Early in the week, the rumor mill started cranking out guesses on who would be headlining the FinFest in Hermosa Beach, CA on Saturday, August 9. Speculation was Jack Johnson and all the people who were in charge would say was a “big star”. Big star indeed…or should I say big fish…Jimmy Buffett was announced to be the Saturday main attraction on Friday before the event. Now, how many times in your life do you get the opportunity to see Jimmy Buffett LIVE for FREE with his Coral Reefer Band…ON A FREAKIN’ BEACH! Yeah, once, maybe twice if you’re one of those freaks who have won the lottery more than once.
Now even though the folks at iRocke, Discovery Channel and various other team members confirmed it via social media, website, etc. there was still a large amount of folks walking around unsure if he would really show up. It was confirmed to me when I received my press badge that he would be there. Then I spotted a time warped version of Buffett in a nearby bar. Turned out it was Jimmy Groovy (not Buffett), well known Jimmy Buffett impersonator hanging out with my buddy Kevin Wilkerson from PubClub.com. I had heard from a very reliable source that Buffett was in Dana Point, CA earlier in the day on Saturday for an anniversary celebration for the city. Not to mention he’s said to have bought a house in Beverly Hills recently, he was just on ELLEN! show and the thing is called FINFEST for Pete’s sake!
So, the giant shark mouth stage was set and I was there with plenty of time to scope the scene, grab a few beers and listen to the mid-day band, North Mississippi Allstars. Yeah, you heard that right, NMAS was on at 3pm to get the crowd all in a dancin’ mood, and they did indeed accomplish that. I especially liked their Shark Bite Jam parade through the crowd with Cody Dickinson wearing a shark head mask.
Now, they left plenty of time between North Mississippi Allstars and Buffett. Enough time to wander around and take in the Hermosa Beach Pier, normally a pedestrian walkway flanked by bars, restaurants and various shops. That day, planted in the middle of it all was a giant mechanical shark which every hour on the half hour would eat something. I happened to be there when they fed it a beer keg followed by an impressive bit of chomping on a jet ski. Yeah, that’s right, a freakin’ jet ski in it’s mouth…demolished. Pretty cool and weird all at the same time.
By the time 6:00 pm rolled around, the announced start time for Buffett, the natives and the Parrottheads were getting restless and still questioned whether he would actually be there or not. Then, like magic, their prayers were answered as they spotted of Mike Utley, long time Coral Reefer Band member, in the wings. The rest of the band emerged followed by the PA playing “Hot Hot Hot”, signifying that Jimmy has entered the building.
I’ve seen Jimmy Buffett live, maybe a half a dozen times. Each show was a little different than the previous and never left you feeling like you gipped. For FinFest he was slated for an hour performance. No time for the obscure tune that the band really likes but the fans have no idea what it is. This was FinFest for Shark Week on Discovery Channel. Bust out the Greatest Hits, Jim-bo! And bust them out he did. Right out of the box with Changes in Latitudes getting the crowd all fired up. An altered lyric version of Fins for FinFest came two songs later.
