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Episode 11: Patio Bash

By Mickey on 1 Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, August 2 2006, (9:30 PM – 11:30 PM) behind Big Al’s in Browstown MI.
    “Our biggest turnout yet: Don, Laury, Greg, Greg 2.0, Mike, Mickey, Schmoe, and even Scott, discussing the new DVD and a classic album.”

    Can you guys make out what Greg 2.0 is saying? The bar was noisy and he was sitting far from the mic, but if you listen closely you can make out “You know, during my travels, I, I, you know, listening to Sirius radio, looking–looking for something to listen to, I could find the Jimmy Buffett channel.
    “…What the fuck?
    “[To Nate] Sorry little Joe. I’ll watch my language.
    “But uh…I never listened to it, but I saw it. And I immediately thought about you goofy bastards. And I’m driving down the middle of Missouri, laughing my ass off. ‘I bet these goofy bastards are sitting there listening to this crap right now.’”
    Is it true there were more people on mic than subscribe to the show? We even had an audience, as Don and Nate (Schmoe’s son) listened off-mic. Well, actually, Nate slept through the whoe recording — which makes him pretty much your typical North Coast Cast subscriber. And apparently we’re going for the record on most gay jokes per minute (gjpm); but how else could we celebrate the return of the prodigal Scott?! He came back in time to discuss the new live DVD. And the “PC” Schmoe refers to (which really was our only light source outside) is actually Scott’s brand new 15″ MacBook. So much for Apple’s “Mac vs PC” marketing campaign. By the way, speaking of gjpm, I think I should’ve said “minced” instead of “flounced” during the show.
    Thanks to listener Ed (who’s also present on our our Frappr map) I got word that Best Buy was selling Live at Wrigley Field ahead of its release date. The Best Buy near where I work did not have it, but this was hardly a surprise since they never seem to have anything — despite always having fully stocked shelves. I managed to snag the disc Friday morning at the Southgate Best Buy, and was able to revel in it all weekend long. I even got to watch it on a 50″ plasma screen, pleasantly surprised to find out the concert is 16×9 anamorphic. (Why do I have the feeling Jimmy must have bought a widescreen TV or two recently?) The daylight video reveals some compression problems, but the nighttime stuff looks great. And I have to admit, at the risk of sounding Scott-ish, that watching women thrust their upper frontals at the camera is actually kind of scary on a 50″ screen.
    The benefit of being in charge of the show notes is even if I don’t speak up dring the show, I get to have the last word here. Despite liking the DVD, especially the unobtrusive and non-flashy editing, I have a problem with the concert itself. I really wish Jimmy would let go of Heather Perry and the on-stage choreography. I’m not denying Ms Perry looks great, but she is more of a distraction from the music and doesn’t add to the show. (Actually whenever she appears I keep thinking someone from the crowd got up on stage.) I really hate all this theatrical staging, with the props and skits and fire eaters and limbo contests. It reeks too much of those lame Carnival Cruise Line shows. When I go to a Buffett show (those rare years he deigns to visit us) I go fo the great songs, story telling, and banter — not lion tamers, costume changes, and trapeze artistes.
    </rant>
    Those were my DVD notes. Here are my Son of a Son of a Sailor notes. 1) When I was younger I cynically figured Jimmy made this the single just so it would sound like he was going to say “son of a bitch” on the radio. It was a long while later before I got to read the lyrics and see what a great song this really is.
    2) I got my Eskatrol definition from the COB,O.org FAQ.
    3) as with the title track, I cynically figured “The Last Line” was a veiled reference to cocaine. Reading the lyrics it looks like Keith Sykes might have been extremely depressed. Were there fearful outcries of retirement when Jimmy sang “Time has come to not make a sound” the way some people are now bewailing his writing a song called “Party at the End of the World”?
    4) I like to think that I single-handedly got Jimmy to perform “Livingston Saturday Night” live. I couldn’t understand why year after year this song never made the setlist; it seemed like this would be such an exciting, energizing addition to a show. Whenever I wrote to the Margaritaville Store in Key West I would include this demand. And after four years of letters, Jimmy finally played it! I got to hear it three times at his three night stand at Pine Knob, and I would smile proudly knowing this was all because of me. Sadly, this was way back in 1993 and he’s hardly played it since.
    5) it’s easy to enjoy a song about cheeseburgers…but then they had to ruin it by having a dancing cow on stage in 2001. Was that Heather Perry in there? 6) like I said in the show, I love the orchestration but the song is too slow for me. 7) I thought it was “cull the world’s rum”, Scott thought it was “crawl the world’s run”, Mike thought is was “Calderwood’s Rum”, Margaritaville.com says “Caldwood’s Rum”; but Google seems to suggest it’s “Callwood’s Rum” (cf. here and here — no matter how many e-mails Schmoe sends me!). And the other lyric debate obviously refers to the sleeves of Dwight Schrute. (Long ago I thought it might have something to do with “cheroot”.)
    8) Wikipedia has some juicy quotes from Florida Citrus Commission spokeswoman Anita Bryant and her stand against Dade County’s 1977 anti-descrimination ordinance. I was going to include some here, but I almost feel we’ve done more than enough gay-bashing this week. After all, this show was supposed to be our submission reel for the 17th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. And I was wrong in saying Son of a Son of a Sailor came out that same year; it was released a year later.
    And, 9) like I said, Jimmy needs to write more story-songs like this one, and he really needs to perform this one.
    Want to read along with Schmoe? Download a PDF of the ABC Records memo.
    P.S.: it didn’t make the final cut, but next week’s assignment is our top ten Buffett songs and our thoughts on Off to the See the Lizard. Feel free to share your own with us at podcast@northcoastcast.com.

      >  Download Episode 11

Episode 10: Squalls Out On the Great Lake

By Mickey on Leave a Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, July 26 2006, (10:00 PM – 11:05 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI; and July 15 – 19 at Silver Lake MI.
    “It’s a double-wide episode to make up for last week’s absence. Half of it is our normal show with Mike, Schmoe, and Mickey. But Schmoe, Mike, and Sarah recorded a whole other Gospel From the Coast show last week, which is included as a postscript.”

    Unfortunately this week’s show notes are prevented, by forces out of our control, from illuminating much about what we talked about.
    Jackson Quigley’s website is called Club St Somewhere. Megan Mohr, winner of the Radio Margaritaville “Ultimate Parrothead” contest, is known as “Mermaid in Disguise” on the Buffettnews boards. Her full audio submission can (at least currently) be heard on RM’s homepage.
    My quip about “Weird Al” Yankovic comes from finding any two-bit “Morning Zoo” radio parody was labeled “Monty Python” or “‘Weird Al’ Yankovic”. Instructions on how to set up On-The-Go playlists can be found here,
    Regarding what we’ve been cleared to say about Mike & Schmoe’s vacation: the tequilas they talk about are Herradura and Cabo Wabo. The recording that bookends the show was recorded Saturday, July 15. The big storm occured on Monday, July 17. The aftermath can be viewed here, courtesy of Schmoe’s home movies.

    The final recording is from Wednesday, July 19. The wind noise is pretty strong but Schmoe is bemoaning his son asking him if there are “freshwater sharks” in the lake. Here’s some video from that day too.

    I forgot that the Songs You Know By Heart: Greatest Hit(s) album cover is available on CD, but only on the MCA gold Masterdisc. In case you have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about when we mention the cardboard boxes CDs used to come in, here’s a photo of my copy of Feeding Frenzy. (It’s the only box I still have from Buffett.) Mike points out Buffett World has a great compendium of LP album art. According to this repository, Off to See the Lizard is the last vinyl release. And, again thanks to this repository, here are the A1A and Havana Daydreamin’ gatefolds. As usual my memory fails me: the psychedelic gatefold is actually from Living and Dying in 3/4 Time. Buffett World doesn’t offer this image, but you can see it courtesy of Buffett @ Music for Life.
    P.S.: Crooner Bing Crosby passed away October 14 1977.
    P.P.S.: A crooner is typically a male singer performing sentimental songs in a soft, low voice.
    Favorite show quote: “I know. A lot of effort to say something wrong.”

      >  Download Episode 10

Episode 9: this WEEK in GREG

By Mickey on Leave a Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, July 12 2006, (9:00 PM – 10:45 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “A local news exclusive, Greg fills us in on the incredible events of last Thursday…all unfortunately at the expense of anything at all Buffett related.”

    With not a lot of Buffett news to recap, the guys discussed their own news stories. There’s not a lot to correct here, on the show notes page, since the original news story is below — and the corrections are part of this week’s podcast itself. Greg brought his laptop, with which he showed scanned photos of the car wreck and the damage to his front porch and garage door. Hopefully we’ll be able to post some of these photos here or in the FSGL photo gallery.
    Smithereens, according to a handy dictionary desktop widget, are “small pieces” and the word is believed to originate from the Irish smidirin.
    Mike and Schmoe are going away on vacation next week. It sounds suspiciously Brokebackish but they swear their wives are going to. We’re still uncertain how their absence will affect our podcasting schedule. We definitely will not be recording at Big Al’s Wednesday, but plans are afoot to at least release something.
    Uncertain of the joke behind this week’s title? Check here.

      >  Download Episode 9

Episode 8: Brake Lights! Brake Lights!

By Mickey on 1 Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, July 7 2006, (9:00 PM – 10:30 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “Just Mike and Mickey and Schmoe tonight discussing the last two concerts, with another ticket hunt story and an audio flashback to 1995.”

    The show begins with a bit of remote field production, recorded Sunday night, June 24, at the Woodhaven softball fields. We finally got the oft-mentioned Hud to make a cameo appearance. Hopefully it’s the first of many. The wrapper which threatens to drown him out is a package of Oreos and the show we’re talking about is of course Episode 2.
    Mike hosted a listening party at his house, Saturday (July 1), for the Jones Beach show. As usual we were too busy eating and drinking and, in Schmoe’s case, napping, and never got around to recording anything. And it didn’t help that after the concert the Buffett party quickly became another impromptu meeting of our unofficial Jenna Fischer fan club. Some video footage of the day was shot too, which we hope to include here soon.
    Visit Bill Payne’s own website.
    Mickey meant to say “one song more” not “one show more”; as well as “lord it over” not “laud it over”. And he drank less than usual that night.
    Yes, we recorded at Big Al’s, as usual, despite the sound of children in the background. For some reason there were a lot of kids there. Bikers too, again, but they cleared out in time for weekly podcast session.
    The Homecoming Mickey mentions has nothing to do with high school or college football. It’s the name of Dearborn’s city festival.
    Still looking for a chart for Buffett’s album sales. Here’s one for peak chart position at least. Buffett has sold 22.5 million albums, total, which ties him with The Police, Vince Gill, and Sade.
    Let’s put the boys out of their misery. The year they’re thinking of is 1995. Monday, August 14 1995, in fact, back during the Domino College tour. A drive from Dearborn to Birmingham is around twenty miles, with another twenty-five miles northeast to get to Pine Knob. As far as our ticket adventure goes, the boys forgot a few details. A rare peek into Mickey’s private diary might fill in some blanks…

    [After a half-day of work, I arrived at Mike’s to find him “leashed to the phone”, waiting to hear from his mother-in-law. But she happened to call soon afterward.] She said the tickets were being held for us at the Pine Knob box office. They were under the name of Ray Harris, to be given to Rhonda Doran [given to her by her father, a bigwig at Ford], and they belonged to a group of tickets from Steve Smith who apparently is Buffett’s manager. […] Mike was rather dubious but I suggested he should at least call up the box office first. He got the number through information. […] Finally he was told that the tickets had already been picked up by a John French, who’d had a copy of Ray Harris’s ID. Mike didn’t know what to think. Had the tickets which had been intended for us been lifted? He called up his mother-in-law, muttering that if he were ever to write a spy novel the villain’s name would be John French. His mother-in-law, unfortunately, was not in now, so he left a message explaining the most recent developments. We were running out of time, it was probably around three or three:thirty, so we decided to go out and run our errands [for tailgating supplies].
    […] When we got back Sarah had a message for us. John French had picked up the tickets and dropped them off at the Birmingham theater. Apparently John French had done our ‘dirty work’ for us, but why he’d chosen the Birmingham theater as a drop-off point is anybody’s guess. It certainly wasn’t convenient and certainly was out-of-the-way. We were to go to the Birmingham theater, go to office number 231, and the tickets would be waiting for us there; we could pick them up around five or six, and they’d be under the name Doran or Joe’s name. We weren’t sure why Joe was suddenly a part of it, but in the end this meant he had to claim the tickets himself.
    I think we left around four or four:thirty [to meet up with Joe & Jackie]. I sat in the rear of their van, sweltering in the faintness of the air conditioning back there — and also getting more and more tense and aggravated. This was all due to Jackie, who was a bundle of nerves riding next to her husband: she would jump, shriek, yell, stamp, and bitch at Joe’s every move. “Joe!” she’d squawk, “Joe! Brake lights! What are you doing! Look out! Joe, he’s stopping! You’re driving too fast! Joe, stop it! You’re going to get in an accident!” I suppose it would’ve been laughable if it hadn’t been so maddening.
    I had predicted I-696 would be a huge jam-up but actually traffic moved fluidly and quickly. We were soon driving past the Detroit Zoo and onward to Birmingham. And soon we were approaching the theater. Joe parked by it, a few doors down, and got out. We kept an eye on him from the van as he walked back and forth outside the theater’s façade. The marquee announced it was closed, and the windows were all soaped over. Things did not look good. Joe looked pretty lost so I hopped out to help him. Just then he asked someone passing by and was directed to an old looking wood and glass door set off to the side of the theater entrance; its window bore the addresses of offices. This looked promising so he went in and I returned to the van; but unfortunately Joe was right back on the sidewalk again. Sarah got out and then Jackie. […] Jackie seemed to set Joe straight: they found a second door on the other side of the theater entrance, on the left. This corresponded with the office address he’d been given. We waited for him in the van, watching for his reappearance. The van was still running so we were able to keep cool. Things actually were pretty tense; it might sound silly to say it but we were pretty anxious to find out what was going to happen. It would all be decided in just a few seconds: either Joe came out with tickets or we were the victims of some senseless and pointless wild goose chase.
    “Here he comes,” we said; “he’s got nothing!” Mike shouted. But in fact he did have an envelope in his hand. He got into the van and we moved off. By this time Jackie, by mutual consent, had switched seats with me so I was riding shotgun. For the heck of it I bitched at Joe about his driving too, but mainly encouraged him to go faster. As we progressed he told us what had happened. The stairway had been pretty warm so he’d been sweating bullets as he’d walked up to the second floor. His heart was pounding a mile a minute, he added. He proceeded onward and found the 231 office easily (joking that it helped to have the office number actually correspond with the number he’d been given — he had to hand it to Jackie for remembering that). It was an office for the Nederlander family [who own several Detroit theaters]. It was very quiet and the few people inside looked up as he entered. He felt very self-conscious until he spotted an envelope on the counter. It was tucked under a computer, and he could just make out “Doran” on it. He could also see part of his own name. Inside were four tickets for row J, a small cover-piece looking just like a ticket but with strange large abbreviations printed on it, and a hand-printed note. Joe didn’t want to read the note but I did anyway. It was pretty basic, just a hope that Rhonda would enjoy the concert; I assumed it came from Ray Harris. It also mentioned that the tickets were fifty bucks each. [Yes, we had to pay for these. And we got to Pine Knob at five:thirty, with plenty of time to tailgate and unload our extra tickets.]

    The James Bond movie out then was Goldeneye.

      >  Download Episode 8

Episode 7: Stranded on a Sandbar

By Mickey on 2 Comments

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, June 28 2006, (9:00 PM – 11:00 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “A veritable Sargasso of a show, as our cast (Schmoe, Mike, Mickey, Greg, and Schmoe’s sons Jacob and Nate) struggle to find the Topics of Conversation: more Caseville, souvenirs, Uncle Warren, a shoutout to Jackson Quigley, and memories of Buckeye Lake ’93.”

    We sensed this would be a sub-par show, only because there’s so little to talk about. Jimmy would be back performing, but this would ne the day after our podcast. Nevertheless, we talked for ninety minutes, mainly hashing out plans for the Caseville road trip (and still got to watch some of the NBA draft). The references to Chicago are about some plans to see Roger Clyne in November. Tickets will be only $8 [hear that Jimmy?], and it’s felt that attendance is inevitable now that Mike & Joe learned the opening act is called “Mike & Joe” and the place is called Joe’s Bar. And as far as remembering the song lyrics to “Life is Just a Tire Swing”, Mike is correct and Mickey is wrong.
    Greg piqued the curiosity of fellow Big Al’s patron Mary, who dropped by our recording studio for a brief visit. And if Schmoe seems a bit more loquacious tonight perhaps it’s because of his birthday shot of Cuervo. Happy Birthday Schmoe! Feel free to send him birthday greetings at joeisastub@northcoastcast.com. [I think that’s the address he said.]
    Folliclephobia is not the accepted term for fear of hair. According to the Phobia List, “chaetophobia” is.
    Culture references: The Chris Farley Show, a Weenologist business card, “three is a magic number“. The book title Greg and Mickey can’t figure out is Invest Like Warren Buffett, Live Like Jimmy Buffett. (And did you ever notice how people still misspell Jimmy’s last name but hardly ever Warren’s?)
    For those of you who keep confusing Jimmy and Warren, Stephen Colbert, American hero and host of The Colbert Report, has this handy reminder (from his March 10 show, where he took a look at Nebraska’s Second District — “the Fighting Second”):

    The venerable Jackson Quigley, also known by his nom de web “BUBBAFREAK” and whose website can be accessed here, is a vocal supporter of the podcast…and we hope he doesn’t mind a little good-natured ribbing now that we’ve mentioned him on the show. His JimmyDotCom book is out-of-stock at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com, but you can still order an autographed copy here. We’ve already ordered ours!
    P.S.: Greg’s first “Cowboy in the Jungle” attempt was in 1993. He succeeded in hearing it in 1997.

      >  Download Episode 7

Episode 6: Ticketo Trauma

By Mickey on Leave a Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, June 21 2006, (7:30 PM – 9:30 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “Topics include our Ticketmaster misadventures, tailgating plans,
summer storms, the shortest longest day of the year, punchline races, Caseville cheeseburgers, and even jury duty. Greg joins the group and it turns out we don’t even really need Greg 2.0.”

    Comments from Greg 2.0 were recorded but who needs them with Schmoe’s uncanny impersonation? The Downriver area was beset with thunderstorms all day long, so this week’s gab session occurred much earlier than usual. Mike was busy at work but still managed to show up for the recording (and was a bit peeved Schmoe and Mickey had discussed going on without him). Our weekly technical problem was Low Battery once again. We were able to edit around it, but the break in taping occurs around the halfway point of the show.
    Harmony House Records & Tapes was a chain of record stores and a popular source for Ticketmaster purchases. But as Amazon.com and other online outlets became prominent, Harmony House was forced to close almost all their stores.
    The Fluorescent Light story comes from when Hud used to live by a power tower, and Greg’s declaration one rainy evening that we could get a fluorescent bulb to light up if we went out and held it beneath the power tower sizzling in the rain. Mickey sure he was risking sterility nevertheless volunteered for the experiment, declaiming “I HAVE THE POWER” as he held the bulb aloft. It did not light up, unfortunately. But Greg still swears the experiment should have worked, and blames the wind for spoiling the conditions.
    Mickey’s friend’s music store was called Record Den. For no real reason, here are links to Frenchtown Square Mall and Southland Mall
    Mike & Mickey shouldn’t be too concerned about their “LT9” tickets. Similar seats are going for $195 to $270.
    And here’s Greg’s Fishfly Festival link.

      >  Download Episode 6

Episode 5: Shoooow Tuuuunes!

By Mickey on 2 Comments

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, June 14 2006 (9:00 PM – 11:00 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “A double-wide show to make up for last week. Mike, Mickey, and Schmoe review the last five concerts, look back at past shows, and critique Sirius radio. Plus the latest on Scott.”

    Scott did not show up all, but we discuss that during the episode. Gregular stayed for a while, but had to leave before we started the recording. The line “Get that shit on the podcast!” results from when Greg 2.0 flipped us off upon taking his leave. The episode unfortunately starts with some noticeable hiss, due to poor mic levels, but this clears up after two minutes; a sad consequence of recording while drinking.
    Thanks to Buffettnews.com for help with the setlists and thanks to Jimmy Dreamz for help with the music. Thanks to the Washington Post‘s “Buffett concert reviews: 1978 to 2006” article for hogging up the last twenty minutes of the show. And for information on the Caseville Cheeseburger Festival, you’ve got a choice of domains: http://www.cheeseburgerincaseville.com or http://www.cheeseburgerincaseville.org.

      >  Download Episode 5

Episode 4: PEBRAC

By Mickey on 1 Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Friday, June 2 2006 (7:30 PM – 2:00 AM) at the Schmoe abode and Wednesday, June 7 2006 (9:00 -10:30 PM), at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
“Our Wednesday show is actually last Friday’s show, due to Problems Existing Between Recorder and Chair. The gang assembles at Schmoe’s house to make margaritas and listen to the Atlanta concert on Sirius. But where’s Scott?”

As we promised on the 5/31 show, we were going to assemble on Friday to listen to the Atlanta concert on Sirius and comment on this leg of the Party at the End of the World tour. Mike even bought a Home Kit for his Sirius “Starmate Replay” radio. Only the core group showed up (and Scott swears he wasn’t invited, even though his e-mail address was included in all correspondence). The concert was fun, Schmoe’s margaritas were tasty, and we ended up doing more listening than podcasting. We did manage to record a bit after the show, but by then everyone was too relaxed and tired to say much. The comments might be good to add to next Wednesday’s show, but we doubted they’d stand on their own.
Fast forward to Wednesday. Big Al’s was very crowded and the back room was taken over by a bunch of bikers. We were too intimidated to go claim our recording studio, so we stayed in the main room for the podcast. The conversation was good and lively and Schmoe’s cat story was even greater the second time around! It went so well we even recorded some stuff in the parking lot on the way out. When Mickey checked the tape, however, nothing existed of the conversation. The only thing that got recorded was five minutes of Scott’s comments, before the podcast proper began. Mickey swears he checked the recorder and the “REC” symbol was lit up and he was seeing mic levels; but evidently he never bothered to check if the counter was moving and tape was rolling. Which means we were forced to resort to our Friday tape after all.
By remarkable coincidence, Friday was the same night we discovered our first review on iTunes, and our reactions to Twinkles’ pithy comments take up much of the show. Although Mike had had Sirius since Christmas, this was the first time he (and we) would be hearing a live show live; thus we were particularly dismayed when it started out so badly. Fortunately this was only a temporary technical problem. It’s possible Schmoe might be confusing Carmen Harlan with Doris Briscoe. Schmoe’s dad’s ‘dance’ refers to when we encouraged him to stand up during “One Particular Harbour” to show off the back of his Caribbean Soul t-shirt, which displayed the lyric “I used to rule my world from a pay phone”. (This was back when people only stood up for the second half of “One Particular Harbour”.) In honor of Schmoe’s dad, we still perform this move (using your thumbs to gesture to your back), during that line of the song. The new Buffetnews setlist database can be found here. Hopefuly someone can fill in the blanks regarding the 80s tours which will go a long way toward filling in the blanks in our own memories. And, by the way, Schmoe’s mom is not 42.

  >  Download Episode 4

Episode 3: Post-Game, Pre-Tour

By Mickey on 1 Comment

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, May 31 2006, (9:30 -11 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “Start time was delayed by the Pistons/Heat Game 5. Mike, Mickey, and Joe are joined by Greg; and we got cameos from Don, Meredith, Greg 2.0, and BK Kevin. We sound tired and worn-out by the game, but hopefully the bonus three endings might make up for it.”

    A more low-key show this week, seeing as everyone was worn down from the rain plus we waited till the Pistons game was over before starting. Shots were purchased in honor of birthday boy Mike. Our choices were Hot Damn or Hot Sex. When queried, Meredith replied with the immortal “Damn is hot and Sex is sweet” which unfortunately was not recorded. Greg 2.0 and Kevin’s intro was obviously recorded early (and was in regard to a personal pizza), as was our discussion on TV finales. Surprise guest Don hung around till the start of the show and Rgeular Greg lasted almost halfway through.
    As you already know, Jimmy Buffett’s selections for the Today show appearance were “Margaritaville”. “Changes”, and the up-tempo version of “Floridays”. Regarding Jimmy’s movie cameos, TV Week.com puts it succinctly: “Jimmy played the role of the armless guy in the 1994 film Cobb.” And “Jimmy played the role of the 727 Pilot in the 1995 film Congo.” (Of course, he has other connections to Hollywood, but these are the ones discussed in this episode.) Mickey is confused about Buffett’s heckler character being “quadriplegic”. Yes, all four limbs are affected, but only two are immobile. If memory serves, the character sat in a wheelchair and had hooks for hands. We’re still not sure when Buffett’s cameo occurs, but we’re not that eager to rewatch the movie to find out. Mickey’s comment about Congo can also refer to character actor and Michigan native Bruce Campbell, who also beat a timely retreat from the movie.

Re: the Hoot auction.
    Again with the Hoot auction.
    Mike sent out an e-mail Wednesday morning:

According to BuffettNews, the Buffett worn wardrobe from Hoot is up for bid now. Current winning bid is $293. The sale ends 6/5/06.
Mick, wasn’t this up before and there were no bids?

    Coincidentally, Tuesday morning Mickey received an e-mail of four new Hoot auctions (because he subscribes to the New Line Auctions newsletter ever since trying to buy props from Lord of the Rings [NERD!]); but these four new auctions do not include the Buffett one. Buffettnews’s link works, of course, and it shows a full-bodied red-blooded auction for Buffett Hoot wardrobe — in complete disregard to the auction link New Line sent out in its first Hoot newsletter, which is the one Mickey described back in episode 1 (and 2, and 3, and 4, and 5, etc).
    Mickey’s favorite Hoot link still shows an auction that ended with only one $25 bid. A closer, closer inspection shows the auction was closed after one day, suggesting it was published in error. The auction Buffettnews links to is obviously the correct auction and is the one you should bid on, except for the fact it’s probably over and done with by the time you read this.
    Note: the Buffett auction has ended, with a winning bid of $902.00.
    Can we move on now?

      >  Download Episode 3

Episode 2: Low Battery

By Mickey on 3 Comments

Show Notes:
Recorded Wednesday, May 24 2006, (9:30-11 PM) at Big Al’s in Gibraltar MI
    “Guests stars: Scott, Greg, Greg 2.0, and Patti. Despite the tape trouble we still manage to talk too long about Buckeye Lake, Buffett parties of yesteryear, and, once again, Alpine Valley.”

    The audio editing was finished Thursday morning, but not soon enough to upload it before the work shifts started. Thus these notes are actually posted in advance of the podcast itself.
    It’s official, our emcee is now Greg 2.0, who begins every show by ridiculing us. Not only are the core three speaking tonight, but we have two guest stars: Sublymonal Greg and Alpine Valley Patti. It was a marathon session, but a large chunk of it was lost due to battery problems. Only the first five minutes of the podcast survive from the first tape; the remainder of the cast comes from the forty minutes recorded on the second tape. (And that constant squeaking noise is a ceiling fan.)
    What was missed: Schmoe is still obsessed with a Nicolette Larson concert CD, sled dogs, and confusing “T” with “P”. And boy was that cat story hilarious! [By the way, as Scott could tell you, if he cared enough to record something, the version of “Margaritaville” from the Nicolette Larson tribute is not available separately in iTunes.] Plus, Mickey did extensive research on concert tickets. Unlike usual, he verified the research before announcing it on the cast, in an attempt to not be so prominently corrected in these show notes; but since it did not recorded, it ends up in the show notes anyway.
    DTE Music Theatre had a two page ad in Sunday’s Free Press (2F-3F) which finally announced tickets for Jimmy Buffett’s September 12 concert go on sale June 19.

First local ad for 2006 show

The Palacenet website states lawn tickets cost $36.50 and pavilion seats are a whopping one hundred dollars more! This makes it the most expensive concert in DTE’s summer line-up. In comparison, Bruce Springsteen is only $92.50; Ozzfest is 86.50; Counting Crows/Goo Goo Dolls are $67.50; John Fogerty/Willie Nelson are $59.50. The second most expensive show at Pine Knob? $128.50 for Crosby Stills Nash & Young.
    Not only is Buffett’s $136.50 the most expensive show at Pine Knob, the Pine Knob show is almost the most expensive stop of this first leg of Buffett’s summer tour. All the other shows are $126.50, but for some reason Jimmy has to add ten bucks when crossing the Ohio border. Maybe this surcharge is the reason he hasn’t performed here for a few years. The most expensive stop is New York’s Jones Beach, where the top ticket price is $156.00. (By comparison Crosby Stills Nash & Young’s top price is an incredible $251! And this isn’t just some high-priced New York thing, since the John Fogerty/Willie Nelson show is the same $59.50, and the Counting Crows/Goo Goo Dolls show is actually cheaper: $49.50.) Remember, these aren’t packages or broker prices; these are face value.
    A quick look at Ticketmaster reveals pavilion seats are still available for Alpine Valley. Mickey was able to reserve three seats, together, in row U of section 201; but, oddly, Mike and Patti were not interested    During Mike’s Bocephus story Schmoe and Mickey are look at a sheet with “the year on the back”. The sheet is a print-out of a ticket for a 1975 Portland (OR) show. The King Kong Trio was a mini-tour in the mid-80s of Jimmy, Mike Utley, and Robert Greenidge. Mickey’s “cartography classes” jest is another Arrested Development reference. Take it from us, it was much funnier on TV. We advertently reported Greg’s leg was amputated following Episode 0.5. This was printed in error. The movie music comes from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory — but you already knew that. And the robot’s name is Ralph.
    Jimmy will be on the Today show Friday morning. Mike and Schmoe will be Cedar Point-bound and will miss it. At his last appearance, Jimmy asked Katie to request what song he would play; conventional wisdom says she’ll point at the middle of the back cover of Songs You Know By Heart and will choose “Cheeseburger in Paradise”. And then, a week later, Jimmy’s tour kicks off in Atlanta.
    As per request, here’s your chance to help decide details of our special remote podcast…
    [And, once again, hats off to 24cast, from whom we get our best ideas.]

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