Welcome to our annual tiki bar tailgate at the Jimmy Buffett concert! Neither rain, nor heat, nor 60 hour work weeks will keep us from cranking up the blender and getting our parrot head vibe on ~~~
We arrived in an afternoon thunderstorm and waited for it to pass, before we were able to set up. It cleared off pretty quickly and we were fine the rest of the afternoon. First up, a frozen Cinco Mint Margarita from the cordless Margaritaville blender! We’ve used this blender for years now ~ it’s basically a cordless power tool that makes drinks ~ and it’s always a hit with the tailgating neighbors. 🙂
Bluwaterguy has bartender duty and, yes, we set up the bar on the tailgate. All the tailgate bar stuff stores in a Margaritaville Cargo bag and a box. Everything for mixing and blending, but nothing breakable ~ so we just pull it out and set it up.
I pulled this tailgate menu and table set-up together literally overnight. My picnic inventory and storage system makes it pretty easy to know what’s needed and get it quickly bagged up ~ and the hula girl mascot made it one more year.
Tequila lime chicken sliders, pasta salad, spicy slaw, chips, salsa, fruit, guacamole, and chewy blondie bars ~ and we grazed away the afternoon!
Set up to eat, drink, relax and make friends for the afternoon!
And the chicken sliders! The tequila lime marinade has lots of flavor and makes the chicken very tender. I used thin sliced chicken cutlets, halved for the small slider buns. We grilled the chicken just before leaving the house and the sandwiches stayed warm in an insulated carrier. A perfect small-sized sammie ~~~
These chewy blondie bars are super easy recipe from my grandmother, and were a hit with the surrounding neighbors. Bluwaterguy likes the corner pieces best. 🙂
Then we stowed everything in the truck bed and headed in for the show ~~~
This was the second year at the Gwinnett arena, and though I’ve always enjoyed outdoor Buffett shows, I have to say it’s nice to have air-conditioning after being out in the heat all afternoon!
Jimmy is featuring different albums during the tour, and we got to hear tunes from HAVANA DAYDREAMING’, along with BANANA WIND and BAROMETER SOUP – several songs from each that I’ve never heard in a live show. Here’s the set list from our Atlanta show ~~~
Bubba looks just a little different from that album cover 40 years ago. The band has over 650 songs in their catalog and 105 they can do without rehearsal. Just, wow ~ that’s a lot of music over the years. For this tour, fans can go online to vote for a tune in each city ~ one that hasn’t been played live in the past ten years. The vote getter for our show was BAREFOOT CHILDREN IN THE RAIN from BAROMETER SOUP ~ especially appropriate given the afternoon rainstorm and all the folks out splashing around in the parking lot before the show!
The video screen was back this year (and I still love it) ~ and can you guess this song?
How about a hint ~~~
Or a bunch of hints ~ all together now, fins up ~ left, right, left, right ~
After a quick intermission to change the stage set-up, a smaller group from the band came back for what Jimmy called a bluegrass set ~ complete with his sequined Nashville tour jacket.
Jimmy talked about losing his friend Glenn Frey from The Eagles earlier this year, and he told a few stories about being neighbors with Glenn in Laurel Canyon back in the day.
And then the band played GYPSIES IN THE PALACE, that Jimmy wrote with Glenn Frey and Will Jennings ~
And then took it straight into a great cover of The Eagles TAKING IT EASY ~ and yes, we all sang along. Look how young Jimmy and Glenn were in that photo. RIP Glenn Frey,
Two of my faves ~ A PIRATE LOOKS AT FORTY and the Coral Reefers version of SOUTHERN CROSS ~
I swear only Jimmy can pull off a sequined tour jacket, jam shorts and bare feet ~ with a turquoise electric guitar.
Turning 70 this year, he’s still singing and playing all those tunes from memory, and he is the energizer bunny on stage.
I’ve lost track of how many Buffett shows I’ve seen over the years. We’re lucky that he comes to Atlanta every year. I know folks who drive a long way to see one of his concerts, or are still hoping to get there one day. There was a family group of six on the row in front of us ~ three adults, three kids, representing three generations ~ all singing, dancing and having a great time. That’s what it’s all about! Keep it up Bubba, there’s more yet to come ~ see ya next year!
Check out last year’s tiki bar tailgate 2015 here ~ with links to other years too. Fins up y’all ~~~
