REVIEW - FLEETWOOD MAC ROCKS PITTSBURGH

Fleetwood Mac Live in Pittsburgh, PA March 1, 2009

Pittsburgh Tribune
By: Rege Behe

Because they are a staple of classic rock radio, it's easy to take Fleetwood Mac for granted. Songs that have been heard for more than 30 years tend to lose a bit of their luster after repeated plays.

On the opening night of the band's Unleashed Tour Sunday at the Mellon Arena, those oft-heard tunes were dusted off and given new life. From the opening chords of "Monday Morning" it was immediately apparent that this was not going to be a typical recitation of the band's greatest hits.

Most of that is due to the wondrous talents of Lindsey Buckingham. While his voice was initially a bit raspy, notably on "The Chain," his vocals got better as the night wore on.

But chances are no one who attended the concert noticed much about the quality of Buckingham's singing. Not after the way he "unleashed" some of the more evocative guitar solos heard in these parts in recent memory. Especially noteworthy was his solo, acoustic version of "Big Love" and the amazing Guitar Hero- worthy performance on "I'm So Afraid" that electrified the audience. He also did a more than credible job on the ancient Fleetwood Mac chestnut, "Oh, Well."

Next, Steve Nicks. Her smoky voice shows little wear, and if she's somewhat less energetic that Buckingham — for most of the evening they performed about 15 feet apart from each other — she nonetheless has a charismatic aspect that made songs such as "Dreams" and "Rhiannon" memorable. Most notably, Nicks did well by "Storms," a gem from the album "Tusk" that the band resurrected for the first time in years.

But the shape of Fleetwood Mac's is due to the band's rhythm section, bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood. It was McVie's melodic bass lines and Fleetwood's superb way of shaping a song via percussion that gave "Tusk," "Gold Dust Woman," "Go Your Own Way" and just about any other song the band performed definition and backbone.

If there was a flaw in the evening — a big if — it was the continued absence of Christine McVie on songs such as "Don't Stop," "Say You Love Me" and "World Turning." Buckingham and Nicks did a credible job filling in, but McVie's voice is nonetheless missed.

REVIEW: Buckingham is a pure live wire

Fleetwood Mac still rockin' after all these years

Monday, March 02, 2009

By Scott Mervis, 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Back in the '70s when you were listening to "Rhiannon" and "Gypsy," you may have given a passing thought to the concept of Stevie Nicks at 60.

Now we're at the point where we don't have to imagine anymore.

We saw her last night at the Mellon Arena on the opening show of the Unleashed tour, and we can testify that she's still the golden haired diva, still mysterious, still beguiling, still beautiful as she sings those haunting, heartbreaking love songs.

Her partner in crime since they were teenagers, Lindsey Buckingham, is still on the brink of 60, at 59, and he's, well, he's going to be an intense dude up until the day he dies.

The former lovers came out holding hands and then went off to their positions to dazzle with the promised greatest hits show, plus some surprises from the back catalogue.

Buckingham made early mention of the band's "complex and convoluted emotional history," saying that every time they come back together "it's always different." He added that they "had a ball" during their days of rehearsal at the arena, and the evidence was on stage.

A nod to their fresh start was "Monday Morning," an unexpected opener, as it was never a staple of the "Say You Will" tour five years ago. It wasn't until the second song, "The Chain," that we got that first taste of the magical Buckingham-Nicks harmonies, two voices that born for each other.

Nicks always had an unusual voice, husky yet delicate, strong yet vulnerable. Early in the set, like on "Dreams," she clung more to the lower register, backing away from the mike on the high notes. As the set picked up energy, so did she, pouring emotion into "Sara" and "Landslide," with that line "I'm getting older, too." On "Gold Dust Woman," she unleashed a long, gorgeous wail, before turning her back to the crowd and spreading her golden shawl like wings -- dragon-lady wings -- as the song slowly faded.

Buckingham is a pure live wire, and people who have never seen Fleetwood Mac might not know that if he hadn't ended up in this co-ed pop band, his name might be thrown around with guitar heroes like Neil Young and Eric Clapton. Buckingham can rip in numerous ways, from the frantic acoustic fingerpicking on "Big Love" to the nitro shredding on "I'm Afraid," which, contrary to the image of the 50-something ballad-loving Fleetwood Mac fan, drew the biggest roar of the night.

With Nicks offstage to change shawls, or something, Mac reverted back to its early blues-rock form for "Oh Well," with Buckingham excitedly playing Peter Green's scorching riff. You need a good drummer for all of this and at 61, Mick Fleetwood is still beating the hell out of the skins and hasn't lost any of his pace. John McVie blends into the background with the two side musicians and three backup singers, but manages to keep up with the fiery Fleetwood and Buckingham, even on "Tusk," which had the USC marching band channeled through the keyboard player.

They churned like a powerful New Wave machine on "Stand Back," with Nicks delivering one her most edgy vocals. Buckingham closed the set by first playing the note-perfect solo on "Go Your Own Way" before beating the guitar with his fists.

They ended the show with the Clinton-Gore theme song "Don't Stop," and leaving the arena, fans had plenty of reason to be glad that Fleetwood Mac takes that title at its word.

FLEETWOOD MAC SET LIST FOR OPENING NIGHT... UNLEASHED TOUR

Opening Night in Pittsburgh at Mellon Arena.

With the first show in the can... Fleetwood Mac move on to Minneapolis for Tuesday nights show...  Let's hope the set list stays intact.

Based on what was coming out of some of the interviews with the band members - there weren't as many surprises with the set list tonight as expected.  A few gems pop up I'm happy to say and I'm completely looking forward to hearing them played live.  I hope this set list doesn't change from here on out, which can happen after the first show - we'll have to watch for Minneapolis to see if anything is dropped or added.  If anything, I think they should add a couple more songs to the set.  Comparing this show to the Say You Will Tour - this was 2 songs shorter. 

If you want to be spoiled on the set list - you can view it here:  Set list

Reports from the show indicate that there is no percussionist on this tour.  Both Stevie and Lindsey sounded amazing tonight and the backup band consists of: Brett Tuggle & Neale Heywood with Sharon Celani, Jana Anderson and Lori Nicks on backup vocal duties:

Lindsey wore a red shirt with a black leather jacket.... Stevie came on the stage in a Burgundy/red dress - and at some point had on red boots!!  The top hat was worn near the end of the show... and Mick didn't do his drum solo like he said he was going to do.

There will likely be video posted late tonight on the various video sites...