Jimmy Buffett And His ‘under The Big Top’ Tour

Jimmy Buffett’s Under The Big Top Tour begins Feb. 20 in Jacksonville, Florida and is scheduled to end Sept. 4 in Bristow Virgina.

This is Buffett’s umpteenth tour of North America and it’s supporting his latest release, “Buffet Hotel.” That’s not a misspelling. “Buffet Hotel” is the name of a hotel in the landlocked nation of Mali. Buffett discovered the hotel on a recent trip to West Africa.

Highlights of the ‘Under The Big Top’ tour include a pair of Jimmy Buffett concerts in Mansfield, Massachusetts, two Buffett concerts at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey, and a Jimmy Buffet show at the Nikon At Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, New York.

For those who have never had tickets to a Jimmy Buffet concert there are a few things you need to know before you attend. For those who have attended a Buffet concert here are all the things you “can’t remember.”

First, and foremost, Buffett fans are called “Parrotheads.” Young fans, or Parrothead offspring, are called “Parakeets.” The term originated in 1985 at a Jimmy Buffett concert in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was actually coined by Timothy B. Schmit, than a member of the Coral Reefer Band and now a member of the Eagles.

Buffett is lot like the Grateful Dead and Phish in that he’s a touring act. It’s better to see him live than listen to his albums on an iPod. However, Buffett is 63-years-old and sings about drinking, partying, and drinking. In order to keep himself above ground, Buffett has adopted a performance schedule that only includes Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

There are exceptions to this rule. In May, Buffett has a Saturday night concert in Noblesville, Indiana at the Verizon Wireless Music Center. Then he performs Monday at the Riverbed Music Center in Cincinnati.

Nonetheless, if you want to see Buffett in concert keep your Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights open (as well as your Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday mornings).

The “Big 9” is a term used to describe the nine songs Buffett usually plays at his shows. Now this doesn’t mean that when Buffett performs in Columbia, South Carolina for example he’ll play all nine of these songs, but chances are very good (at least historically) that you’ll hear the following…

1. “Margaritaville”

2. “Come Monday”

3. “Fins”

4. “Volcano”

5. “A Pirate Looks At Forty”

6. “Cheeseburger in Paradise”

7. “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”

8. “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere”

9. “One Particular Harbour”

Keep in mind that neither Buffett nor the Coral Refer Band uses the term “Big 9.” The term is completely the construct of Parrotheads.

Other things to be prepared for at a Jimmy Buffett concert: he will often start the show with a cover song; sometimes he plays a song that has a local tie-in (for instance he played “Sweet Caroline” at a show at Boston’s Fenway Park); the second set usually begins with slower songs; and the band is usually introduced sometimes in the first encore.

July 31st 2005 Jones Beach Theatre,Long Island, New York (Friends Of Mine)