Jimmy Buffett in Las Vegas: Margaritaville
Saturday ended up being an all-day Jimmy Buffett fest, which was exactly what I anticipated. We started the morning off in the best way possible, though: brunch with my cousin, S., and her new(ish) hubby, A. The happy duo lives in Vegas and met us at the Grand Lux in the Palazzo to fuel up in the morning before what was sure to be an epic Buffett-fest. I never realize quite how much I miss my fam until I get to see them again — note to self: must plan family reunion for 2012.
My cousin, S., works at the MGM so I’m sure she understood the magnitude of the Parrothead Invasion much better than I did. Until April 2011, the only Jimmy song I knew was Margaritaville. It wasn’t until I met Boat Shoes that I started listening to country music (gulp) and Sirius’ Margaritaville station. When he invited me to Vegas to check out the concert I opted in immediately, but really had no idea what was in store.
We threw on our island garb and started the afternoon by heading to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino and restaurant. An entire area was blocked off for the street party in preparation for the night’s concert. I was honestly stunned by the attire — it was like a cult-ish costume party. Never have I seen so many pirate costumes, Hawaiian shirts and margaritas in one area.
After a couple of margaritas and a rather eye-opening run through the Margaritaville store (Jimmy Buffett cookbooks, bumper stickers, margarita machines, shirts, boat shoes, iron ons; the list goes on and on…), we made our way further down the strip where other pre-parties were taking place at the MGM and New York-New York. The Brooklyn Bridge at the NY-NY was blocked off for an island-themed party complete with sand boxes, beach chairs and island grub.
After grabbing some food (very necessary) at Gonzalez y Gonzalez in the NY-NY hotel, we made our way to the concert at the MGM and claimed our awesome seats! I never realized quite how intense these fans are. I met but one other girl that was attending a Jimmy show for the first time ever; the others were vets who made Jimmy Buffett concerts an annual event (as evidenced by their ornate head pieces). The show — in large part because of the awesome energy — was great. I’m proud to say that I actually knew more songs that I anticipated and was fairly quick to pick up on the mandatory ‘fins’ movements.
After the concert, grabbed one final drink before heading back to the Palazzo to pack. Sadly, and rather moronically, I booked my flight for 630A on Sunday morning which meant I had to be out the door at 445A. Not the smartest move I’ve ever made, but it worked. I was more than a little sad to say goodbye to Vegas, but I had a blast! Now that that’s off my list, I can look forward to a crazy few weeks ahead: my upcoming move to San Francisco (more on that soon!) and my long-awaited trip to Dallas!
Was anyone else at the Jimmy Buffett concert at the MGM? What did you guys think?
Want to see more pictures from Vegas? Click here.
xoxo from Sunny California,
