora of free shots and was trained to say no to most of them. She was in much better shape than the rest of us. Walking back to our tailgate was a bit of a blur.

Pictured: Shots.

We decided that the next best thing to do was eat something. We started setting up the grill to make our hot dogs and hamburgers, but in our drunken state, we could not focus on anything. We wanted to eat so badly, but we were too drunk to play with a gas grill. Allison was the most sober, but even she felt that she was not coherent enough to man the grill. We even contemplated eating the hot dogs raw, but after much deliberation, we decided against it. Sean took another potty break, and we kept on drinking.

Pictured: I fell down while trying to locate the cooking utensils

Pictured: Drunks in their natural habitat attempting to drink water

After what seemed like days... Sean returned! He had two men with him. Apparently Sean was being friendly in the potty line when he started talking to these guys. One of them was wearing  a Florida Gator shirt which is what sparked their conversation. Sean, realizing they were by themselves, decided to lure them back to our tailgate. Sean had promised them food. He failed to mention that we needed THEM to cook it! Guy 1 was Gator Joe.. Guy 2 was Gator Mike. Gator Joe and Gator Mike were both married to women who were not into the Parrothead scene. They told us that every year when Jimmy Buffett came to town, they left the wives and taxied their way to the fairgrounds together. They brought their own chairs with them and their own beers, but they didn't have a tailgating “set-up” like we did. After minimal convincing, Gator Joe and Gator Mike cooked our food for us!

Pictured: Gator Joe and Gator Mike... I have no idea which one is which...

After we finally got some food in our stomachs, we all sat around talking for a while (I think). It’s all a bit of a blur now. After my 6th or 7th trip to the 45 minute porta-potty line, I became fed up with the system and created my own! We opened the front and back door of my husbands truck, which was parked very close to another vehicle, and squatted in the grass. They say drinking alcohol removes all inhibitions... this is the perfect example of that.... Bare-assed, we peed, and we didn’t care who saw us. Gator Joe and Gator Mike were using truck potty too! That’s when things started to get weird....

One of the Gators, Mike or Joe, started asking my husband if he could sleep with me really quickly in the back of his truck! My darling husband in his drunken state didn’t want Gator Joe/Mike to be upset with him for saying no... So he told him “Well.. you’ll have to ask my wife”. He knew I would say no, so he was comfortable “pretending to give permission”. REALLY!? REALLY SEAN!? So Gator Whoever the Fuck he was, came up behind me whispering about how amazing it would be to jump in the backseat with him really quickly. “Don’t worry darlin’, your husband don’t mind!” That’s when we immediately started to pack up the tailgate and headed for the amphitheater. We left Gator Joe and Gator Mike in the dust...

The second half of the story takes place inside the amphitheater....

Allison was a professional Jimmy Buffett concert strategist. She had a plan of action that we were all to follow. No one was to stray from this plan! The men, Sean and Steve, were to go directly to the lawn to find us decent seats for when the show started. Allison and I were to go directly to the merchandise stand, buy our souvenirs, grab beers, and meet up with the boys 30-45 minutes before Jimmy would even take the stage. Well, as the saying goes... “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

Sean unknowingly gave me the rest of his cash for me to buy myself a (singular) t-shirt. Allison knows that losing cash is a bit of a specialty of mine. I am GREAT at losing money! Luckily, she took it from me until we got to the souvenirs. Sean and Steve proceeded to the lawn to get us the best lawn seats we could.

At the merch table, with my one drunk eye open, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to buy Sean a Jimmy Buffett shirt as well as myself! Allison allowed this because no one had told us we were not supposed to SPEND the cash! I just wasn’t supposed to LOSE it! Seventy dollars later, we ended up at the beer booth; spent an almost equal amount there. Then went for a pre-show potty break. Meanwhile... Sean and Steve are laying in the grass patiently waiting for us to arrive. Sean was so relaxed that he passed out. Steve must have gotten bored because he wandered off.

We couldn’t get hold of Sean and Steve had become lost in a drunken stupor. Allison and I decided to break up to search for them. I found Sean fairly quickly, and Steve reappeared shortly after that. We were all in the grass patiently waiting for Allison when we heard the crowd screaming for Jimmy Buffett! The concert had started and we were all in our places except for Allison. The only person in the group who actually wore the Parrothead title was still out searching for Steve. We had strayed from the plan. We were all too drunk to function....

When the Coral Reefer band started playing, there was no way to hear Allison when she called. Text messaged were delayed due to the 20,000 other people there who were using their cell phones. When the texts DID go through... we realized that Allison was one very angry Parrothead. She was searching for us for at least the first 3 songs Jimmy played. When she finally discovered our spots.. She was FUMING! All 3 of us had received a text from her stating, “I’ve been to 8 Jimmy Buffett Concerts, and this is the WORST ONE EVER! Thanks guys!”...

I don’t remember much of the concert. I had forgotten my glasses in the truck so I couldn’t SEE much of the concert either. I remember Jimmy was wearing a yellow shirt, because there was a jumbo-tron with a giant yellow blob on it. I assume that was Jimmy. I think I remember singing along and hand motioning to the Fins song. I KNOW someone was flying a drone over our heads because I was absolutely preoccupied watching it spin above our heads--Much like a cat watches a fly buzz around it’s head. Some ladies stole our awesome straw/tropical creature hats, and I think I spilled at least $30 worth of beer while swaying to the music. Allison eventually stopped being mad at us and I sang along to every song I knew.

That night I became a Parrothead.

I get it now. Being a Parrothead is not just a title. It’s a state of mind. It is a culture all on it’s own. It’s an identity. When you are walking through the fairgrounds at a Jimmy Buffett concert, everyone there is your family. Everyone is as drunk as you or worse. There are no fights, no brawls, just happy drunk people. Imagine Bob Ross creating a painting.. “Happy Little Trees in their Happy Little World”. That is what a Jimmy Buffett concert is like. Happy Little Drunks on their Happy Little “Island”.

Whether you like his music or not...