The Parrot head’s appeared to be dancing and swaying before the music even started, but maybe that was because of the copious amounts of alcohol consumed on day one of KAABOO Del Mar, where a crazy San Diego week’s end demanded a touch of the tropics. Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer band were sure to please this anxious crowd of laid back and jolly folks when the talking coconut graced the massive screen in front of thousands of waiting fans shortly after sunset. The “Clairvoyant Coconut” introduced the famed island hero to thousands of fans under a full moon and “Piece of Work.” During the belting out of this glorious tune he reminded San Diego of how much he loves our home by using familiar jargon like “North County” and naming locations like the Belly Up in Solana Beach, Encinitas, and Cardiff. The man really knows his stuff and San Diego welcomes him…as a matter of fact, by the printing of this article, he will have been called back to one of the very same places he mentioned…Humphrey’s Concert’s By The Bay will have the Caribbean rocker here in October!
As the band broke into a smooth version of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” the island feel was so thick that I felt like taking off my shoes and dipping my toes into the sand provided by KAABOO. Yes…we were standing on sand. Listening to The Coral Reefer Band add steel drums to the familiar love song that resonates Americana, I noticed that the legendary Jimmy Buffett himself was playing the traditional teal Fender Strat with no shoes! Why did that surprise me? I couldn’t tell you, but the man was as goofy as ever moving around the stage during the drum solo like he was still in his 20’s. I’ll have what he’s having!
The crowd really was into what this man was selling, and with good reason, during “Tiki Bar” he reminding he crowd how much he loves KAABOO for bringing him to San Diego…then off into a Reggae Break the band went. The backdrop changed from song to song, increasing the feeling that you were truly on a vacation with him and thousands of your closest friends. It truly did not feel like a concert, he was inviting everyone onto his private island to just hang out and have a great time. A good time was had by all during this previously unscheduled stop of his “I Don’t Know” tour.
The musicianship from left to right was precise and relaxed, with the un-mistakable sound Jimmy helped to create dubbed “drunken Caribbean Rock ‘N’ Roll” or “Gulf and Western.” The famed leader brought the entirety of the Coral Reefer Band with him to the best coast and the hits poured off the stage. You could almost see the music coming off of the stage in amplified waves that you could surf, with covers and acoustic guest spots from Daphne Blue & the Show-Ponies, Frank Marshall playing guitar during “Margaritaville,” and 10-time nominee of the CMA’s Musician of the Year Mac McAnally joining in on vocals during “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” gracing the ears of the happy music lovers in the audience.
Thank you KAABOO Del Mar and Jimmy Buffett for being the first headliner of this 3-day event’s second year.
Big Jon / BackStage360
