THE PERFORMANCE WAS TOP NOTCH (DALLAS OBSERVER)

Last Night: Fleetwood Mac at the AAC

By Darryl Smyers

Dallas Observer

Fleetwood Mac

American Airlines Center

April 30, 2009

Better Than: Seeing a Fleetwood Mac cover band at an AARP Convention.

Seemingly every MILF in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area made their way to the American Airlines Center last night to catch a truncated (but still powerful) version of Fleetwood Mac. The legendary rock act brought out 23 chestnuts spanning the band's four decade career, even throwing in a couple of numbers from solo efforts from Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

The nearly three hour show thrilled the homogeneous collection of forty and fifty-somethings, about 75% of whom were women sporting outfits that hadn't seen the light of day since Bill Clinton was getting his first Lewinsky. I'm happy that these folks were getting in some good cardio work by dancing throughout the show, but after seeing an octogenarian tumble to the floor (sadly spilling her red wine) it was obvious that some folks should have called it a night way before the encore.

Regardless of any audience shenanigans, the performance was top-notch. Lindsey Buckingham is still one of the most talented guitarists working in the rock/pop field. His finger picking style, best exemplified on songs such as "Never Going Back Again" and "Big Love". The set list featured several interesting choices, including three from my personal favorite Mac album "Tusk." Stevie Nicks explained that the band wanted to unearth some songs that it hadn't performed on previous tours.

Even though keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie decided not to join the band for this tour, Nicks and Buckingham did a nice job substituting on McVie's "Say You Love Me." Even more intriguing was the choice of "Oh Well," a song that predates Nicks and Buckingham even joining Fleetwood Mac. Of course, the hits keep the crowd happy and band didn't fail to deliver such 70's standards as "Dreams," "Rhiannon," "Landslide" and "Gold Dust Woman." And despite Nicks' wardrobe changes, the band looked great and played marvelously.

Critic's Notebook: Random Note: Why do folks begrudge a guy who simply needs to go to the bathroom? The grandpa and grandma at the end of row N just about had a cow when I asked to get by. I think the old coot purposely kneed me in the shin when I came back.

(REVIEW) FLEETWOOD MAC - DALLAS April 30, 2009

Fleetwood Mac unleashes the hits in Dallas
An older and wiser Fleetwood Mac took over the American Airlines Center Thursday night.

Preston Jones
DFW.com

DALLAS -- Not long after Fleetwood Mac took the American Airlines Center stage Thursday night, guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Buckingham uttered what could charitably be called an enormous understatement.

"We have a complex, convoluted history," said Buckingham, who paused before launching into a brief stemwinder about Fleetwood Mac's enduring power, how "every time we get together, there's a sense of history and forward motion."

Surely, the irony of "forward motion" being mentioned in a room where nothing but the classics were being aired out wasn't lost on Buckingham. The evening was, start to finish, the very definition of retrospective. Nevertheless, the crowd -- not quite at capacity, but from all appearances, pretty close -- roared, Buckingham smiled and four-fifths of the vintage Mac line-up (keyboardist Christine McVie said adios in 1998) launched into I Know I'm Not Wrong, from 1979's bristling opus Tusk.

For more than two hours Thursday, Fleetwood Mac was "unleashed" (its term), free to roam its extensive back catalog and cherry-pick a few favorites to showcase alongside lesser-known cuts like Wrong or Storms, also culled from Tusk.

The curse of a greatest-hits tour (Fleetwood Mac has no new product to promote; its last album of fresh material was 2003's Say You Will) is that it provides little artistic wiggle room -- dramatically overhaul the crowd pleasing cuts and you alienate those who plopped down big bucks to see the show. Hold back too much and you're simply going through the motions.

Fleetwood Mac, plumped up with a trio of back-up singers, a keyboardist and an extra guitarist, erred on the side of restraint, although the ever-volatile Buckingham couldn't contain himself, ripping out a pair of absolutely astonishing solos; the string-searing finale for I'm So Afraid is probably still echoing inside the American Airlines Center. Mick Fleetwood's timekeeping teetered between bombastic and delicate, while vocalist Stevie Nicks, ever the ethereal mistress, twirled about the stage, her shawls and ribbons aflutter.

But time has defused much of the combo's combustible energy; Nicks and Buckingham walked onstage arm-in-arm and the fleeting moments where the pair generated any palpable sparks were frustratingly few. Indeed, Buckingham's nimble riffs often felt like the only glimmer of life; the honey and vinegar interplay of Nicks' and Buckingham's voices still sizzles, but even that wasn't enough to boost the tunes over the considerable expectations of nostalgia.

No, the passage of years was plainly evident as Buckingham offered a mawkish tribute to his wife and children (whom he said were in attendance) before launching into Tango in the Night's acidic Big Love, which left Nicks, during Landslide, to intone "I'm getting older, too," investing the line with an ache and, most importantly, a wisdom not necessarily apparent in 1975.

Setlist

Monday Morning

The Chain

Dreams

I Know I'm Not Wrong

Gypsy

Go Insane

Rhiannon

Second Hand News

Tusk

Sara

Big Love

Landslide

Never Going Back Again

Storms

Say You Love Me

Gold Dust Woman

Oh Well

I'm So Afraid

Stand Back

Go Your Own Way

ENCORE

World Turning

Don't Stop

Silver Springs

(REVIEW) FLEETWOOD MAC - DALLAS 4/30/09

Fleetwood Mac at American Airlines Center

by: Mario Tarradell

guidlive.com

You could call Fleetwood Mac's current tour an oldies show. It is, after all, titled "Unleashed: Hits Tour 2009," which means the 23-song set consists solely of classic radio staples and album tracks. There is no new CD to promote. In fact, the band hasn't recorded one since 2003's Say You Will. But that tag completely sells this concert short. Fleetwood Mac, which packed the American Airlines Center Thursday night, remains highly influential. Talk to any of today's popular country acts (especially the ones with a pop-rock musical bent) and the Mac is mentioned. Stevie Nicks, FM's longtime temptress, has left her stamp on so many female vocalists of the last 20 years -- pop, rock, country and otherwise. And anyway, Thursday night's show was fiery. Even during songs that didn't quite gel -- such as Lindsey Buckingham's manic, robotic "Tusk," there was something to admire. In that case it was Mick Fleetwood's ferocious marching beat drumming. But the highlights were many, particularly Buckingham's amazing rendition of "Big Love," which was just him at the mike while he finger-picked an acoustic guitar. The wall of sound was astonishing. Nicks' "Sara," "Gypsy" and "Dreams" brought back such evocative memories. 

Great songs never get old.

For a full review of the Fleetwood Mac concert, go to www.guidelive.com Friday and check Guide Daily on Saturday.

Photo: Nicks, Fleetwood and Buckingham at the AAC (John F. Rhodes/DMN).