Jimmy Buffett pokes fun at his NC Parrotheads

Frustrated about all the fallout over House Bill 2? Jimmy Buffett has you covered.

While some artists have canceled shows recently in protest of the state’s anti-LGBT legislation, Jimmy Buffett revealed during his Workin’ n’ Playin’ tour stop Saturday at PNC Music Pavilion that the recent events actually inspired him to pen a new twist on an old song.

To the tune of his song, “The Great Filling Station Holdup,” Buffett sang about a “great legislation holdup” and the lamentable predicament he finds himself in when “I don’t know where to pee.”

The audience roared with laughter and applause, especially when the screens behind Buffett showed three bathroom doors: one with a man, one with a woman, and one with a parrot holding up his hands in confusion.

Try to sing that song the original way ever again without the new lyrics sneaking back in.

Despite poking fun at the state’s legislators, Buffett, 69, showed during his last tour stop before a month long break that he still has plenty of love for his Parrotheads in North Carolina.

He talked about how he would never forget the time at Carowinds Amusement Park when he was playing a concert and some kid on a roller coaster behind him was throwing up. Images of the Charlotte city skyline popped up on the big screen during “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere” while images of the Blue Ridge Mountains played during “Volcano.” And during “Margaritaville,” Buffett forgot all about that “Mexican cutie” in favor of “A Carolina Cutie.”

Aw shucks, Jimmy.

And the legendary Parrotheads, the name given for Buffett enthusiasts, certainly returned the affection with their exuberant singalongs and elaborate costumes. From shark fin hats to grass skirts and coconut bras, pirate costumes to oversized shoulder parrots – these fans certainly don’t do anything halfway.

Earlier in the evening, a temperamental ticket app mixed with spotty Internet coverage at the concert venue threatened to derail fans’ let-the-good-times-roll enthusiasm as they waited in excessively long ticket lines.

But once they made it inside, fans seemed to quickly forget the headaches of the ticket line as they started bobbing with their neighbors to such Buffett hits as “My head hurts, my feet stink, and I don’t love Jesus,” “Son of a Son of a Sailor” and “Fins.” Videos of palm trees, glistening turquoise waters and beachgoers with ice-cold beverages playing in the background further helped to set the right mood.

And yet, for all the island escapism and randomness, Buffett showed throughout the concert that he has a softer (dare I say sentimental?) side, too.

About halfway through the concert, he paid homage to Merle Haggard by playing his song “Silver Wings,” and displaying an image of Haggard with his birth and death years on the screens overhead. Haggard died earlier this month.

And during his 20-minute encore, Buffett split his time between playing his own classics and those of deceased artists who meant a lot to him. For instance, after playing his wildly popular version of “Brown Eyed Girl,” Buffett covered Grateful Dead song “Scarlet Begonias.” And then, after playing his upbeat “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,” Buffett closed out his two-hour concert with a beautiful rendition of “Purple Rain,” honoring the recording artist Prince, who died last week.

For a man who’s made a fortune off of singing about frozen alcoholic concoctions and getting drunk and screwing, that Buffett sure knows how to keep it classy.

This story was originally published April 24, 2016 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Jimmy Buffett pokes fun at his NC Parrotheads."