Wednesday, April 26, 2006
The Zen Gig
Well, yesterday was our annual Buffett concert, as I've written about elsewhere. This of course means it's time to party with other Parrotheads (Jimmy Buffett fans). Partying with Buffett fans is generally some of the best fun I've had out of bed.
Well, here in the Bay Area we had a couple of strikes against us:
1) Shoreline doesn't open its parking lots until 5 PM, limiting the opportunities for joyous reveling. And the Mountain View police were somewhat visibly enforcing the "no open flames, no alcohol" policy. (Though I did witness cases where a couple of officers looked at a margarita glass full of something, asked about it, were told that it was just the "virgin" mix, and smiled and walked away.)
2) The Sports Page bar, a traditional pre-concert party spot, has had difficulties with their entertainment license this year, so no live music was allowed. :( As I was likely to *be* the live music, this has been a bit distressing.
3) It was Tuesday. Some people actually had to (*gack*) work.
"Work is the curse of the drinking class." - WC Fields
Anyway, I arrived at the Sports Page around 1 PM, and nobody else was there yet. I hung out for a while, checked out an incipient party across the street, then wandered back. As people came in, I wandered over and introduced myself, asked where they were from, and handed out promotional materials and Mardi Gras beads like candy. It definitely wasn't the same as playing, and the ambiance was very different and more mellow without music happening. But I had fun meeting people from as far away as Medicine Hat, Alberta (?) and La Paz, Mexico. And I got to meet some folks I'd been getting to know electronically through BuffettNews, a one-stop site for people interested in discussing and finding out more about Mr. Buffett.
And I managed to upgrade myself, through a couple of interactions, from lawn seating and general parking to a fairly decent seat and reserved parking, for not a whole lot of money. :) Sometimes the Universe be beddy, beddy good to me. :)
So it was a fun day, and an opportunity to meet and hang out with some "phun pholks," to use Parrot-speak. But I had more fun last October in Vegas, where they *really* know how to party.
I guess that gives us something to aspire to for the future. :)
Well, here in the Bay Area we had a couple of strikes against us:
1) Shoreline doesn't open its parking lots until 5 PM, limiting the opportunities for joyous reveling. And the Mountain View police were somewhat visibly enforcing the "no open flames, no alcohol" policy. (Though I did witness cases where a couple of officers looked at a margarita glass full of something, asked about it, were told that it was just the "virgin" mix, and smiled and walked away.)
2) The Sports Page bar, a traditional pre-concert party spot, has had difficulties with their entertainment license this year, so no live music was allowed. :( As I was likely to *be* the live music, this has been a bit distressing.
3) It was Tuesday. Some people actually had to (*gack*) work.
"Work is the curse of the drinking class." - WC Fields
Anyway, I arrived at the Sports Page around 1 PM, and nobody else was there yet. I hung out for a while, checked out an incipient party across the street, then wandered back. As people came in, I wandered over and introduced myself, asked where they were from, and handed out promotional materials and Mardi Gras beads like candy. It definitely wasn't the same as playing, and the ambiance was very different and more mellow without music happening. But I had fun meeting people from as far away as Medicine Hat, Alberta (?) and La Paz, Mexico. And I got to meet some folks I'd been getting to know electronically through BuffettNews, a one-stop site for people interested in discussing and finding out more about Mr. Buffett.
And I managed to upgrade myself, through a couple of interactions, from lawn seating and general parking to a fairly decent seat and reserved parking, for not a whole lot of money. :) Sometimes the Universe be beddy, beddy good to me. :)
So it was a fun day, and an opportunity to meet and hang out with some "phun pholks," to use Parrot-speak. But I had more fun last October in Vegas, where they *really* know how to party.
I guess that gives us something to aspire to for the future. :)
# posted by Loren Davidson @ 8:01 AM 
