Review: Lindsey Buckingham - Palm Desert, CA 10/15/11

Going his own way
The Desert Sun

Lindsey Buckingham put on a clinic Saturday for the type of show the McCallum Theatre should present more often.

Buckingham, who emphasized his solo material over his Fleetwood Mac repertoire, talked of being part of a “big machine” with Fleetwood Mac, while his solo career was like a “small machine.” Fans are attracted to his “big machine” songs, such as “Go Your Own Way,” “Big Love,” “Never Going Back Again” and “Second Hand News,” and he met those expectations in a nearly two-hour concert. But he also re-arranged those classics, performed solo hits such as “Trouble” and “Go Insane,” and introduced challenging new solo material to satisfy his artistic drive.

It was so compelling, it made me want to see more solo “big machine” artists - like Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey or Brian Wilson.

Buckingham showed off tremendous vocal and guitar skills, deftly finger- picking or creating orchestral sounds with his complex chords and dynamics. But, when he wanted to astound, he simply reached back to the 1975 self-titled Fleetwood Mac LP and shredded on “I'm So Afraid.” He also did an amazing arrangement of “Tusk,” simulating the power of the USC marching band on the original.

Buckingham could have brought the crowd to a more emotional climax by ending with another Fleetwood hit, such as “Monday Morning.” Instead, he chose to finish with the title track from his new “small machine” album, “Seeds We Sew.” It certainly reaffirmed his status as an artist.