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Friday, April 20, 2012
Review: Jimmy Buffett pre-concert tailgates were sparse, but concert was packed (April 19)
By most accounts, the venue was an improvement.
Photo by Sarah Blaskovich
Where are we again?
DALLAS — Jimmy Buffett fans leisurely made their way to Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas on Thursday -- the first time in five years that the concert didn't take place at Frisco's FC Dallas Stadium. Whereas the Frisco event had a carnival-like atmosphere that attracted 30,000 people, many who didn't go into the concert, the Dallas event this year was much more like the laid-back beach party Buffett sings about.
A few hours before showtime, only a handful of really elaborate RV set-ups were blaring Caribbean tunes and playing parking lot games. The majority of the thousand or so tailgaters lounged in hammocks or worked the grill; one woman calmly read a book in the back of her SUV, sipping a fruity drink. The fact that the concert fell on a Thursday instead of a Saturday probably also contributed to the late start.
Photo by Sarah Blaskovich
The trailer owned by Chris Boshell, a friend of Jerry Dale Dobbs, had just enough room for one chair -- but there was lots to look at.
Last year in Frisco, thousands of RVs set up 36 hours before the concert, and thousands more spent the night after the concert sleeping in campers or in the backs of their cars. The parking lot party boomed on well into the early morning hours.
Despite the smaller crowds before the 2012 Buffett show, many people said the party at Gexa was better. Free parking didn't hurt.
"You've got camaraderie here -- more actual Buffett fans here than you did in Frisco," said Jerry Dale Dobbs, who proudly showed off his friend's decked-out trailer to passersby, pausing for several photo ops. A hardcore Buffett fan, Dobbs said he and his friends wouldn't return to Frisco if it were held there again this year. He had a bad experience after the tires on his car were slashed late one evening last year.
Photo by Sarah Blaskovich
A few hours before the show, this parking lot at Gexa was pretty much empty. It filled up before the concert.
Many other tailgaters seemed surprised by the relatively calm crowd, which eventually swelled about an hour before showtime. And as men in coconut bras and women dressed as pirates made their way into Gexa, there was hardly any room to spread out a blanket inside the concert venue.
The Dallas show was focused on the concert, where the biggest of fans came early and stayed late. The others? Well they were just there for the margaritas.
Jimmy Buffett Tailgates at Gexa Energy Pavilion (April 19)
Photos by Sarah Blaskovich
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Venue review: Three Links in Deep Ellum slings craft beer in a rockin' atmosphere
YNWA, let us know what you think!
New restaurant House 34 will open on McKinney Avenue in Uptown
Ha, good point! To their credit, I believe as of today they got in touch with the band and are agree
Venue review: Three Links in Deep Ellum slings craft beer in a rockin' atmosphere
I'll have to check this place out over the weekend.
dallasdano, anonymous:
It was because nobody wanted to spend the night in South Dallas at Fair Park.
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js9459, anonymous:
I went to Gexa with an open mind, disappointed it wasn’t in Pizza Hut Park (or whatever the name is). We got in line with our three vehicles at 7:30am and expected the gates to open at 8am.
First strike, they could not find the keys to open the gate because the supervisor hadn’t yet shown up for work (per Gexa attendants and police). Once they found the keys at 8:20 we finally got in and they told us to park anywhere we wanted; which we did (we parked close to Gexa theatre opening). This wasn’t a huge problem but it sort of stated things off with a bad taste.
Second strike, after spending an hour setting up our tailgating, which included tiki bar, large sound system, Adirondack chairs, two grills, tables, chairs, popups, etc. (and enjoying getting to know the other parrotheads around us for another hour) we were asked to move; that we were in the employee parking area! REALLY? We thought they were kidding! Apparently the employees get the best parking and paying customers get the worst! I have never heard of that in my entire life…WOW!!! So, approximately 30-40 groups of parrotheads had to pack up and disband and find someplace else to park! Of course the Gexa folks brought the police with them to intimidate us all…which it did. (Side note – the police force were great all day and night, super police force).
Third strike, sitting on the left side you could not understand a single word that Jimmy Buffett said; terrible sound system.
I did not want to say this (because I enjoyed the smaller crowd and cheaper parking) but… let’s go back to Pizza Hut Park (and Saturday night please)
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Sarah Blaskovich, staff:
Thanks for the feedback, js9459. There's no question that Saturday night would have been better, regardless of the venue. Sounds like you guys had a pretty frustrating experience.
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phe, anonymous:
All the whining from Buffett fans about how bad Fair Park is, and how much they want to go back to Frisco - it just cracks me up.
Hey folks, there's NOTHING wrong with Fair Park. There are big shows at Gexa all the time! There are family events at Fair Park almost every weekend.
Why don't you just fess up and say what you really mean: Don't make us go be near people who aren't exactly like us! All those black and Hispanic people scare us!
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js9459, anonymous:
phe, not sure who your talking about, but I assume you didn't read my whole comment. I said nothing about race, I have been to several concerts at Gexa and have enjoyed them. I was commenting on the gates, parking, Thurday night and sound issues at Gexa. You seem to have your own issues. Have a good day.
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starrtg, anonymous:
Phe, problem is, knee jerk, over reacting people read and see what they want (even though it is the opposite of what they claim to want to see).
Gexa sucks for Buffett concerts. I have been to two at Starplex, three in Frisco. The fun wraps around the venue for a mile and you can spend all day travelling around and meeting people in a laid back laissez faire attitude and almost no drama from the city, security, the police or anyone else. We can go there for four days without extreme time constraints that make people drive when they shouldn't. Not sure why the concert moved, but I hope that it moves back to Frisco and leave Dallas for the more hip hop crowd........ just kidding phe.
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What do you think?