Review | Video: Fleetwood Mac Return to Toronto - February 3, 2015

Fleetwood Mac Live in Toronto
February 3, 2015 - Air Canada Centre

by Jane Stevenson
Toronto Sun

The return of The Mac proved to be just as sweet the second time around.

British-American ’70s folk-rockers Fleetwood Mac, boasting their most successful lineup of singers Stevie Nicks, keyboardist Christine McVie and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham (Nicks’ ex-boyfriend), bassist John McVie (Christine’s ex-husband) and drummer Mick Fleetwood, returned to the Air Canada Centre Tuesday night after performing at the same venue on the same tour with the same set list back in mid-October. No matter. Torontonians — another 17,000 or so of them — liked a double serving of The Mac particularly since this tour features the return of the 71-year-old Christine McVie who stayed off the road for 16 years.

With everyone else in the group in their mid to late 60s, there was no time like the present for this reunion.

Thankfully, the Fleetwood Mac back catalogue has held up so well with special mention to the songs from their beloved 1977 discs Rumours that’s sold 45 million albums and counting.

Not surprsingly, the group kicked off the night with The Chain from that album before McVie took over on lead vocals for You Make Loving Fun, also from Rumours.

“Welcome back, Toronto.” said Nicks in her usual black flowing outfit, black suede boots and various shawls throughout the night.

“Tonight is our 47th show and I think we can safely say, ‘She’s back!,’ ” added Nicks, referring to McVie. “So that being said, let’s get this party started!”

McVie told the crowd later: “I love you very much!”

What followed was a nostalgic but mostly riveting evening of music as the group, propelled by the guitar maniac that is still the fastfooted, lightning-fingered Buckingham, made their way through such crowd pleasers as the Nicks-sung Dreams and Rhiannon — with some twirling from her on that latter one — the McVieled Everywhere and the Buckingham-sung I Know I’m Not Wrong in the first third of the show.

Five other musicians and an impressively large video screen and smaller video strips certainly helped to fill out the group’s sounds and sights.

“Well, we were here not too long ago — I guess a few more people wanted to see us,” Buckingham said with a chuckle. “So we came back.... I think it’s safe to say we’ve seen our share of ups and downs and I think that kind of makes us what we are. In this particular moment, with the return of the beautiful Christine, she is a beautiful soul, and I think her return now signals the beginning of a poetic, profound and I think prolific new chapter of this band — Fleetwood Mac!”

The next two thirds of the main set saw such highlights as Tusk, with McVie breaking out the accordion, but the marching band appeared only on the big screen and not as a live accompanmient, sadly; Buckingham’s incredible guitar display and gutteral shrieks on Big Love, his quieter vocals but no less stellar playing on Never Going Back Again and plugging in big time for I’m So Afraid; and Nicks’ ’60s San Franreminiscent Gypsy and Gold Dust Woman (complete with gold shawl) with yet more twirling from her on both.

But the emotional centre of the show proved to be the pretty and delicate Landslide, with just Nicks and Buckingham on stage with the former couple holding hands toward the end of the song and again at its conclusion.

Otherwise, the tunes that made me sleepy last time did it to me again, Nicks’ Sisters of the Moon and Seven Wonders but these are small quibbles.

The mighty Mac is back and they don’t appear to be going away again anytime soon.

Fleetwood Mac Live in Toronto
T-MAK WORLD also reviewed the Toronto show and took the below shot of some fancy new footwear that I've never seen Stevie wear before... Check out the review and what Stevie had to say about her boots, along with more photos from the show, here.

Photo by T-MAK WORLD

Gypsy
Gold Dust Woman
Introductions
Don't Stop