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For them, Floriday's every day

By SEAN DALY
Published November 17, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Brian Cassella] Jimmy Buffett uses his guitar to take a swing at a beach ball that floated in from the crowd during his performance Thursday at the Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa.

TAMPA - You could make the argument (and probably start one, too) that Jimmy Buffett's presence at a Jimmy Buffett concert is no longer necessary.

Don't get me wrong: At a soldout Ford Amphitheatre Thursday, the 59-year-old beach bumillionaire gave more than 19,000 fans exactly what they craved: three hours of sea-breezy hits and good-time songs dedicated to boats, beaches, bars, etc.

It's just that over the course of 30-plus years, Parrotheads, much like Deadheads, have become almost entirely self-sufficient, a beyond-loyal flock that lives to party - and if their barefoot messiah is leading them in prayer, so much the better.

Buffett's fans (and myriad fan clubs) started popping Corona tops and inflating props around 1 p.m. By the time ol' JB showed up seven hours later for his opening number, a tropicalized version of Brown Eyed Girl, it could have been a random dude in a Buffett mask, and the throngs would have crooned along just as robustly.

The singer-songwriter, an affable class clown who has been spewing the same happy-hour chatter since he started, is technically touring behind new album Take the Weather With You. But his raucous spectacle was really built to capitalize on the Buffett brand: armchair escapism for 9-to-5ers who don't have a sea plane to fly them out of middle-class malaise.

"Nice to be back in Florida for the last show of the year!" Buffett hollered at the start of the show. A serial crowd-gooser, he would proceed to give more shout-outs to regional hotspots than the local chamber of commerce.

Backed by his sprawling Coral Reefer Band, including steel-drum secret weapon Robert Greenidge and slide-guitar specialist Sonny Landreth, Buffett also signaled every know-'em-by-hearter with a cheeky, fan-revving tease. "Somebody's grilling cheeseburgers in this audience!" (Cue Cheeseburger in Paradise") "It's always five o'clock here!" (Commence It's Five O'Clock Somewhere.) And each time, the crowd went bonkers, as if Buffett hadn't played these nuggets in years.

It's hard not to sucked into the fiesta. Last Mango in Paris was sublimely catchy, featuring the kind of irresistible chorus at which Buffett used to excel. He offered both kid-friendly and raunchy versions of Why Don't We Get Drunk. And Floridays made you feel good that you live in the Sunshine State.

As the setlist got longer and the hits got bigger, the audience participation was akin to a tent revival. Volcano, Fins, A Pirate Looks at Forty (dedicated to friend Ed Bradley): The crowd was singing along so raucously, it really could have been Larry Buffett leading the charge, and the delirious masses would have been just as ecstatic.

[Last modified November 17, 2006, 00:04:19]