Wasted For a Day In Margaritaville
Confessions of a Parrothead
What is a Parrothead exactly?
I am guessing you are wondering what exactly a ‘Parrothead’ is. This is a term for Jimmy Buffet’s rather wild and crazy fun fan base. You have your ‘Dead Heads’, ‘Beliebers’, ‘Rushers’, ‘Swifties’, and my personal favorite description, ‘Parrothead’.
The term loosely describes those who follow Jimmy Buffet from venue to venue or generally just really really really enjoy his music. I proudly call myself a Parrothead even though the only place I have seen him perform at is the X-Finity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts (granted it was 3 different shows over 5 years). To me there is nothing better than listening to Jimmy sing about the ocean, life, and the Margaritaville state of mind.
After recently returning from my honeymoon in Aruba with my lovely wife, I finally experienced my own Margaritaville moment. Frozen drinks, crashing of the ocean waves, the warm sand in my toes, and just not a care in the world as I lived my best life on the Caribbean sea.
I say this because Jimmy has traveled the Caribbean for longer than I have been alive; albeit in a boat (one of his boats was called, Boat Drinks) or his personal sea plane (the Hemisphere Dancer) which was coincidentally shot at by the Jamaican military because they mistook his plane for a ‘ganja plane’ (check out the song, Jamaica Mistaka for the whole story).
Doom Ale, Margaritas, and a lot of Landshark Ale: The I Don’t Know Tour, Summer 2017
The last Jimmy Buffet concert I attended was in the summer of 2017. I went with my mom, dad, brother, and his wife. This one was the most memorable because I actually had the whole day off from work so I could truly enjoy the tailgating experience to the fullest (other times I had to drive down after work and show up just in time for the show to start).
The night before the show we prepped our food, drink, and packed the car with our tailgating seats. I recall going to the ‘packy’ (Boston term for a liquor store) with my brother and we decided on this delicious margarita mix, Bud Light, and my choice of alcohol. I ended up deciding on Founders Doom Ale which was aged in bourbon barrels; it tipped the scales at 12.4% ABV (for perspective, Bud Light weighs in at 4.2%). At the time it seemed like a good idea since I expected to drink them over the course of 8 hours before the show.
Unpacking and Getting My Buzz On
We managed to get ourselves the VIP Parking Pass for the X-Finity Center which meant we could get into the parking lot an hour before the rest of the concert attendees. This allowed us to get a spot near Margaritaville Drive and Parrothead Lane (these are aptly named after where the most dedicated fans setup for tailgating before any Jimmy Buffett show).
The first hour flew by as we spent it setting up our tables, food, chairs, and coolers. It also went by rather quickly because I managed to drink two of my four Doom Ales without really noticing. You’d think the high potency drinks would be sipped, but if you know me, I like to take healthy swigs.
Soon after setting up for the afternoon I positioned myself right next to the pico de gallo bowl, tortilla chips, and homemade guacomole. This was the perfect setup for optimal consumption of food to help fortify my stomach for the beer I was going to consume.
The weather was conducive to drinking, relaxing, and enjoying the tailgating atmosphere. Mid 70’s degree temperatures and a cool breeze that was perfect for just sitting in the summer sun with a cold drink in one’s hand.
A Walk Down Parrothead Lane
After eating some lunch (mostly a liquid lunch by this point) we decided to take a walk down Parrothead Lane and see what the buzz was all about. We were soon greeted with Jimmy’s music blaring from canopies, cars, etc. and to me this was absolutely perfect; I was in my element. People were friendly and all had smiles on their faces.
One of our first stops was called, Tampico Trauma Terrace. It was a small RV that was setup with an overhang that an older couple (in their 60s) had called home before the show. They explained to us that they were now retired and followed Jimmy throughout the country to most of his shows. They had inflatable palm trees, a sand box, and small wading pool setup for fellow Parrotheads to kick back and relax and share their experiences of shows they had been to.
After leaving our new friends there was a loud shout from someone about 50 feet further up the parking lot. It was a younger gentleman (mid 20s) who was wearing a straw hat, a shot glass necklace, and a plastic lei around his neck. He was beckoning one and all to spin the ‘Wheel of Buffett’. As we approached there were about twenty to twenty-five fans cheering people on.
Upon closer inspection of the wheel it was probably the most interesting thing I would see all day. It was labelled with the following: 1 Shot For Me, 1 Shot for You, 1 Shot for Us, 2 Shots for Me, 2 Shots For You, 2 Shots For Us, Dealer’s Choice, and Buffett Kareoke.
My brother, my dad, and I all decided to spin the wheel and they ended up getting 1 Shot For You, and Us, respectively. After downing their shots of tequilia, I took my chance with the wheel and ended up getting Buffett Kareoke. Just great I thought (I was already two and a half beers into my day and felt like chugging my third), I can’t sing nor did I want to make an ass out of myself. I was quickly goaded and cheered on by the growing crowd and ending up singing, Margaritaville. After my 3 minute peformance which was horribly off-key I was presented with a plastic lei and a shot of tequilia for being such a good sport.
Wearing my new badge of honor, we made our way down the row for about an hour and mingled with countless of other Parrotheads. It was probably the greatest tailgating experience of my life. To this day I have not seen anything like it, and probably never will as most places do not allow tailgating anymore.
Patriot Fans Don’t Support Landshark or the Miami Dolphins
As the day went on and with our beer supply running low, my brother and I decided to go up to the beer stand for a refills. Making our way to the front of the line there were three guys wearing New England Patriot jerseys, and they were in the process of ordering six Landshark Lagers. That’s when my brother nudged me and I decided to try my hand at some subterfuge to see how these guys would react to the origins of Landshark. We were buzzing pretty good and these guys were obviously drunk so I thought why the hell not.
‘Did you know that Landshark lager is Jimmy Buffett’s beer company, and that is the official beer of the Miami Dolphins?’ I said in a little louder voice than usual making sure these guys heard what I had to say.
‘Is that true?’ one of the visibly drunk guys turned around and replied.
‘Sure is! And every penny you spend on Landshark goes to support the Miami Dolphins payroll since Jimmy owns a small percentage of the team.’ I replied.
‘We ain’t drinking no Dolphin beer.’ one of them replied as he handed me his two beers and stalked off. His two friends followed suit and handed us the remaining four beers.
We laughed to ourselves and were more than happy to secure six free beers (especially since the beers were six dollars a piece). Beers in hand we worked our way back to our tailgating spot and distributed our spoils and recounted the story to raucous laughter. ‘To the Dolphins fan! He finally won something.’ my brother clinked his Landshark with mine.
Standing on the Lawn and The Great Jimmy Buffett Sing-a-long
After about 7 hours in the sun and taking in all the amazing sights and sounds of this wonderful day, the real fun was about to begin. We packed up the car with everything then started working our way to our ‘seats’ (they were lawn seats so you pretty much stood up so you could to see the show). We decided to get in line early so we could get to the front rail that separated the actual seats from the lawn seats. My parents went to their seats about 10 rows from the stage but my brother, his wife, and myself worked our way to the front rail on the lawn.
We made a plan that one of us would grab a few beers and meet the other two at the front rail. I ended up drawing the shortest straw so I got to stand in line waiting for beer. I stood in line for about 30 minutes so I decided to make it worth my while and chug one of the Bud Lights and grab another for myself since I was probably not going to get back to there by the end of the night.
Five minutes before the show was about to start I found them standing at the rail saving my spot. Handing them their beers and getting as comfortable as one could be when being pushed up against a rail as throngs of people worked their way to the lawn seats.
The next two hours were a blur but I do recall that all three of us were singing and cheering the whole show. The highlight came when Jimmy played his song, ‘Fins’, and the crowd followed along with their hands over their head making a fin moving to the left and right as the song dictated. Initially, I was not familar with what to do but I quickly caught on as I followed the crowd’s lead. Now any time the song comes on the radio I stop (unless I am driving) and make the Fins to the left and Fins to the right motions. I even get my wife to do it now too!
The first song he played during the encore was one of my favorite songs, One Particular Harbor, which I managed to change the words during my time in Aruba on my honeymoon (as previously mentioned). I ended up changing the song to, One Particular Palapa (a palapa is an umbrella made out of dried palms and provides extensive sun coverage while you sit on the beach).
The set list consisted of 22 songs; 8 of which were covers, and the rest included Jimmy’s own songs. During the concert he even played a song with Zack Brown and his band while they were at their own concert. You can view the set list here, Mansfield 2017 - I Don't Know Tour.
After the concert ended the three of us worked our way back to the car to meet up with my mom and dad. After a few minutes of us talking about how much fun the day was, I ended up passed out in the backseat.
You could say that I was, wasted for a day in Margaritaville.