Crossroads Free / Into The Mystic

Lately I've been having a love / hate relationship with Jimmy Buffett.  For the past couple of years, the Margarita Madman has been giving Atlanta the shaft as far as concerts go.   This year was no different.  
 
The Problems

• The concert schedule announcements were late. 
• There was only three days between the concert date announcement and when tickets went on sale. 
• Horrible month for a Jimmy Buffett concert:  April
• Horrible day for a Jimmy Buffett concert:  Tuesday

 
In days of old, Buffett would sale out three Atlanta shows in 10 minutes.   Tickets are still available for this year's show.  Combine poor concert planning with a lackluster CD and you get the current Buffett Landscape.
  
With all that said, the recent CMT Crossroads episode featuring the Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett was excellent.  Mainly because of Zac Brown.  For me, most of the Buffett tunes were old hat, so my opinion may be biased.  The entire episode is available online - click here.
  
The highlight of the show:  Zac Brown Band's Free / Into the Mystic Medley

Jimmy Buffett   More CMT Music   More CMT Music Videos

I highly recommend checking out Zac Brown's "The Foundation".  It's quite good. 

The Foundation

Zac Brown Band

Comments

[Picklez]

Did you ever stop to think that in these trying economic times people have begun to realize how shallow and insipid Buffett is?  I think that the spell has been broken (thanks to people like myself) and now Buffett is starting to feel the pinch.  No one is going to spend money on something so pointless as to listen to crummy music.  Even Gator and Jewels have stopped trying to go to concerts and soon even Tiny Tanks and Jade will cease to attend.  You've stopped, too. 

You can blame it on bad timing and poor marketing, but the real reason is simple.  You've outgrown him.  You see him for what he is.  He isn't a lovable beach bum.  He is just another talentless bozo who you've caught with his hand in your pocket taking money out of your wallet.  He's no different than Obama and his cronies in Washington, D.C.  There's the illusion of hope, change, and good times to come, but in the end, it turns out that this is the vision of the future they have for themselves and guess what?  You're not invited. 

They'll have their beach houses, sea planes, and endless relaxation on distant tropical shores.  It'll just be the result of your long and ceaseless toil.  The bridge from the mainland to their extravagant holiday bungalow will be made of the backs of hard working people. 

I say, "Good for you!"  You're finally starting to see the ugly truth.  Maybe now you can stop working to supply his bloated and corrupted corporate war machine and start making things better for yourself.

[razor9edge]

Unfortunately, the facts don't support your opinions.  The economy was horrible last year.  Concert ticket sales were waaaaay down.  Even so, Buffett still had strong ticket sales, as always.
 
Concert timing is always crucial to the success of tour.   Buffett has always had strong appeal in Atlanta, so he would give worse markets better shows because he knew that he could count on an Atlanta show sale-out.  Those days are also over.  

I can't really comment on your "crummy music" statement.  You don't even really like music.  For the most part, you have never listened to Buffett albums.
 
I don't begrudge Buffett for making money.  We all want to make money.  If you say otherwise, you are lying to yourself.

Before you launch into another "Each According To Their Own Means" speech, I want to share my view of America.  I don't want to live in a country where individuals or government dictates how much money a person should earn.

This is true for:
- Jimmy Buffett
- A local business owner
- An IT guy
- An Oil Company
- Health Care Insurance Companies

I know the last two go against current liberal views, but I'm not a communist, so take that for what it's worth.
 
 

[Picklez]

I don't have a problem with Jimmy Buffett making money.  That's where you're not seeing my point.  My problem is that a) he says he isn't about making money which simply isn't true and b) he is selling a very unhealthy lifestyle.  Life is not about warm weather and tropical drinks.  Life is brutal winters and meatloaf.  Sure you get the good times every once in a while, but Buffett tries to make people believe that they can and should have that all the time.

Believe me, I understand that we must render unto Caesar what is Caesar's.  I'm just saying that Buffett is trivial.  In the hard times we live in, I don't want to hear about people trying to drink away their problems or poor excuses for alcoholism "It's 5 o'clock somewhere", indeed.  If he wants to sing a song, why doesn't he sing about real solutions to today's problems.

Do you think Buffett gives a damn if you're in trouble?  He doesn't.  But he pretends that he does.  That's what pisses me off more than anything.  I find it extremely arrogant and narcissitic for him to say, "Oh I wrote this song to make you feel better."  Especially when he has no idea the troubles I'm going through.  He's a fraud and if I ever got the chance, I'd kick him in the nuts.  Unless he gave me a check for 100 large.  Then I might not.  Hell, I might even take back 89.4% of the bad things I've said about him.