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Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Call of the Night Singers by Ari McKay Concert review: Jimmy Buffett kicks off 2021 tour in Delray Beach: ‘We’re back!’ If the success of the opening night of Jimmy Buffett with Coral Reefer Friends’ 2021 tour can be gauged by the number of fans donning parrot costumes, or the collective number of margaritas consumed, Thursday night was a smashing hit. The concert — the first of four sold-out shows at The Pavilion at Old School Square in Delray Beach — was one of the first in Palm Beach County since the pandemic halted live music more than a year ago and just hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted mask- wearing requirements and other restrictions for most vaccinated Americans. © JIM RASSOL/Palm Beach Post Jimmy Buffett and Friends play The Pavilion at Old School Square on Thursday, May 13, 2021 in Delray Beach. And Parrot Heads — loud, fun and sporting outrageous getups — came ready to party. The no-frills stage show was a far cry from Buffett's often elaborate production, but it worked. Call it a little less corporate and a lot more intimate — it was just Jimmy, playing the songs you know by heart in a refreshingly authentic way. An intimate Jimmy Buffett concert. The six-piece band was smaller than Buffett’s typical touring group but included Wellington’s own John Lovell on trumpet. Also absent was the giant video screen that normally displays close-ups of fans, the band or exotic locales. Present in abundance, however, were hordes of jovial die-hards, freshly snockered from the restaurants and bars of nearby Atlantic Avenue and the Pineapple Grove Art District, which were packed for hours before the show. Those who did not score the highly sought-after tickets made their peace with folding chairs lined up along low walls inside the public parking garage siding the venue. Outside, human flamingos and an endless array of brightly dressed fans in leis and Hawaiian shirts tailgated on the street. © Jim Rassol, Palm Beach Post Jimmy Buffett fans line up before the concert at The Pavilion at Old School Square on Thursday, May 13, 2021 in Delray Beach. [JIM RASSOL/palmbeachpost.com] Buffett set the tone early: laughing, joking, telling stories and repeatedly saying how glad he was to be face-to-face with fans again. “This is not a Zoom, it’s a real, live show,” he laughed, sauntering onto the outdoor stage in front of 222 socially distanced, four-person “pods” separated by low fences. He shared his frustration over the past year of isolation, assuring the crowd there are better times ahead, before fittingly kicking off the night with “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” with the apropos, “If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” Strumming an acoustic guitar, Buffett offered one classic hit after another, mostly from the early years and all with the catchy island rhythm for which he is known. A jaunty rendition of “Pencil Thin Mustache,” rolled into “Migration,” the shimmering sound of steel-drums sweeping through the audience like a Caribbean breeze. Buffett, who has homes in Palm Beach and Key West, regaled fans with personal anecdotes, often about each song’s origin, but sometimes about band members or how he was feeling at a particular time in his life. Before “The Wino and I Know,” Buffett spoke of performing on Bourbon Street in New Orleans before taking a trip with a friend to Key West. He fell in love with Florida and “never looked back,” he said. He joked about the forecasted rain that never materialized Thursday night, saying it reminded him of a sailing trip he once took from Newport, Rhode Island to the British Virgin Islands. Back then, however, it did rain, he said. In fact, it stormed and the boat broke, all before they ever left the dock. “That’s what sailing is all about,” he said, explaining that sailing is like life, and sometimes, you just have to roll with the punches. “This is not a zoom.” That was @jimmybuffett’s introduction to @OldSchoolSquare and Delray Beach. The show just began. Video and reaction from fans on @WPBF25News at 11. pic.twitter.com/XMjYVGfn79 — Ari Hait (@wpbf_ari) May 14, 2021. “For the first time in human history, fun was stopped,” he said of the pandemic. Then, to the delight of the cheering crowd, he added, “We’re back!” “Son of a Son of a Sailor” was followed by “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” before guest singer Caroline Jones appeared on stage to harmonize on “Come Monday.” Jones then took over lead vocals for her own hit, “Gulf Coast Girl,” and stayed on for a juicy helping of “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” during which Buffett had the audience on their feet dancing and singing along. The band kept the energy flowing with “Volcano,” then took a short break, leaving the stage to guitarist Mac McAnally, who almost stole the show with a single song. After humbly explaining that the guitar on the Allman Brothers classic instrumental piece “Little Martha,” was actually done with two guitars, McAnally proceeded to pluck out a solo version that would have made the late composer Duane Allman proud. Alone in a purple spotlight, McAnally captivated the audience with expert fretwork, slicing through the simple but powerful piece like a hot spoon through ice cream. Well, words can't describe how cool it was taking my son to his first show tonight. @jimmybuffett was on top of his game. Great set list. Great energy. More to come on this amazing night in Florida. pic.twitter.com/o3EJH6IeW7 — Captain Jim (@phcaptjim) May 14, 2021. The audience, which forewent disbursing for the obligatory mid-show bathroom break, rewarded McAnally with one of the heartiest ovations of the night. Buffett and the other band members returned with “Delaney Talks to Statues” and “Woman Goin’ Crazy on Caroline Street.” The mellow “Tin Cup Chalice” and “Last Mango in Paris” provided fans a short break from dancing in the sticky, sweaty heat. The audience mostly made up of folks over the age of 50, seemed to collectively melt inward during “A Pirate Looks at Forty” and “Back Where I Come From,” a feeling of melancholy seeping through the emotional crowd. Buffett snapped them back with the first notes of “Margaritaville,” saying, “This song paved the way for me not to have to get a real job.” Fans got what they came for, yelling “salt, salt, salt” at all the right moments and shimmying and shaking their hearts out until Buffett took his leave. Minutes later, the band returned for an encore with “One Particular Harbor” — a chill, island groove that had fans back on their feet. “Fins” saw the crowd swaying in unison left and right with their arms above their heads like shark fins before Buffett brought it home with the low- key “Floridays.” Cookie Consent and Choices. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. This information is shared with social media, sponsorship, analytics, and other vendors or service providers. See details. You may click on “ Your Choices ” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. You can adjust your cookie choices in those tools at any time. If you click “ Agree and Continue ” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. Cookie Consent and Choices. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. This information is shared with social media, sponsorship, analytics, and other vendors or service providers. See details. You may click on “ Your Choices ” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. You can adjust your cookie choices in those tools at any time. If you click “ Agree and Continue ” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. Call of the Night Singers. Tomorrow, our Gothic horror novella, “Call of the Night Singers”, is coming out! It’s something Ari has already talked about, but there were a couple of behind the scenes things I wanted to share as well. The story takes place primarily in Bath, NC, and it mentions a curse on the little town, which is a real thing. Well, as real as a legendary curse can be, depending on how much stock you put in that kind of thing! It’s called the Whitefield Curse, and it was placed on Bath by a traveling evangelist in the mid-1700s. Apparently, he thought the residents of Bath were unrepentant sinners, and when he left town for the last time, he shook the dust of the town off his shoes and laid his curse on it. Coincidentally (or not *ominous music*), Bath began as a prosperous port city, but not long after Whitefield left, its fortune began to decline.