Technical Problems in Chicago

[capnbobby]

Listened to the show on RM. Major technical problems at the end. Lost Jimmy on vocals in the middle of "Fins." His microphone went out. Band limped through the rest of the song, which became an instrumental with Nadirah helping out on a few vocals. The band did a very odd version of "Tin Cup Chalice" without Jimmy. Then, Jimmy came back on for one final song, "Lovely Cruise." They got a microphone for him, but it seemed like they couldn't get microphones for him and the band at the same time. They never got to "5 O'Clock Somewhere" or "Southern Cross." There were no encores. I have a feeling that this show was at least 3 or 4 songs shorter than the other concerts, and I'm wondering how people who were at the show are feeling. Please add to this post.

Fins Up!
Cap'n Bobby

[dnw]

It sounded very strange when Mitch was doing the set list in the set list thread.

[boardkicker1015]

just got home from the show...it was horrible at the end but then they fixed it and did southern cross and ended with brown eye girl to fix it...it was a good show besides that....it was a typical buffett show for this tour...ps it took over two hours to drive the last two miles...it was at a stand still for no reason and the lot was full and we had to park a half mile away

[Bfan53again]

After all his years of touring I must admit that JB's road crew normally does an excellent job.......

I feel bad for my fellow Parrotheads that the "technical gremlins" chose this show to surface and do so in such a massive way.......

[maid memories]

I don't think it was the crew. I think they blew the power at the park. Hopefully whatever it was is fussed before he comes back next year.

[BeachGeek]

@Cap'n Bobby

They did actually play Southern Cross after (some of) the power was restored. They big screen behind the stage and the live video screens to either side of the stage remained off. The end of the show totally left us hanging. It felt very rushed and, as you mentioned, there was no encore. The crowd was chanting JIMMY - JIMMY - JIMMY and then the stadium lights came back on and the sound crew started playing some music. IMMEDIATELY the road crew started taking down the gear. The show was over whether we liked it or not.

Within an hour a BIG storm rolled through. That had nothing to do with the initial power outage. That might have been a factor in ending the show when they did. Although, it was around 10:40 PM when Buffett stopped playing. That's a fairly reasonable time to end the show, but it just felt strange the way it ended. Last year's performance was MUCH better.

[BeachGeek]

I also wanted to add that the parking crew did a HORRIBLE job this year. We sat in traffic for over an HOUR to get into the stadium. From what I could tell, only one gate was letting cars into the stadium. We finally got in around 6:00 PM. Did anyone else here on the forum have a tough time getting in?

[ejr]

I also wanted to add that the parking crew did a HORRIBLE job this year. We sat in traffic for over an HOUR to get into the stadium. From what I could tell, only one gate was letting cars into the stadium. We finally got in around 6:00 PM. Did anyone else here on the forum have a tough time getting in?

Our group got there in the morning, so it was an easy enter, but getting out took forever. this year they really worked to give people more room, they had lines marked off in the gravel to help them set up boundaries, and we had more space than usual. but, it meant late arrivals parked in remote lots not part of Toyota Park, and I have not heard them doing that before.

the problems were more than just sound--the left screen went out at one point during the show, and, on Fins they were also having problems with the big screen. This was his 6th concert at Toyota Park (2 each of the first two years) and Jimmy has always seemed really pleased with the venue. And the venue staff have said they want this to be his permanent Chicago venue, so I am sure all have been troubleshooting to figure out what happened, to make sure it never, EVER happens again.

[boardkicker1015]

I see it as we got two extra songs...casue he did two songs that normally would be closers. tin cup and lovely cruise. even though they had sounds problems) then he came out and did two staples southern cross and brown eye girl...

[ejr]

I see it as we got two extra songs...casue he did two songs that normally would be closers. tin cup and lovely cruise. even though they had sounds problems) then he came out and did two staples southern cross and brown eye girl...

And we are the first show that didn't get It's Five O'Clock Somewhere!

[Snowparrot]

I completely missed the show here at home(at the cottage) because of technical difficulties! Our power went out from 8:30 pm EST till about midnight.
Luckily we have lots of candles and a good barbecue so we were able to have our late dinner by candlelight.

There were big storm clouds around, a a little wind, but no rain at all.
Sort of like last Sunday when the Bluesfest stage blew over in Ottawa!
Power outages can be related to distant storms, it seems.

[beantownfan]

Additional Chicago Pluses:
nice renditions of "God's Own Drunk" and close to (or if not) full version of "Midnight Rider" - which is awesome!

[Tara1023]

I was very nervous about the parking when we got there. We left Lockport (about 24 miles from the venue) around 3:30. We got there in about 30 minutes. It took us longer to get from Harlem to our parking space than it did to get from our house to Bridgeview. I know a lot of people get there early, but we always get there somewhere between 4:00 & 5:00 and are able to park very close to the front. This year they re-directed us all the way to the other side of the stadium when we could clearly see that the place we normally parked was open. It was very confusing. I thought maybe they changed a few things because of the problems last year, but it seemed to only make things worse.

We had a ton of rain Friday night/early Saturday, and I did notice that a good chunk of the lot was under water, so maybe they didn't want people getting stuck in the mud/gravel.

As for the technical difficulties, I know these things happen and not every show can be perfect, but it was still slightly disappointing and a little awkward. Jimmy looked mortified. He knows Chicago is a big show for him, and you could tell he didn't want to disappoint. We left right before he started Southern Cross. I figured it was a good idea to beat the traffic heading out.

All in all we still had a great time. I love meeting new people every year and seeing all of the different set-ups. The weather seems to hold up for Jimmy no matter how the day starts out! I enjoyed last year's show more, but they can't all be perfect, right?

[Illini Parrothead]

i was there last night and i actually left a jimmy concert p***....i agree that that bs with the microphones was garbage and easily cost us 2 songs there then i was waiting for the encore yet it never came....then throw in use me and gods own drunk that's 5 songs we're missing......for what we spend on tickets, i really feel like we got f'd over...

last year's concert was AMAZING too, best set list i can remeber but this year, though still a fun time, didn't even come close......so disappointed after waiting all summer for it.....i hope the vegas show is better

[ScarletB]

I see it as we got two extra songs...casue he did two songs that normally would be closers. tin cup and lovely cruise. even though they had sounds problems) then he came out and did two staples southern cross and brown eye girl...

And we are the first show that didn't get It's Five O'Clock Somewhere!

That alone would make me happy power outage or not.

[boardkicker1015]

I see it as we got two extra songs...casue he did two songs that normally would be closers. tin cup and lovely cruise. even though they had sounds problems) then he came out and did two staples southern cross and brown eye girl...

And we are the first show that didn't get It's Five O'Clock Somewhere!

That alone would make me happy power outage or not.

agreed....that song played its course

[Tara1023]

I was happy to not hear that song, either!

[islandmama24]

I think the technical problems had something to do with the hot weather and humidity inside the stadium. At least that is what I heard. And also they pulled Jimmy and Coral Reefers off the stage because if you would have looked to the west there was a wicked lighting storm that came with that storm..
Great concert in my opinion even with the technical problems.

[Carolinadreamin']

I think the technical problems had something to do with the hot weather and humidity inside the stadium. At least that is what I heard. And also they pulled Jimmy and Coral Reefers off the stage because if you would have looked to the west there was a wicked lighting storm that came with that storm..
Great concert in my opinion even with the technical problems.

Yikes! I wouldn't want to be on the stage with all that electrical equipment........that's all Jimmy needs.......falls off the stage in January.....gets hit by lightning in July.........NOT!!!!!!

[FunkHouse9]

I also wanted to add that the parking crew did a HORRIBLE job this year. We sat in traffic for over an HOUR to get into the stadium. From what I could tell, only one gate was letting cars into the stadium. We finally got in around 6:00 PM. Did anyone else here on the forum have a tough time getting in?

Wow? An hour? Thank God nothing like that ever happens for us at the Bristow shows.