Jimmy Buffett brought a concert and a party to Verizon Arena on Thursday night, and only the concert could be contained within the confines of the arena. The party, like some gigantic Razorback tailgate affair, spread far and wide before and after the formality of the actual concert.
Buffett did his best to keep the focus on him and his jolly band of 11 musicians, the Coral Reefer Band — who were led admirably by Blytheville’s own Mike Utley, who played a couple of keyboards, sang occasionally, and endured Buffett’s teasing about all things Arkansas, especially Razorback lore, and of course, the Hogs were called to the delight of the virtually sold-out house of 16,161 fans.
Dressed in an ocean blue T-shirt, coral shorts and bare feet, Buffett gave his fans a two-hour and eight minute show, plus lots of friendly banter between songs. He opened with “Piece of Work,” and he certainly qualifies as a musician who loves his work and delights in taking fans along as he cruises through his ample catalog of hits and songs that are just as worthy as his hits.
And the hits, as the old expression goes, just kept on coming, including “License to Chill,” “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere,” “Pencil Thin Moustache,” “Come Monday,” “Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes,” “Volcano,” “One Particular Harbour,” “Margaritaville,” “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” “Fins,” “A Pirate Looks at Forty” and even energetic versions of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Southern Cross” and Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.”
Sonny Landreth, the legendary slide guitarist from Lafayette, La., sat in on a number of songs and made a good show even better. Of course, Mac McAnally was pretty suave himself on guitar and vocals, and Buffett is no slouch on guitar — playing his acoustic, backed only by McAnally on a couple of songs, and then closing out the show alone, with his guitar, on “Lovely Cruise,” a sweet song that summed up his feelings and probably those of his Parrothead fans, many of whom had been on their feet for the entire evening.
Surely, Buffett and his band will not wait another 20 years before returning, not after the warm reception they enjoyed. The set’s tropical look was enhanced by lots of fine film clips of oceans and islands and the like, and Parrothead tailgators were blessed with perfect weather before and after the concert.
Ilo Ferreira of Cape Verde, the opening act, who had not been identified in advance, had one of the shortest sets in memory — 13 minutes, but the threesome made the most of their time, presenting some interesting and intense sounds.