In the past I\u2019ve always been a little sad this time of year… sad at the passing of summer. I\u2019ve always been a summer person. Maybe that\u2019s why I love Florida and the Caribbean… it\u2019s almost always summer there. Even in North Florida or areas of Southern California the warm days of summer pass. We take out our sweatshirts, jackets and put away our shorts and flip-flops. A sad time indeed<\/p>\n
But I\u2019ve started something of a tradition. Each year about the time the pumpkins start appearing all over town, Jimmy Buffett ends his tour with two weekend concerts in Sin City. For me, it\u2019s kind of a wake for the passing of summer. One last hurrah before the bleak cold days of winter set in.<\/p>\n
The weather in Sin City is still warm enough to go out to the pool and ogle all the sweet young things displaying their things for ogling. During the day on the Saturday of the concert, the official pre-concert party is held poolside at the Flamingo Hotel. Thousands… literally thousands of Parrotheads descend upon the pool for a day long last hurrah of summer. They come from all over to help me celebrate the passing of summer.<\/p>\n
The parrotheads all wear their hats and garb to celebrate. Anyone that has seen me on a cruise thinks that I wear some… ummmm… unusual tropical clothes. Well, that\u2019s nothing compared to the true parrotheads. A live band and a DJ playing island music start in the morning and go till 6 PM. All day long the parrotheads sing, dance, and have frozen concoctions to help them hang on. The accompanying pics will give you the flavor of what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n
This year the actual concert was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. After the hours of partying back at the Flamingo, the concert itself is almost anti-climatic. Just the same, I and nearly seventeen-thousand of my best friends descended upon the venue. And we were not disappointed. Jimmy played all the favorites and a handful of brand new songs from the new album, \u201cSongs from St. Somewhere\u201d. The tour was also the \u201cSongs from St. Somewhere Tour\u201d.<\/p>\n
I had nose-bleed tickets with seats almost as high up in the arena as you can get. I would like to say these were the \u201ccheap seats\u201d but at nearly $80 each, they are not cheap. It didn\u2019t matter. This is not a place where being down close makes much difference. We were all friends there just singing and dancin\u2019 in the isles. It was a celebration of Cheeseburgers in Paradise… changing your latitude & attitude… and finding that One Particular Harbor. It didn\u2019t matter where you sat; all of us parrotheads were taken to Margaritaville. Summer was extended for at least one more night.<\/p>\n
Click on any thumbnail to see a full size image.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t