Strumming his six-string, Buffett ushers in summertime fun

Strumming his six-string, Buffett ushers in summertime fun

By James Reed, Globe Staff June 18, 2010

MANSFIELD — Jimmy Buffett comes around these parts every year, usually in synch with the start of summer. His timing surely is intentional. Even in dreary weather, he brings with him the season’s standbys: flip-flops, Hawaiian shirts and skirts, and, most of all, an escapist attitude that happiness is just a beach and drink away.

New England, with its devout nation of Parrotheads, holds a special place in Buffett’s heart. Last night at the Comcast Center — Buffett still affectionately calls it Great Woods — was a reminder that no matter how often Buffett plays, it’s no longer just a concert: It’s an event (and it repeats tomorrow night).

The evening was already charged with the hope that the Celtics would pummel the Lakers in the NBA Finals, and Buffett seized the moment to stoke the audience. When he suddenly called out “Beat LA!’’ in the middle of “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,’’ a duet with guitarist Mac McAnally, that chant later rippled throughout the sold-out crowd.
At this point, a sense of surprise is not part of a Jimmy Buffett show. Even with a varied set list, you know what you’re going to get, from “Margaritaville’’ to “Fins’’ to “Cheeseburger in Paradise.’’

As always, last night was as much about the audience’s engagement as the music. During “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,’’ scenes from the day’s tailgating were shown on the video screens. (The woman who bared her breasts for the cameras was a big hit.)
Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band was its usual well-oiled machine, switching from country (“Back Where I Come From”) to reggae (“Jamaica Mistaica”) to baby-boomer anthems (the final encore of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”). The show’s second half shook off some of the earlier island vibe, particularly on a muscular rendition of “Tampico Trauma,” and Buffett imbued “A Pirate Looks at Forty” with a quiet grace.

It was up to Ilo Ferreira, a Cape Verde native who recently lived in Rhode Island, to get the festivities under way. His acoustic set was short but long on heart. Ultimately, though, it was the soundtrack to a familiar sight: flying beach balls ready for a trip to “Margaritaville.”

Photos by Rose Lincoln