 02 EMPIRE SHEPHERDS BUSH LONDON
JULY 5TH 2009
Jimmy
Buffet’s career spans forty years and he is a huge star in America
selling out national tours of 100,000 seat stadiums year after year. But
to those not familiar with his music he is virtually unknown in the UK.
But on a
balmy Sunday summers evening, London became a extension of the mythical
paradise that is Margaritaville, and Jimmy Buffett played his first UK
gig since 1997.
Buffett’s
fans are affectionately known as Parrottheads and they cover every
generation from toddlers to pensioners and every demographic in between.
They came to party and dressed in Hawaian shirts, grass skirts, parrot
shaped hats, shark hats, bikini’s, and the key element was the feel
good music that Jimmy Buffett produces.
 Stepping
on to the stage at 8.15, he appeared genuinely touched by the welcome
the 2,600 capacity audience gave him and The Coral Reefer Band which is
a great bunch of musicians and backing singers with a broad history of
their own.
The
first few numbers suffered from sound problems and it appeared to take
at least three numbers to get the balance right. From where I was
standing about 4 metres from the stage I felt that the sound mix would
have benefitted from an additional bit of P.A. directed in towards the
fans at the front and in the standing area of the stalls. I did struggle
to hear clarity on Buffett’s Vocals for a large proportion of the gig.
However, the Parrottheads around me were singing every word to every
song.
 All the
favourites were in the set which covered 26 numbers and at 2 hours and
twenty minutes the audience got every penny’s worth of their £37.50
ticket money.
Highlights
for me were Changes In Latitude,
Changes In Attitude, Come Monday, Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw,
Cheeseburger In Paradise, It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere. Buffet’s
interaction with the audience was tremendous and many so called stars of
today could learn many a thing about appreciating the people who pay
their bills from this 64 year old who gives 200% during his live
performances.
The
favourites came thick and fast with Brown
Eyed Girl, Volcano, Southern Cross, A Pirate Looks at Forty, One
Particular Harbour.The signature song Margaritaville
was a particular favourite of mine
followed by the fantastic crowd participation number Fins.
The
audience cried out for more and Buffett and his band returned to the
stage for 4 encores. His version of Warewolves
Of London was brilliant, followed by his classic song We Are The People Our Parents Warned Us About, then a great audience
participation version of the Beatles Yellow Submarine before finishing the evening off with an acoustic
performance of He Went To Paris.
I was a
Jimmy Buffett Virgin, I’ve liked his music for almost 10 years but
never thought that I’d have the opportunity to see him perform live in
the UK. The Parrottheads are the friendliest bunch of fans I’ve ever
had the pleasure of being at a gig with. So much so that I came home
having made some new friends who I hope to see in Paris at his only
other European gig on September 26th.
In
over thirty years of attending live music gigs and having seen many of
the great acts of the last four decades, this was outstandingly one of
the best. Not only for the music, but for the genuine friendliness of
all the fans that I met.
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