“The sunshine has returned to Texas” remarked Jimmy as he and the band kicked off the next show on the Summerzcool Tour tonight in Frisco, Texas.

The Frisco set was basically the same set as Atlanta, with a few differences of course. “Fruitcakes” was an on-the-spot audible in the second set, bouncing “A Lot to Drink About” into the final encore slot. Another surprise was the appearance of The Lost Verse during “Margaritaville”. But by far the surprise of the night was in the first encore instead of the second as “Livingston Saturday Night” made its first appearance in a set list since April 14, 1995 in Charleston, South Carolina. This was also the first outing of the song without Greg “Fingers” Taylor as Doyle Grisham filled in nicely with a pedal steel solo. Looks like sunshine has indeed returned to Texas.

View the entire set list here.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board or post your photos in our Photo Gallery.

The 2009 Summerzcool Tour will continue Tuesday night with a show from the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte, NC. There’s still time to get your tickets now!

“Well, here we are again” remarked Jimmy as he and the band kicked off the first official date of the Summerzcool tour tonight in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Summer School is open a little early this year” said Jimmy as the band teased the “Jaws” theme before kicking in to “Lage Nom Ai” for the first time since April 29, 2000 in Irvine, CA, the final night of the Beach House on the Moon tour. Next, the band kicked straight into “Stars on the Water,” dedicated to Jimmy’s friends on Cumberland Island. After “Stars”, Jimmy stopped to welcome the crowd to school, remarking that It had been a long time since they started a tour in Atlanta (our notes indicate that this is the first time a tour opened there) and thanking the crowd for not participating in the recession. He then premiered the title song for the tour, “Summerzcool”, remarking that he was gonna play it for everyone who comes out to the shows. After Jimmy informed us what time it was the set moved along to “Mañana” and the first ever performance of “Conky Tonkin'” with Nadirah filling in on Clint Black’s parts. The set then closed with a string of the Songs You Know By Heart, beginning with “Changes in Latitudes…” and concluding at intermission with “One Particular Harbour.”

But all of the fun was not just in the first set. The second set started with the “Key West Corner” which of course featured songs from Key West. Inspired by a recent show at Margaritaville Key West, Jimmy dug into the archives for ” My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink and I Don’t Love Jesus” which gave him a chance to rock out on his new Ukulele, “I Heard I Was in Town” which sounded great backed by the beach band, and “Last Mango in Paris” in this ultra fun mini-set. Next up was the new song “I Feel Like Goin’ Surfing in a Hurricane” which segued into “Southern Cross” perfectly. A Jimmy and Mac version of “A Pirate Looks at Forty” followed, with Jimmy remarking before the song that he “knew about pirates before they led the news.” Keeping current events in mind, “A Lot to Drink About” was next, a song that Jimmy mentioned before the show was still a work in progress. “Coast of Carolina” then shifted things away from current events and as always, was dedicated to the memory of Groovy. A new old song was then slipped in as Jimmy performed “Rhumba Man”, an old Jesse Winchester song that Jimmy said he “needed to do.” “Margaritaville” and “Fins” then closed out the second set.

The first encore featured “We are the People…” and the first ever performance of the Beatles classic “Yellow Submarine,” a song that even Jimmy said he wasn’t sure how it made the show. The second encore continued past tours quite acoustic tune routine with “He Went to Paris” getting picked this time because Jimmy had read in a recent interview that he was one of Bob Dylan’s favorite writers and it was one of his favorite tunes. “I don’t need any rewards, I’ll take Bob Dylan’s recommendation anyday” Jimmy remarked before the song. We will too, Jimmy.

View the entire set list here.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board or post your photos in our Photo Gallery.

The 2009 “Summerzcool” tour will continue Saturday night with a show from Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. There’s still time to Get your tickets now!

Update – The Atlanta Journal Constitution has a review of the show here.

The Boston Globe has an article on tech companies using ping pong in the workplace and Jimmy gets a mention:

Forget foosball. Game over, Guitar Hero. The leading game of choice at the high-tech companies of Kendall Square is that low-tech icon of basement rec rooms: ping-pong.

At the local research center for search engine Google Inc., the ping-pong table occupies a place of honor, below a colorful mural of Fenway Park and the Boston skyline. The office killer app is “the ladder,” a custom program designed by software engineer Kayi Lee that schedules weekly matches and ranks employee players, including site director Steve Vinter. A onetime junior city champion in Ann Arbor, Mich., Vinter challenges all comers. “People are playing four, five, six times a day,” he said.

The craze is spreading through the tech community, where the clack of balls bouncing from paddle to table provides welcome relief from long days spent sitting at the screen and keyboard. Down the street in Technology Square, Forrester Research chief executive and avid player George Colony put a table in the cafeteria. Data storage provider EMC Corp. has one at its Hopkinton headquarters, three at other Massachusetts sites, and two more at its North Carolina and California outposts.

It was introduced in the United States in the 1890s by the Parker Brothers toy company of Salem. It got a boost in prestige from the ping-pong diplomacy preceding President Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972. More recently, it’s been embraced by celebrities ranging from singer Jimmy Buffett to retired football player Tiki Barber, and become a new favorite of techies who tired of the foosball craze.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin has an interview with Jimmy Buffett where he talks about his new song “A Lot To Drink About”, his forthcoming live acoustic album, the new Hawaii restaurant, and touring with Ukulele master Jake Shimabukuru:

The easy-going and loquacious 62-year-old was eager to talk about both his new song and Hawaii business venture.

“The new song was easy to write — I mean, just look around!” he said with a laugh. “All you have to do is open the newspaper. And it’s a work-in-progress. After Michael Phelps was kicked off the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes box, I’m thinking of adding another verse about that in the song. All he did was smoke a little reefer!

“I’ve been a nomad with one foot in the Pacific, and now that I’ve put a place in Hawaii, it’s given me a great excuse to play there.”

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As for recordings, Buffett is planning to release a live acoustic album later this year comprising encores recorded during his most recent tour.

“I know my fan base, Parrotheads who want to add to their collection. Thanks to them I’ve been surviving this long. The idea was, during every show last year, I looked through my catalog and went through the process of picking songs that would sound kind of unique in an acoustic setting. They were the kind of songs that would fit in an encore, where there is a mellowness about them. The audience has already been through a show with a high energy level, so it would be good to let them down gently.”

Out of the 28 songs recorded, Buffett feels he’s put together an interesting selection of originals and covers, “particularly ballads, where I use that little bit of opportunity to do songs that I really like.”

Read the entire article here.

KHNL NBC 8 in Honolulu has an article and video up on the recent opening of Jimmy Buffett’s latest restaurant: Jimmy Buffett’s At The Beachcomber.

An artist whose music is synonymous with easy living, island lifestyle brings his unique flavor to Hawaii. On Monday in Waikiki, Jimmy Buffett opened his 19th restaurant, the first in our state.

The grand opening and a traditional Hawaiian blessing took place Monday morning at the Ohana Beachcomber Hotel in Waikiki. The 2,100-square-foot restaurant can serve up to 500 customers. It celebrates the unique aspects of island lifestyle.

“Our brand really speaks to escapism and Waikiki really speaks to escapism,” said Dan Leonard, president and chief operating officer of Margaritaville Management Group. “So there’s kind of a nice marriage right there. Come to Waikiki to escape, to enjoy the beaches, the beautiful land, everything that has to do with it, and that’s what our restaurant speaks to.”

Read the entire article here.