POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Another Sunny Cruise With Buffett

Jimmy Buffett doesn’t give a concert so much as he hosts a tropical revue, the likes of which might be found on the rum-soaked decks of some particularly boisterous cruise ship. On Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl, he offered a rollicking performance that featured bubble machines, costumed characters, fish headgear and a fake Elvis.

“This town needs a good laugh,” Buffett explained early on. The singer is the reigning king of sunny escapism, and his effusive spirit added a great deal of charm to his simple, salty tales of beaches, bars, and troubled romance. He made his entrance bursting forth from a huge yearbook, and then easily maintained the evening’s party-hearty vibe.

His blandly competent Coral Reefer Band added some Caribbean lilt to tunes such as “Changes in Attitude,” and some rock ‘n’ roll beef to “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” But otherwise it was Buffett--with his homely voice and winking sense of humor--who gave the music all its good-natured buzz.

Buffett’s high-spirited fans created a delirious, spring-break atmosphere throughout the Bowl. They swayed dreamily in place for wistful ballads, and erupted into conga lines for Buffett’s best-known ode to attitude adjustment, “Margaritaville.”

Sobering reality crashed the party during the encore, when Buffett offered an impassioned dedication to the late Jerry Garcia and then led his band through a clumsily overdone version of the Grateful Dead’s “Uncle John’s Band.”

* Jimmy Buffett performs Friday and Saturday at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, 8 p.m. Sold out. (714) 855-4515.