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Review and Photos by Terry Mayer
Even though the weather was overcast and the threat of rain loomed heavily over
Alpine Valley last weekend, Parrotheads still flocked in droves to the Summerzcool Tour to see the
biggest kahuna himself - Jimmy Buffett.
Despite the colder then normal weather fans were dressed up in shark suits,
coconut bras and hats depicting their favorite song titles. It seemed like everyone had a drink
in their hand and sported an Hawaiian shirt on their back. Plinko games were
everywhere along with swimming pools filled with water and the ubiquitous limbo contest in the
sand. This is why Buffett is such a huge draw, not as much for the stale hits as the middle aged people reliving their youths beach party bingo style. Buffett has built a career on milking and recycling a very limited repertoire to phenomenal success.
As the rain drizzled down slowly, the show kicked off with Buffett coming on stage kicking
an assortment of beach balls around while he song "Lage Nom Al." "Coconut Telegraph" and
"Summerzcool" (with Glenn Wolf) followed shortly thereafter. The rain didn't stop the fans as they sang along
with "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" (again with Glenn Wolf) and "Manana." While the music, bursting with it's "no worries" laid back attitude, has lyrics that somehow still weave their magic like a great storyteller. Even if it's the same story being told over and over again.
Crowd favorites "Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes," "Volcano" (with Ilo
Ferreira on vocals), and "Cheeseburger In Paradise" kept the summer beach party
going strong (did someone turn on the sunshine?). Other Buffett classics included "Son Of A Son Of A Sailor," and "One
Particular Harbor." The band followed with "A Lot to Drink About" (with Glenn
Worf mixing in with the "Why Don't We Get Drunk" verse).
After the intermission, Buffett came out onto stage (this time with a jacket on)
and sprightly strummed the ukulele on "One Love" reprise. The second half proved just as fun as
the first with "Frank and Lola," "Gypsies In The Palace" and my personal favorite
"Southern Crosses." Parrotheads were treated to "Margaritaville" (of course) but
this time with a lost verse, and ended the first encore with "We Are The People Our
Parents Warned Us About," "Yellow Submarine" and
and last encore "Growing Older But Not Up."
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