Repost: Off To See The Lizard

Originally posted on 08/23/2002:

The day started slow, with massive confusion about who was going in which car, who was driving, who was staying sober. There were a lot of problems convincing some of the less fanatical people in the group that subs and gourmet cheese trays don't make for good tailgating at a Buffett Concert. Rule #1. Never let the clueless be responsible for the food. We couldn't find a portable grille on such short notice, so much for cheeseburgers in the parking lot.

A slightly late start, but after a quick stop at Giant Eagle, we were on the road. Watching the caravan of cars all decorated with fins, palm trees, and other island stuff reminded me why I loved this trip so much. Yes, the road was down to one lane for several miles, and traffic was a bit hectic, but it was still a fun drive. We reached Starlake around 4pm and got in the line of traffic back to the parking lots. Of course, we got in the wrong lane, and got directed to the bad section of the parking lot, away from the main crowd of people, and in a horrid position to get out at the end of the night. Rule #2. Tailgating is all about the crowd around your car. Ours sucked, we headed off into the throng of people in the main lot.

With half the group in my car, and the rest in another car that had been there since earlier in the afternoon, we set out to find them. Quick cellphone call that went something like this:

Us: Where are you?
Them: We're between post L and M, beside a white truck with a fin on top, and a car with palm trees all over it.
Us: You realize you just described every car in the parking lot?
Them: Oh. Yeah, guess we did.
Us: Would you care to be more specific?
Them: We're near Information Station 4?
Us: Gah. We'll find you.
Rule #3. Do not let the clueless try and give you directions.

So we finally find the other half of the group, and proceed to 'tailgate' with them. They've got their little gourmet cheese tray, subs and chips. No corona or margaritas to be found. No cheeseburgers, no grille. No tailgating here either. Off into the masses we go. The parking lot was packed with the usual assortment
of fins, sharks, parrots and drunken revelers. This is a religious experience not to be missed. We were invited to join several groups, and had our pictures taken fairly frequently. The joy of having on a grass skirt, coconut bra, hawaiian shirt and flamingo hat. I busted one woman down fairly badly because of it. We
were walking past her and I can hear her pointing me out to her friends. When I get closer she says "Oh my god, that's a guy!" I look at her and ask her "And your problem with that would be?" Her friends bust out laughing. Rule #4: Not everyone wearing a skirt and bra is female.

After touring the parking lot, we headed back to the rest of the group and started making our way towards the entrance. Passing through the security check was interesting, you aren't allowed to carry anything in, so I had to shake out the blanket. We still managed to get the camera in though. A quick trip to the bar for more drinks at outrageous prices and into the lawn to find a place to watch the show. The friends suggest we just find a spot at the top of the hill where it's less crowded. We opt to walk all the way to the bottom of the lawn and work our way up, trying to find an interesting looking group to be in the middle of, and still have good sight lines. Rule #5. You want to be in the middle of things, not seperated from the main crowd. That's part of the fun!

After finding a fairly tasty bit of turf, we camped out and waited for the show to start. As is usual, I needed a beverage. While wandering over towards the Coke place, I saw a tent where they were applying henna and airbrush tattoos. Considering the enjoyment of the henna tattoo on my hand/wrist last month, I figured I'd do it again. Until I saw the airbrush setup. I had a nice ring of lizards dancing over my stomach for the show. It was the perfect addition to the outfit, though it's gone completely now.

I get back to our spot as the final sound checks are being finished to find out the other half of the party has decided they want to sit elsewhere, but didn't say specifically where. Quick scouting run and we can't find them. Screw em, they can sit by themselves. The set was a large tree (the tree of life?) that looked
to be in the middle of the desert. Reminded me of the footage from his trip to Africa. There was a Tiki Bar on stage for Zydeco and the encores. The show starts and the crowd goes nuts. Tina and Indera come out and start Day-O, with the crowd doing the callbacks.

Jimmy came out a few minutes later and started into his long set. He mixed it up nicely between songs from the new album, the usual favorites and covers, and some songs that don't get played often, but are in the rotation. He didn't do God's Own Drunk, but he hit all the others. Margaritaville had an interesting switch. He went straight to the end after the 'Lost Verse' and skipped the 'Pop Top' verse. Imagine the suprise when he played the missing verse as part of the encore. Boat Drinks and WDWGDAS were done in Old Time Style ala 'O Brother Where Art Thou.' Pretty funny stuff, and a nice twist to old classics that we've all heard
before.