The New Orleans Times-Picayune’s Keith Spera has a review of Saturday’s Jazz Fest show: “Jimmy Buffett and NOJO close out Saturday”

Say what you will about Buffett and his music: The man knows how to work a Jazzfest crowd. That he appears to be having as much, if not more, fun as anyone is key.

In his final 40 minutes, he broke down “Come Monday” to acoustic guitar and steel drums; showcased a singer he met in a bar on an African island; led the most exquisitely un-P.C. sing-a-long “Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw?”; and cut loose Lafayette slide guitarist ace and frequent Buffett collaborator Sonny Landreth on “Southern Cross” and a grunged-up version of Landreth’s own “U.S.S. Zydecomobile.”

That’s when the party really got started. Buffett spotted an audience member wearing a T-shirt that read, “Helping Rebuild New Orleans one margarita at a time.” “I will trade you these flip-flops,” Buffett said, pointing at his own feet, “for that T-shirt.” Recognizing a one-of-a-kind Jazzfest souvenir when offered one, the guy accepted. Buffett immediately donned his new, slightly too big, “funky” T-shirt and kicked off the audience participatory “Fins.”

Buffett had one final surprise: Accompanied only by Allen Toussaint on the electric piano, he sang “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans” as the sun set on Jazzfest. “It’s hard work leading a band on a Saturday night,” Buffett had said earlier. He makes it look easy.

Moments after the set ended, Jazzfest security stopped pedestrian traffic on the dirt track. A convoy of vehicles sped from the Acura backstage area. Buffett himself hung out of the passenger window of the lead SUV. His fans cheered as he passed within high-five distance on his way out of the Fair Grounds — he waved and yelled back at them.

Read the entire review here.

See more photos from the 2008 New Orleans Jazz Fest in our Photo Gallery.

Freddy and the Fishsticks aka Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band rocked the Margaritaville Cafe last night in New Orleans, Louisiana in a benefit for several causes.

The set featured a few surprises, including “Last Man Standing,” last played in Aspen on December 22, 2006; the live debut of a track featuring Jimmy from Sonny Landreth’s new album entitled “Howlin’ Moon”; and the return of the Jesse Winchester song “L’air de la Louisiane,” last played in St. Barths in 1999.

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 2008 “Year of Still Here” tour will kick back up Saturday Night with a show at Jazz Fest in New Orleans. Get your tickets now!

“Hello Carolina, We’re still here!” started stop number four on the Year Of Still Here Tour in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Returning to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (or the Blockbuster Pavilion as it once was known) for the first time in two years, the first set was almost the same as Frisco, the lone difference being the return of “Tryin’ to Reason with Hurricane Season”, not played since opening night in Houston, in the #8 slot.

The second set was similar as well, however “Why Don’t We Get Drunk” was dropped and “Scarlet Begonias” returned to the set. Jimmy once again told his story of the time the Grateful Dead played 2 nights at the same venue in Charlotte and Jimmy followed them by playing the next night and the following afternoon. Research has indicated that this event took place in 1992, although it was not at the same venue, as the Grateful Dead played the Charlotte Coliseum June 17 and 18 while Jimmy played the Blockbuster Pavilion June 19 and 20.

The first encore again featured “Fins” and the Bob Dylan classic “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35.” But the second encore featured perhaps the biggest surprise of the tour as Jimmy pulled out “God’s Own Drunk” for the first time since Last October in Vegas. This was just the third time in the last eight years it was played and the first time it has closed a show since August 1, 1998 in Bristow, VA.

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 2008 “Year of Still Here” tour will continue Saturday Night with a show at Jazz Fest in New Orleans. Don’t forget that Thursday night “Freddy and the Fishsticks” will be performing at the Margaritaville in New Orleans. Get your tickets now!

“Hello Dallas, Frisco, wherever we came from!” started stop number three on the Year Of Still Here Tour in Frisco, Texas.

Returning to Pizza Hut Park for the second time in two years, the first set was almost the same as St. Louis, the lone difference being Mac McAnally jumping in with “The City” while Jimmy took a short break.

The second set was similar as well, however “Piece of Work” replaced “Scarlet Begonias” in the set. “Work,” last played in Las Vegas last October, was dedicated via Radio Margaritaville to Will Kimbrough, the song’s writer.

The first encore again featured “Fins” and the Bob Dylan classic “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35,” but this time “Another Saturday Night” followed it, the first time it had been played since Tampa last November. For the second encore, “Stories We Could Tell” made its tour debut, its first performance since the Glendale show earlier this month.

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 2008 “Year of Still Here” tour will continue Tuesday Night with a show from Charlotte, North Carolina. Get your tickets now!

Both the Riverfront Times and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch covered the Buffett show in St. Louis Thursday night:

Riverfront Times – “Parrotheads In The Parking Lot”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – “Jimmy Buffett Concert Review”

Here’s a snipit from the Post-Dispatch article:

In many ways, Jimmy Buffett’s show Thursday night was typical, from the costumed, party-primed, Parrothead crowd to Buffett’s spirited performance of must-play favorites to the contributions of his magnificent, veteran Coral Reefer Band.

But something has happened in the eight years since the mayor of “Margaritaville” — now, unbelievably, 61 years old — last played St. Louis: He seems to have reconnected with the romantic core of his music.

Irony and a kind of nudge-nudge-wink-wink edge has often hovered over Buffett’s music in concert. But this time, a straightforward, emotional honesty had more than a toehold, especially during a sequence that came late in his “Year of Still Here” show at sold-out Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.

Be sure to check out the slideshow in the Riverfront Times article.

View our very own review by Justin here.