Welcome to Fin Land Tour—Jimmy Buffett at the Pepsi Center October 18

Keith S | November 1, 2011 | 0 Comments

By Holly Hornyan

Tonight, October 18, 2011 sea level is officially redefined as 5280 feet, or so you would think as you arrive to Jimmy Buffett’s Welcome to Fin Land Tour at thePepsiCenter. Here physics and world order are put aside for one night in October, when Fall becomes Summer, Tuesday nights become the weekend and people of all ages and from all walks of life become “Parrot Heads”.

If you have never experienced a Buffett concert, I recommend it highly with two “fins” up! If you are looking for politically charged lyrics or personal angst you won’t find it here. The closest thing to that you will find is a sign at the pre-concert tail-gating party stating “Occupy Margaritaville!” No dear friends, tonight is a night for blenders in overdrive, hula skirts, cocoanut bra’s, crazy hats and leis. In other words a luau for the thousands that packed thePepsiCenterlast night to hear all of our favorite tunes from the world’s ultimate beach bum.

Tonight was no exception, from the moment you entered thePepsiCenter it was alive with positive energy! The atmosphere more closely resembled a carnival than a concert. No one was a stranger with everyone having the same connection through lyric and song to everyone else in attendance. Fun in the sun, good-times and nostalgia were the catchwords of the evening. Beach balls were flying, margaritas and boat drinks were flowing with singing and laughter being heard all around.

The evening opened with a three piece band featuring a young man Ilo Ferreira who Jimmy himself had recently discovered in a bar inCape Verde,South Africa. They sang three songs including the popular Reggae hit made famous by Bob Marley “Three Little Birds”.

The house exploded when Jimmy came on stage. Dressed in typical beach fare, tropical shirt, shorts and flip flops; which he soon discarded, he welcomed us aboard his party boat exclaiming that this was no ordinary Tuesday night in October. He cautioned us to pace ourselves because they were kicking it old school and they were going to play for the next 2 ½ hours!

He opened with “The Wino and I Know” and continued with such favorites as “Brown Eyed Girl”. Next he gave us a new rendition of “Off to See the Lizard” with reference to a mishap he had while on stage inAustralia, with references to Kim Kardashian! Next it was pure nostalgia with “Pencil Thin Mustache”, “Its Five O’Clock Somewhere” and “Changes in Lattitudes, Changes in Attitudes”. We were all treated to a very entertaining video stream of beaches, bars and visions of various tropical locales that included scenes from Jimmy’s world adventures and old school pictures of both Jimmy and Mac McAnally who accompanied him on most of the songs. We then heard “Life is Just a Tire Swing”, “Come Monday” and my personal favorite, “Boat Drinks”. The evening rounded out with such classics as” Volcano”,” Margaritaville”, “A Pirate Looks at Forty”, and of course “Fins”. Jimmy commanded two encores which included “Southern Cross” and an acoustic solo performance of Defying Gravity”. For a full list of his Denver Set List please go to http://www.buffettnews.com/resources/setlists/?show=1332

“Has it really been 8 years since we have been toDenver?’, Jimmy asked. “Theoretically, you could have seen your kids graduate from high school and college since we have been here! That’s way too long!” Promising that it wouldn’t be that long again before returning to Denver, hints were made to a return as soon as this summer, with Red Rocks as the possible venue! If you are anything like me, as much as you love seeing Jimmy Buffett live anywhere, nothing says “its 5:00 somewhere” like Red Rocks Amphitheater. If this is the case, fellow parrot heads, I’ll pack the flip flops, don the beach gear, find the lost shaker of salt and meet you there!

Tags: jimmy buffett