Review Stevie Nicks Live in Vancouver Dec 9, 2016

How Stevie Nicks Blinded You With Nostalgia
by KRIS MCDERMOTT
Vancouver Weekly

Two years ago Stevie Nicks released her eighth solo album 24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault, to critical and commercial success. Online music database All Music dubbed the re-recorded set of demo songs ‘the best sounding record she (Nicks) has made since 1983’s The Wild At Heart’.

Fast forward to October of this year, where Nicks alongside her band and talented friends Waddy Wachtel (whom she met in the pre-Fleetwood Mac days of 1973) and backup singers Sharon Celani and Lori Perry (backup singer for Nicks since 1981) embarked on a 27 date 24 Karat Gold Tour in support of the album by the same name.

Now in the final stretch of the 24 Karat Gold Tour, Nicks found herself in Vancouver’s very own Roger’s Arena. Entering the converted hockey arena wearing a flowing but subdued black dress, Nicks let her accessory scarves do the flashy work for her on round one of her ever-shifting stage attire. The 68 years young Nicks has had no problem maintaining a legion of fans since her Fleetwood Mac debut 41 years ago alongside then partner Lindsey Buckingham, and this latest stop-off in Vancouver was no different.

As with all of her prior 24 Karat Gold Tour stop offs, Nicks’ opened the night with “Gold & Braid”, “If Anyone Falls”, and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”, respectively.  

The tambourine-wielding Nicks was joined on stage by The Pretenders front-person Chrissie Hinde for “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”, as she has nightly this tour.Whatever nostalgia felt by the crowd for having witnessed Hinde open the night with The Pretenders followed by Nicks headlining the very same stage was trumped by the sight of the two powerhouses of rock sharing the spotlight at the same time.  It can be argued that the career of the 1998 Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee Nicks has nothing left to prove. Though looking at Friday’s show as a snapshot, ignoring the over 40 top 50 hits, or the 140 million records sold Nicks was at times underwhelming.

The same fans that would sell Friday’s Stevie Nicks show as being ‘timeless’ or ‘flawless’ were among the many frequently checking their watches and peering about disinterested.

Though social media has largely dusted golden praise over the ‘reigning queen of rock ‘n roll’, what has widely gone underreported was the audio quality at Roger’s Arena Friday night. Early in the performance, the unaddressed concern about an audio mix saw long-time friend, touring guitarist, and backup singer Waddy Wachtel’s vocals overpower the conventionally (thought of as) powerful voice of Nicks. Tough to ignore for some, perhaps due to nostalgia many fans in the building seemingly did just that. However, it was not just a poor mix in the building responsible for a repetitive vocal tone that one wouldn’t quickly attribute to the legend had they not been there to see Nicks live.

Was fan-nostalgia to blame for the level of absurdity that came with the overjoyed cheering Nicks received simply for twirling in a circle? A move the artist has no doubt mastered since she could only pronounce her own name as ‘Tee Dee’, the origin of how Stephanie became ‘Stevie’ Nicks. Does this same overjoyed audience react with similar vigour when their three-year-old spins in the living room?

At the age of 68 and nearing the successful completion of an impressive tour, Nicks should be afforded some grace. The twirl move that was once saved for the crescendo of “Rhiannon” was in the defence of Nicks, resurrected due in part to her role as the White Witch on FX Network’s American Horror Story: Coven. Moreover, the move was often emulated by fan favourite character Misty Day, who played by Lily Rabe was infatuated with Nicks in the show.

After all, the public perception of Nicks has always been the rumoured witch’s most powerful spell. Numerous adulterous relationships, marrying her recently deceased best friend’s husband, multiple addictions and interband dramas have been the catalyst(s) to many an artist’s demise professionally; at least a dissolve in public opinion; not so, however for Stevie Nicks.

As evidenced Friday night, Nicks can twirl into the environmentally superconscious city of Vancouver wearing a fur jacket from head to toe, and not a peep of recreational outrage is heard out of the usually aghast (at such behaviour) Lotus Land.

The verbose and often erroneous explanations resulting in very little new information that took place between songs would be considered by any other artist to be the ramblings of a musician seeking relevance in the twilight of their career. With Stevie Nicks such long-winded loquacious tails were merely regarded as charming anecdotes.  

What can never be taken away, however, is the ability of Nicks to write masterpieces both lyrically and musically in her songs. The pursuit for relevance need not extend beyond the innate ability Nicks has to write beautifully accessible music. With the sensitivity of Nicks to capture emotion even decades after having originally penned (the piece), the integrity of her song writing was never once lost Friday Night in Vancouver.

Whether the Reigning Queen of Rock n Roll continues to go her own way post 24 Karat Gold Tour, or she picks up the pieces to go home; the landscape of music will forever be changed for the better thanks to the enigmatic sorcery of Stevie Nicks.

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Photos - Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders Live in San Jose - December 14, 2016

Stevie Nicks & the Pretenders – San Jose (PHOTOS)

Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks came through San Jose to perform at the SAP Center (commonly known as the Shark Tank), bringing with her Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders. The “Musical Journey” as Stevie called the show, brought some great tunes and some great stories as Nicks reflected on her work over the years.

Photos by Clayton Lancaster - View Gallery

Review Stevie Nicks Live in Sacramento with The Pretenders - December 13, 2016

Stevie Nicks and the Pretenders: rock 'n' roll's leading ladies at Golden 1 Center
by Paul Piazza
Newsreview.com - View Photos

Two of rock ‘n’ roll’s longtime leading ladies held court at the Golden 1 Center earlier this week. Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac fame and Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders put on an epic rock show that showcased the enduring uniqueness of each of these women as songwriters and performers.

Midway through the raucous opening set by the Pretenders, Hynde paused and showed love to the locals when she said that she really enjoyed the “pretty view of all the trees outside [her] hotel window.”

“It reminds me of a place I grew up in the ‘50s,” she continued. With that, she and the band dramatically bounced into the familiar bass groove of the band’s iconic “My City was Gone.”

Naturally, the crowd knew the words to that song’s familiar refrain (“Ay, oh, way to go Ohio”), as well as the majority of the songs the band played. In fact, the audience, who mostly ranged in age from 45-75, seemed to have the majority of the Pretenders setlist embedded in their DNA. This is not ironic since most of the band’s biggest hits came out during the Reagan years, yet have more than endured the test of time with their wry socio-political-environmental bent that could easily be applied to the times we are about to enter.

Hynde, who turned 65 in September, reminded everyone why she has long been known as a badass as she strutted the stage with attitude and defiance. She blasted a group of cell phone wielding fans early in the show for ignoring her request for no video. When they put down their devices, some hard, punk-style dancing erupted on the floor as drummer Martin Chambers pounded out some hard-hitting beats.

While Hynde preferred to let her music do the talking, Nicks took a storyteller’s approach during her lengthy set. Among the many interesting anecdotes the 68-year-old told was a story about hearing Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” for the first time while driving down the highway as a newlywed. It inspired her to write the song “Stand Back” that same day. Later, when she called the Purple One to ask if he wanted to hear it, he came down to the studio and ended up playing an uncredited synth part that is essentially the catchy glue that propels the song.

Later, during “Edge of Seventeen,” images of Prince were shown on the backdrop. Nicks, 69, also had interesting tales about writing “Gold Dust Woman” as a teen in Arizona and also had a few about collaborating with Tom Petty. But perhaps her most amazing accomplishment that night was being able to twirl and do her signature scarf dance while wearing high heeled boots.

Hynde returned during Nicks’ set for the Petty-penned tune “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” a fitting moment as the pair belted out the tune side by side and further cemented their place as two perpetual paragons of rock ‘n’ roll in a year when many of the great ones of their era have fallen.

Convince Stevie Nicks To Make One Final Album With Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac is one of the most important bands in the history of modern music. When Christine McVie left many years ago fans gave up hope of the classic line-up reuniting.  What an amazing surprise when McVie rejoined the fold in 2014.

It is widely known that four out of the five members of Fleetwood Mac are on board to record one final album with the classic line-up.  The only person holding out is Stevie Nicks.  In recent interviews Stevie stated how being in the studio could be very tense and how touring was more fun.  She also stated that since records don't sell like they used to then what's the point of a new album?

Let's send the message - as fans - how meaningful it would be to us to have one final volume of new music from these five people whose art we cherish so very much.  While there is already a legendary body of work featuring albums such as RUMOURS, TUSK, and TANGO IN THE NIGHT we sincerely ask Stevie, for the love of history and the fans of Fleetwood Mac, to take one final one for the team and help them finish this record.

It would mean the world to all of us.

- Jeremy Gloff

If you are interested... Please sign the petition HERE.

Thanks!

Reviews Stevie Nicks Live in Vancouver December 9, 2016

Most reviews so far on this tour have been favorable... Some reviewers get it... some reviewers don't, and that's totally fine, it's basically their personal opinion.

The unbreakable Stevie Nicks casts a spell on Vancouver (PHOTOS)
by Rob Feller
Dailyhive.com

Photo: Rob Feller - Click Through To View More

Roughly 5,000 classic rock fans braved a snowstorm to catch a “landslide” on Friday night, as the incomparable Stevie Nicks brought her 24 Karat Gold Tour to Rogers Arena.

The singer, whose raspy voice and crazy vibrato dominated radio during the second half of the Seventies, recently released 24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault, a stunning compilation of shelved demos that spans her five decade-long career. And even though she has a tremendous catalogue of songs to choose from, Nicks kept her canvas relatively small on Friday, mostly concentrating on her work as a solo artist.

After opening with a lovely take on 1981’s “Gold & Braid”, she warned us that the evening would be unlike any other Stevie Nicks concert we’d previously witnessed. After finishing two back-to-back Fleetwood Mac tours, “I really needed to do something else,” she explained. “I needed to break out.”

So armed with what she called her “dark, mystical, gothic trunk full of songs”, Nicks proceeded to take Vancouver on what she called “a journey…through the snow.” Fans expecting a Fleetwood Mac retrospective were forced to make do with just a handful of Mac tracks (“Gypsy” and “Rhiannon” both made the cut), but the gold dust diva’s repertoire is so huge that it was easy to forgive a setlist omission here and there.

Nicks’ performance was punctuated with lots and lots (and lots) of stories from her storied career. Some of them were fascinating, like how she wrote “Stand Back” as a companion piece to Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” and somehow convinced the Purple One to play most of the instruments on the song. But a lot of Nicks’ schtick fell flat, and one excruciatingly long monologue that involved a pregnancy, a dirt road, and an upright piano sent many fans to the bar for a break.

When it came to the music however, the singer captivated the crowd with her haunting vocals and heartbreaking lyrics. Highlights included “Edge of Seventeen” and encore “Landslide”, and although she doesn’t try to hit high notes of the original composition anymore, her smoky, husky tone nicely complemented the song’s world-weary lyrics.

Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Pretenders opened the show and managed to run through 15 classic hits and album cuts in just under an hour. Fiery frontwoman Chrissie Hynde dedicated her set, which included a kickass version of “Brass In Pocket”, to her friend Nicks and said that performing with her “is like being on tour with Elizabeth Taylor, except she can sing.”

And like her touring buddy, Hynde was also a fan of the Vancity Blizzard of 2017. “My guitar has some cracks in it from the cold weather,” she said. “But I’m glad that it has some scars from Vancouver!” Hynde later surprised fans by joining Nicks onstage for a duet of “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” which probably sounded cool on the tour bus but was a hot mess when we saw it.

They missed notes, botched lyrics, and broke out into a full-on private conversation mid-song while their backup singers carried on without them. But the Vancouver crowd was so hot and bothered by the sight of two rock goddesses sharing one mic that they turned a blind eye (and a deaf ear) to the shaky performance.

Review: Pretenders Get Real while Stevie Nicks Drags in Vancouver
by Robert Collins
CTVNews

On paper, last night’s double-header of Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde’s Pretenders at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena seemed like a match made in Queens of Rock heaven. The reality, as is often the case, proved different.

The party pooper, it turned out, was Stevie Nicks. Promising a new type of set, featuring not just hits but personal favourites she’d unearthed and rerecorded for her most recent “24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault” album, the issue wasn’t the choice of songs, but the way she went about her performance.

It all started so promising. Nicks was accompanied by Chrissie Hynde singing the Tom Petty parts for “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” the Pretenders’ frontwoman unable to get all her words out after descending into giggles almost immediately. Hynde’s laughter was a rare moment of spontaneity. Instead Nicks chose to punctuate every song with a lengthy, egotistical and over-rehearsed anecdote about its creation. The music, when it eventually arrived, was well sung and polished; “Gypsy,” “Stand Back” and the timeless “Gold Dust Woman” all standing out. But by insisting on eating up endless minutes by trawling out irrelevant tales from her charmed life, what could have been a party often felt more like a series of history lectures.

“I’m not wasting your time, am I?” she asked audaciously midway through introducing her band, a process conducted in a musical vacuum sucking up time that should have been spent playing at least two songs. The Vancouver crowd, polite to a fault, mumbled “No,” but they were thinking otherwise.

It’s not that Stevie Nicks didn’t have an example of how it should be done. Two hours earlier Chrissie Hynde (still looking like she’d been poured into her jeans at 66) had stepped on stage, strapped on her Telecaster and ripped into a set effortlessly mixing high-octane recent tracks like “Alone” with new wave classics like “Message of Love,” “Private Life” and “Middle of the Road.”

There’s no substitute for authentic cool; a quality Hynde revealed in everything from how she wore her guitar to her ad-libs on sharing a stage with Stevie Nicks: “It’s like being on tour with Elizabeth Taylor.”

The songs were the stars. The chiming powerpop of “Back on the Chain Gang” (seriously, what a great song) was followed by ballsy ballad “I’ll Stand By You” and the dreamy Kinks cover “Stop Your Sobbing.” The delivery was relentless.  Resistance was futile.

“Have we got time from one more?” asked Hynde at the show’s end.

She didn’t wait for a reply, launching immediately into “Brass in Pocket,” a perfect finale to a great rock and roll set. No stories. No narcissism. All killer, no filler.

Stevie Nicks to play Hyde Park in London with Tom Petty

Tom & The Heartbreakers are pleased to announce their performance at the iconic Hyde Park venue in London, on July 9, 2017. Stevie Nicks and The Lumineers will also appear, with more to be announced. This will be the band’s only European appearance in 2017.

Highway Companions Club members are eligible for a pre-sale which is currently underway, and should check their email for pre-sale information. Public on-sales begin December 16th.

For tickets and more info, click here

(Now wouldn't it make sense for Stevie to schedule some solo shows in the UK? I think so!)

Review Stevie Nicks Live in St. Paul, MN December 6, 2016

Stevie Nicks and the Pretenders, at Xcel Energy Center, share the love and celebrate Prince
by Jay Gabler
The Current  - View More Photos

Photographer Bridget Bennett

If you could buy stock in musical reputations, Stevie Nicks’s would have been a bargain investment 20, 10, even five years ago. The behemoth popularity of Fleetwood Mac blinded a lot of critics who were too cool for school in the ’70s to the fact that the band’s accessible and sonically pristine creations were underpinned by timeless songcraft, while Nicks’s solo hits like “Edge of Seventeen” and “Stand Back” were regarded as video fodder for the MTV era.

Time passed, though, and new generations of listeners continued gravitating towards the music. The Mac attack continued, of course, and critics ranging from tastemaker Jessica Hopper to our own listeners have no problem placing Rumours among the all-time greats.

Meanwhile, Nicks’s solo catalog continued to exert a fascination; not just for those fresh-sounding singles, but for deep tracks like “Think About It.” Writer Emily Gould, who’s gone from a pioneering confessional blogger to an indie-publishing influential, took the title of her 2010 memoir from a lyric in that song: “And the heart says ‘Danger!’/ And the heart says, ‘Whatever.'” Nicks is even sampled on the new Bon Iver album, with permission but, at her request, uncredited: a backstage clip of Nicks singing “Wild Heart” appears in “10 d E A T h b R E a s T 

Last night at the Xcel Energy Center, the generously sized audience included a few of the predictably clueless Fleetwood Mac fans (“Play ‘Little Lies’!” yelled the woman behind me, seeming not to realize that’s a Christine McVie song) but many more adoring acolytes who hung on every word of what Nicks has described as a “storytelling tour.”

The tour comes on the heels of a 2014 album called 24 Karat Gold — consisting of rerecorded versions of rarities and demos spanning Nicks’s career — and expanded reissues of her first two solo albums, Bella Donna (1981) and The Wild Heart (1983). From the stage last night, Nicks repeatedly addressed the challenge she’d faced in building a viable solo career while remaining an active member of Fleetwood Mac.

In particular, she described compromising by agreeing to include on Bella Donna one song she didn’t write: “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers. Recorded as a duet with Petty, the song became the solo hit Nicks needed, and she was off to the races.

Last night, the crowd roared with approval as a new duet partner sauntered on stage for that number: Chrissie Hynde, whose Pretenders opened the show. The admiration and affection between the two women was clearly mutual as they shared Nicks’s original lead vocal, with guitarist Waddy Wachtel chiming in with Petty’s answering lines about “being your own girl.” Yes, thank you very much, they would.

Nicks isn’t one of the first names typically associated with Prince, but in fact he was an important inspiration who played a key role in her solo career — literally played, as in wrote and performed the indelible keyboard hook for Wild Heart smash “Stand Back.” Nicks played that song after dedicating the preceding number, “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream),” to “my friend.”

She then recounted how she was inspired to write “Stand Back” after hearing “Little Red Corvette” on the radio during her honeymoon with Kim Anderson; they divorced the following year, but Nicks said Anderson was present at the arena last night. “Whenever I sing ‘Stand Back,'” said Nicks, “Prince is standing next to me.”

(Prince wasn’t the only local hero who got a shout-out: Nicks’s band includes Minneapolis organist Ricky Peterson, and the Pretenders are touring with longtime St. Paul resident Eric Heywood on pedal steel. Both Nicks and Hynde made a point of welcoming their sidemen home.)

As Nicks dug through what she described as her “dark gothic trunk of magical mystery songs,” she had plenty more stories to tell. She brought out “the original Bella Donna cape” (as seen on the sleeve of the “After the Glitter Fades” single) for the album’s title song, and she talked about recording “Starshine” in Tom Petty’s basement. She complained about her Fitbit (“Do we really need to know how many steps we take?”), and she shared plenty of motivational words. “Just reach up there and grab that Bella Donna star!”

Still in strong voice at age 68, Nicks said repeatedly that “dreams really do come true” as she reminisced about her youth in Phoenix, writing the songs that became beloved classics like “Landslide” — a song she called “the story of my life.” Behind her, video screens nested in a proscenium arrangement showed appropriately dreamy graphics: woodland scenes, roiling water, vintage shots of Nicks — including, before the encore, the image of a 1983 flyer from when she played the St. Paul Civic Center, where the Xcel Energy Center now stands.

Hynde, who said during her set that Nicks is “even better than you think she’d be,” summoned some of that earth-mother energy for ballads like “Hymn to Her” and “I’ll Stand By You,” but left seasonal favorite “2000 Miles” on the table in favor of strutting favorites from the band’s early releases. She also played a few songs from Alone, the Pretenders’ new album produced by Dan Auerbach.

The easygoing set — Hynde can summon snarling rage in other contexts, but it’s hard to be too angry when you’re in the presence of Stevie Nicks — offered a glimpse at what it might have looked like if Hynde ever achieved the arena-level fame her talent deserves. The joint bill is a fascinating and gratifying pairing: the uniting of two women from the same generation who forged very different paths to iconic status. Kinks fan Hynde went to London and became a fiercely independent rock pioneer, while Nicks found her way to sunny California and hooked up with a band who’d crossed the Atlantic in the other direction.

On this tour, the two stand together basking in their well-earned admiration. Intent on inspiring others, Nicks sent us off with a blessing. “Play music! Sing! Be loved! Love you!”

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Review Stevie Nicks Live in Vancouver December 9, 2016

Photos: Rogers Arena Facebook

Stevie Nicks / The Pretenders
Rogers Arena, Vancouver BC, December 9
By Laura Sciarpelletti
Exclaim.ca (Photo Gallery)

Vancouver welcomed two of music's most celebrated and iconic rock stars Friday night amidst unusual amounts of snow and the buzzing of impending witchy enchantment. Both Stevie Nicks and the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde — ages 68 and 65 respectfully — were in fine form, showing no signs of slowing down, but rather hopeful for a full future with the continued support of their fans and the freedom to explore their vast musical repertoires.

This goes doubly for Nicks, whose voice could not have been more raggedly perfect and who opened up her "dark mystical gothic trunk of songs" for her pet project the 24 Karat Gold tour. Determined not to give her beloved fans the same old tired Stevie set list they have no doubt heard countless times over the years, Nicks pulled out some demo gems.

Nicks' choice to put Hynde and the Pretenders in the opening hour-long slot set the tone for a female-rocker infused journey. The Pretenders were the light part of the show, not able to entirely escape that aged rock star persona associated with so many successful '80s musicians nowadays. From the Kinks cover of "Stop Your Sobbing" that brought them their first hit, to fan favourites "Middle of the Road" — wherein Hynde delightfully whipped out the harmonica — and "Brass in Pocket," the group certainly gave fans what they were looking for, but nothing further.

Alternatively, Nicks has built up a persona so impenetrable and mysterious that the term "aged rock star" could never apply to her. Thrilled at the notion of Vancouverites not experiencing snow often (her limo driver told her), Nicks promised the packed Rogers Arena a "journey through the snow." Donning a black flowing dress and playing with glittering scarves, Nicks gave continuous background narrative to the early days of her solo career.

While giant light bulbs bobbed up and down from the ceiling and images of moons and dancers were projected onto the screen behind her, the warm and funny Fleetwood Mac alumnus reflected fondly on her relationships with the likes of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and her late friend Prince. The former gave her her first single "Stop Dragging My Heart Around," which Hydne joined in for.

From there Nicks took the crowd on a witchy tour; between "Bella Donna" and the more recent "New Orleans," Nicks pulled everyone into her world of femme fatale notions and rock'n'roll nostalgia. Gleefully showing the crowd that she still had the original Bella Donna silk chiffon cape, the blond chanteuse conjured up memories of her short but impressive 1981 tour and the long-lasting determination to prove that her initial solo success was not a fluke.

Wielding a signature tambourine and flailing her arms about, Nicks gave onlookers "Starshine," a song co-written with Petty but never released. When she ripped into the thundering and epic "Edge of Seventeen," Nicks paid tribute to the wonderful man in purple with a Prince photomontage on the big screen interspersed with images of doves.

Perhaps one of the most endearing parts of this tour is the presence of longtime friend, musical director and session musician Waddy Wachtel. Having been alongside Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham from their early days in L.A. to countless recordings and tours with Nicks, Watchel is a continuous presence that helps to connect Nicks to her early days as a commercial success, while also giving her solid guitar backing.

Ending with the always lovely "Rhiannon" and "Landslide," Nicks alone was projected onto the screen in all her caped glory, as if to speak directly to each adoring fan. This tour has shown that Nicks' particular brand of stage presence and mystical persona does not get old, but rather appears fresh in its own way. Her vampy vocals and forlorn writing style continue to penetrate the hearts of multiple generations and it's clear that her trunk of songs is not limited to Fleetwood Mac and '70s hits.

David Wild just finished new liner notes for Fleetwood Mac

Interesting tweet from David Wild. David has written many if not all the liner notes on Fleetwood Mac's recent reissues.... Could this be Tango?

Reviews Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders - Minneapolis December 6, 2016

Review: Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde empower each other
Hall of Famers rock St. Paul with familiar and obscure songs.
by Jon Bream
Startribune.com - includes Photo Gallery

At first blush, Stevie Nicks teaming up with Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders seems about as odd as, say, Joan Baez and Cher touring together. Same era (and enduring careers) but totally different vibe. But on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center, ethereal, super-feminine Nicks and snarling, boyish Hynde proved that sisterhood is powerful.

Full review

Stevie Nicks enchants audience at the X with songs, stories and the spirit of Prince
by Ross Raihala
Twincities.com

Stevie Nicks is now 68, but there’s always been a sort of timeless quality about her, like her soul has been kicking around for centuries, wrapping its hosts in shawls, lace and fringe. Remember, this is a woman who crafted the nostalgic, contemplative “Landslide” when she was just 25.

Nicks spent Tuesday night flipping through the back pages of her history at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center during an engaging and emotional two-plus hour performance for about 10,000 fans. She took full advantage of not having to share the spotlight with Fleetwood Mac and spent plenty of time between songs chatting with the crowd and sharing the secrets behind her many hits.

Full review

Review Stevie Nicks Lincoln, NE December 5, 2016

Stevie Nicks tells the stories, then sings the songs at arena Monday
BY: L. KENT WOLGAMOTT
Lincoln Journal Star - Photo Gallery

Photo: Kristin Streff, Journal Star

For more than two hours Monday, Stevie Nicks hosted an episode of the old VH1 show, “Storytellers” at Pinnacle Bank Arena, spinning out tales of how and why songs were written, before and after they were performed.

And many if not most of those songs weren’t instantly recognized by the 6,500 in the hall as Nicks, eschewing the usual “greatest hits” superstar show, mined some deep tracks from throughout her career -- dating back to “Crying in the Night,” a song she wrote in 1971 -- and mining “24 Carat Gold: Songs from the Vault,” her 2014 album made up of what she called her “trunk of gothic musical mysteries.”

Performing with her superb six-piece band, led by guitarist Waddy Wachtel, along with a pair of backing singers, Nick’s husky but pure voice was at its finest and she was engaging and often funny telling her stories.

So, we learned that “Starshine” the lead track of the new album was written in Tom Petty’s basement, that “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream)" was indeed inspired by Bella and Edward and is her favorite song and both “Stand Back” and “Edge of Seventeen” were responses to songs by her “strange little friend” Prince.

The latter was among the hits “Gold Dust Woman,” “Rihannon” and “Landslide” that brought the show to the close. But the first hit out of the box was “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” on which she was joined by Chrissie Hynde, who along with Wachtel did Petty’s part on the duet.

Hynde and her band The Pretenders opened with a bracing, hour-long set that, once the sound got dialed in, found her at peak vocal form -- she flat nailed the ballad “Hymn for Her” and the band ripped through a few songs from “Alone,” the new album and lots of hits. It was, simply put, one of the best sets I’ve seen at the arena.

Nicks, by the way, did not mention her previous appearance at the arena at the Fleetwood Mac show that was cut short by Mick Fleetwood’s illness. Instead she told stories and really sang her songs.

Stevie Nicks Wants a New Fleetwood Mac Tour, Not a New Fleetwood Mac Album

Stevie Nicks is currently out on her 24 Karat Gold tour, promoting her recent solo album. But as far as recording a new album with Fleetwood Mac , Stevie believes the band shouldn't waste their time.

Before Fleetwood Mac launched their most recent tour, they worked on some new tracks without Stevie. While Mick Fleetwood suggested the tracks might be released with just Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie singing, Stevie doesn't buy it. "You can never say never, but I don’t think that will happen," she tells ABC Radio.

That doesn't mean Stevie's ready to join her bandmates in the studio, though.

"The only reason that I don’t really wanna do a record is because I think that, in a year and a half, we’ll probably go out and do another Fleetwood Mac tour, since Christine has come back," she explains. Christine McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac in 2014 after a 16-year absence.

Stevie thinks touring is the better plan, simply because of Fleetwood Mac's dynamics.

"Do we want to go and close ourselves up in a studio for a year, [and] make a record that’s really good but that probably won’t sell, because records don’t really sell that much?" she asks. "And then we'll have been stuffed together for a year in one room, and...when you come out of that room, we may notwant to go on a tour!"

The logical solution, Stevie says, is to skip making a new record, and simply hit the road.

"I think that we should choose the tour over the record," she tells ABC Radio. "Because touring is much more fun than making a record when you don’t have any idea how that record’s gonna come out."

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

Stevie Nicks Announces NEW 2017 Shows

Stevie extends her 24 Karat Gold Tour into 2017 with 20 new dates beginning February 23rd in Reno, NV. Amex Presale begins Dec 7th. General on sale Dec 12th. Info at www.stevienicksofficial.com

FEB 23 - RENO, NV
FEB 25 - Salt Lake City, UT
FEB 28 - Portland, OR
MAR 2 - San Diego, CA
MAR 6 - Tulsa, OK
MAR 8 - Memphis, TN
MAR 10 - Bossier City, LA
MAR 12 - Austin, TX
MAR 15 - New Orleans, LA
MAR 17 - Columbus, OH
MAR 19 - Raleigh, NC
MAR 21 - Orlando, FL
MAR 23 - Jacksonville, FL
MAR 25 - Charlottesville, VA
MAR 26 - Baltimore, MD
MAR 29 - Indianapolis, IN
MAR 31 - Pittsburgh, PA
APR 2 - Newark, NJ
APR 5 - Manchester, NH
APR 6 - Long Island, NY

Review Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders - Chicago December 3, 2016

Stevie Nicks dazzles at the United Center
by Althea Legaspi
Chicago Tribune - View the Photo Gallery

Photo: United Center

Stevie Nicks' recent musical forays may find her mining the past to cast songs in a new light, but in so doing, she's forged a strong path forward, filtered through the wisdom she's gained. At United Center on Saturday, the icon breathed new life into decades-old songs, revisited early underrated treasures and peppered in megahits to satisfy superfans and recent acolytes alike in a two-hour set that reinforced that timeless songwriting endures.

Nicks is currently on her "24 Karat Gold Tour," which features live takes on newly recorded, previously unreleased demos culled from her storied, 40-plus-year career, which appear on 2014's "24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault." The set also featured material from her first two solo records, 1981's "Bella Donna" and 1983's "The Wild Heart," which were reissued last month, as well as some of her Fleetwood Mac songs.

And though the latter material, which included an affecting "Gypsy" and a rousing, extended "Gold Dust Woman," were fan favorites, there was a certain freedom to be found in her solo work. Nicks is a perpetual role model: a trailblazer who's had a valiant career alongside her trials, from overcoming substance abuse to tangled relationships, and come out stronger.

Nicks' mystique and bewitching charm permeated the show, from her signature flowing black dress paired with shawls and capes to her trademark twirls and sultry rasp with its enchanting, indelible hue, though time may have slightly compressed her range. She also pulled back the curtain on the origins of many songs, which added a rare, welcomed intimacy to the set.

This gave insight into tunes such as the standout "Starshine," which she wrote in Tom Petty's basement, and the disco-fueled "Stand Back," which was inspired by the late Prince. Her humorous admission about the oldest song in the set, 1973's Buckingham/Nicks song "Crying in the Night" ("At 22, I don't know where these words came from") showcased that her poetic musings don't have to be literal to evoke emotion. "Wild Heart" and a sterling "Rhiannon" were also highlights.

Songs such as the affecting set closer "Landslide" and "Edge of Seventeen" sagely referred to the passage of time. Though written three decades prior, these songs' themes of love and loss seemed to resonate more deeply with age. The soothsaying chanteuse's gifts extended to her choice of collaborators. Chrissie Hynde — whose stunning voice buoyed her rocking opening set with The Pretenders, which also included timeless hits ("Brass in Pocket") and newer gems ("Alone") – joined Nicks for the awesome "Stop Dragging My Heart Around." Hynde also discussed religious tolerance, the only political statement of the night, before performing "Holy Commotion."

In an era that can be rather antagonistic and ageist, particularly towards women, both Nicks and Hynde's performances were empowering. Beyond surviving, they've persevered, and continue to excel at their craft. "Crazy as life is," Nicks advised at the end of the show, "Stay in the path of love."

Review Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders at MSG New York City December 1, 2016

Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders Rise Above the Fray at Madison Square Garden
by Andrew Unterberger
Billboard

Embed from Getty Images

The legendary rock acts paired for a night of musical perserverance during Nicks' 24 Karat Gold Tour stop in New York.

"It's a pleasure to be back in New York with a message of love!" declared Chrissie Hynde, legendary frontwoman for Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Pretenders, as her band indeed launched into the martial swing of their 1981 classic "Message of Love" on Thursday night (Dec. 1). After beginning their opening set with two riotous numbers off the group's fine new LP Alone, "Message" properly jolted the packed crowd at Manhattan's Madison Square Garden to life, and Chrissie & Co. took it from there, captivating with an expertly paced set that reminded why the group still has to be included in any discussion of the greatest active rock bands.

Despite leading with some new songs and making a couple early deep-cut detours (Hynde's 2014 solo single "Down the Wrong Way," Get Close paean to femininity "Hymn to Her"), the band mostly kept to the hits and the fan favorites afterwards -- even indulging the crowd with a singalong of 1994 power ballad "I'll Stand By You." But the now-quintet kept it tight throughout, and though Martin Chambers -- the only original member remaining besides Hynde -- may no longer quite live up to Chrissie's billing of him as "The World's Greatest Rock Drummer," the group still shredded their way through ragers new and old with typical Akron-via-U.K. muscle. (Appropriately, Hynde got some of the biggest cheers of the night when she rolled up the sleeves on her Elvis T-shirt.)

The Pretenders stayed mostly apolitical throughout their set, though perhaps inevitably for a show by a punk-bred band in the year 2016, there was a sense of desperation throughout, as songs like "My City Was Gone" took on extra significance, and even the group's more personal numbers felt as hefty as hymns. Hynde introduced their latest single "Holy Communion" as a song about "religious tolerance," but then shortened that to just "tolerance," declaring hopefully: "If you're answering to him" -- pointing skyward -- "You're probably going to be all right."

Of course, the real figure of worship for Hynde on stage was her touring partner, the iconic singer/songwriter and Fleetwood Mac frontwoman Stevie Nicks, who Hynde gushed about throughout her set ("It's like being on tour with Elizabeth Taylor!"). The Church of Stevie was definitely in session from the opening songs of her headlining set, and her lead disciple even came back on stage to serve as her Tom Petty on a stellar duet of Nicks' breakout solo hit, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." "I'm gonna marry her," declared an ecstatic Hynde after the performance. "So don't get any ideas."

Even with that early moment of fan wish-fulfillment, Nicks made it clear early in her set that crowd-pleasing wasn't going to be her primary goal for the evening. "It's not gonna be the same show that you're used to seeing," she warned of her gig to come, instead promising "magical gothic things from my gothic trunk of secrets and mysteries." What followed was a set full of little-heard rarities like "Starshine," a reject from 1981 solo debut Bella Donna that eventually ended up on 2014's 24 Karat Gold - Songs From the Vault and "Crying in the Night," a Buckingham-Nicks-era favorite that Nicks rarely played live before this tour.

The centerpiece of the performance was undoubtedly "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)," the dramatic power ballad whose recording reinvigorated Nicks' solo career in the early '10s, and which she now calls "my favorite song I've ever written." The singer/songwriter, cultivating a family atmosphere throughout the evening with her convivial storytelling -- even the introduction of her band, which she promised to keep brief, was deeply felt enough to take ten minutes -- explained the origins of the song as having been inspired by the doomed romance at the heart of the Twilight film franchise. "There's nothing like a tragic love affair," Nicks concluded.

For most of her set, Nicks kept Fleetwood Mac material to a minimum, only including 1982's "Gypsy" among her first 14 songs. It was enough delayed gratification that when her drummer launched into the arid, cowbell-led clomp of the Rumours closer "Gold Dust Woman," the building erupted in release. That rapture that only built through set closer "Edge of Seventeen" -- with a "When Doves Cry"-cribbed outro, paying tribute to Nicks' late friend Prince, who she'd previously talked about building early hit "Stand Back" with -- and first encore, the witchy-woman all-timer "Rhiannon."

The night closed with the Mac perennial "Landslide," and 40 years and hundreds of covers later, there's still nothing that properly prepares you for the sound of Nicks' simultaneously gravelly and feathery wisp intoning that first "Took my love, and I took it down..." In a time of national tumult and insecurity, the song can't help but take on a "Hallelujah"-like resonance, and its healing powers were on full display at MSG as the crowd belted every word along with their leader. "Rise above the fray," Nicks advised as her band exited. "Get in your car, and turn it up."

SETLIST

The Pretenders:

Alone
Gotta Wait
Message of Love
Private Life
Down the Wrong Way
Hymn to Her
Back on the Chain Gang
I'll Stand By You
Holy Communion
My City Was Gone
Stop Your Sobbing
Don't Get Me Wrong
Mystery Achievement
Middle of the Road
Brass in Pocket

Stevie Nicks:

Gold and Braid
If Anyone Falls
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (w/ Chrissie Hynde)
Belle Fleur
Gypsy
Wild Heart
Bella Donna
Enchanted
New Orleans
Starshine
Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)
Stand Back
Crying in the Night
If You Were My Love
Gold Dust Woman
Edge of Seventeen

Encore:
Rhiannon
Landslide

More videos here

Review Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders - Toronto November 29, 2016

Nothing beats a night with Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde
The Pretenders rocked, and Nicks drew from her "black gothic trunk of mysterious and fantastical things"
BY CHAKA V. GRIER
Now Toronto

View Photos: Lithium Magazine

Setting off an unbelievable night of rock at the Air Canada Centre were the Pretenders, led by the charismatic Chrissie Hynde, whose appearance instantly got fans on their feet, where they stayed for the rest of the night. No introduction was needed when the wild-maned, denim-clad singer sporting large hoop earrings, an Elvis tee and ruby red blazer dove into the 16-song set starting with Gotta Wait from the Pretenders' 2016 album, Alone.

“Always a pleasure to be back in Toronto,” said Hynde. “The reason we’re here is to love each other, take care of each other,” she said, ahead of hit Stand By You.

As with Stevie Nicks, whose performance would finish the night as high as Hynde began it, Hynde has a voice that's still as recognizable and evocative as ever, moving from smoothly seductive on classics like Don’t Get Me Wrong and Brass In Pocket to impassioned on Holy Commotion. Her playful ease and glammy showmanship set the tone for the night, making her the perfect ying to the other great’s yang.

It takes a lot to become a star, but it takes even more to turn into a legend, especially in your own time. And in a year that's seen the unprecedented loss of one legendary superstar after another, seeing Stevie Nicks live and still at the top of her game made it all the more poignant and exhilarating.

After opener Gold And Braid, she introduced the next few hours as music drawn from her “black gothic trunk of mysterious and fantastical things.” The two-hour show focused on giving life to a slew of unreleased tracks and never-before-sang-in-concert songs that she had discarded from previous albums, revamped in ways that she now preferred over the originals, or never had a chance to perform in the first place, like Wild Heart.

And though songs like New Orleans may not have been familiar even to the most hardcore of Nicks fans, she sprinkled in classics like Stand Back (inspired by Prince’s Little Red Corvette – “He disappeared into the purple haze” she chuckled, sharing the story of his brief but magical guitar contribution to the original recording) and Fleetwood Mac’s Gypsy and Rhiannon, helping the audience feel involved in the night.

Her songwriting relationship with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers also played a significant role in the show, starting with the Petty-written song that helped her solo career take flight, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around. Hynde joined her onstage for that one, leading Nicks to conclude that “I’m destined to be in duets”. We also got Starshine from 2014's 24 Karat Gold album, a song Nicks has said she wrote while hanging out with Petty.

Clad in her iconic jet-black, twirl-ready frock, a fringed tambourine hanging casually off her arm, the reigning Queen of Rock subtly transformed into different mythical characters – fringed priestess, stage shaman, sorceress – with each song and wardrobe change. After a moving performance of Bella Donna, dedicated to her mother who died three years ago, she proudly displayed the gorgeously preserved silk chiffon Bella Donna cape, circa 1981. “It’s silk chiffon. That’s what they make bullet things out of, so if you’re going to invest your money into something, right now, in this political world, silk chiffon,” she joked.

The most breathtaking moment of the night occurred during the Twilight-saga-inspired track Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream), which Nicks credits with bringing her back into the music industry as a songwriter after nearly a decade of not releasing new material. She stretched the thrilling song to over seven minutes of pure magic.

Though the world sees her as an icon, Nicks sees herself as a poet, writer, archivist and chronicler, weaving captivating behind-the-music stories with each song. She imbued the fervent arena with an MTV Unplugged kind of intimacy, and shaped the show with the peaks and valleys only a seasoned performer is capable of.

After introducing her masterful nine-piece band – she’s been working with many of the members for 40 years or more – she ended the 17-song set with a double encore that included 1981's Edge Of Seventeen, replete with a collage of Prince photos filling the screen behind her, and tear-jerker Landslide, which left the emotional audience right in the palm of her enchanted hands.

Reviews Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders Live in Detroit Nov 27, 2016

Stevie Nicks and the Pretenders rock fans for three hours at The Palace
By Edward Pevos
Mlive.com - includes Photos

 Photos by Tanya Moutzalias - View Gallery

AUBURN HILLS, MI - They have two of the most distinctive voices in music history, Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde. Question is: How do they sound today?

The music icons were in concert at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Nicks' "24 Karat Gold Tour" on Sunday, November 27, 2016.

The Pretenders:

Chrissie Hynde put a little more umph when singing the "Brass in Pocket" line: "been driving Detroit leaning." She and the Pretenders are fresh off the release of their 10th studio album, "Alone," in 2016.

Hynde and the band performed some new stuff, some old stuff and the band's biggest hits including "I'll Stand By You," "Back On The Chain Gang", "Don't Get Me Wrong," and the aforementioned "Brass in Pocket."

To put it short and sweet, Hynde performed nearly every lyric and every note of each song the way it was meant to be performed. The 65 year old's voice is as powerful and flawless as ever. Hearing her live, along with a solid band was a real treat before the main course.

Stevie Nicks:

That main course was the living legend herself, Stevie Nicks. When you see her without her Fleetwood Mac band mates, you are treated to not only some of her big Mac hits, but many of her solo classics and duets.

No, that wasn't Tom Petty singing with Nicks on their classic "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Nicks brought out the Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde for a fun rendition of the 1981 hit which originally featured Petty.

Nicks nearly 20 song setlist also included a few songs from her newest and 8th studio album, 2014's "24 Karat Gold." The album is actually filled with new versions of demos that Nicks recorded from 1969 to 1987 with a couple from the 90s. Each song has a story, and Nicks made sure to take a minute to tell the crowd about how her songs came to life.

In her two hour set, Nicks mixed in three Fleetwood Mac hits with "Gypsy," "Gold Dust Woman" and "Rhiannon." Her solo hits included "Stand Back" and "Edge of Seventeen." She also threw in some deeper tracks with "If Anyone Falls," "Wild Heart," "Bella Donna" and "Enchanted."

The 68 year old Nicks still has that amazing voice which is both hypnotizing and mesmerizing. I think fans would have liked to have heard a couple more Fleetwood Mac songs, and I'm not sure what happened to "Leather and Lace," the show closer for most of the tour so far, but if you get a chance to see Nicks in concert, it's well worth your time and money. You never know how many times she'll be back again, with or without Mac.

Review: Stevie Nicks spreads 24 karat gold dust at The Palace
By Gary Graff
The Oakland Press

AUBURN HILLS -- At the start of her concert Sunday night, Nov. 27, Stevie Nicks told the crowd at The Place that, “This show is not what you are going to think it will be.”

In other words, it was time for something other than a pro forma parade of hits -- which Nicks certainly has the catalog to do -- over its two hours and 17 songs.

Those hits were there, of course, from a pounding “Stop Draggin’ My Heart” around with Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, who opened the show, guesting to Fleetwood Mac favorites such as “Gypsy,” “Gold Dust Woman” and “Rihannon” and Nicks solo successes like “Stand Back” and “Edge Of Seventeen.” But the show -- ostensibly promoting Nicks’ 2014 rarities album “24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault” -- was also designed as a dive into what she called “the gothic trunk of magical, mysterious things, something different for me after all these years.” And that troll unearthed some of the night’s best moments.

Nicks and her eight-member band started the night digging deep, in fact, with the country-flavored “Gold And Braid” from her 1988 box set “The Enchanted Works of Stevie Nicks” and a slightly twanged-up arrangement of “If Anyone Falls” from her 1983 sophomore solo album, “Wild Heart.” Nicks was in robust if not always accurate voice -- shuffling around the stage in formidable high heels and sporting eight different shawls during the course of the show plus, for one song, a full-length white fur coat -- as she pulled out “24 Karat Gold” rockers such as “Belle Fleur” and “Starshine” (a collaboration with Tom Petty that sat in the vaults for two decades) and the moody epic “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream).”

She neatly pared the title tracks of her first two albums, “Bella Donna” and “Wild Heart,” draped in the original shawl she wore on the album cover for the former, while a muscular performance of the 1973 Buckingham Nicks track “Crying In The Night” added a bit of pre-Fleetwood Mac fame perspective to the show.

Nicks had plenty of stories to tell as well, some specifically about the songs, others about the circumstances surrounding them. She spoke about the struggle, especially during the early 80s, of balancing her solo work with Fleetwood Mac -- “They’re not understanding. Very nice people, but not very understanding,” Nicks noted -- and she paid tribute to Prince with video screen images during “Stand Back” and “Edge Of Seventeen.” “Prince and I were friends,” Nicks acknowledged. “There’s a story. I’m not ready to tell it yet. It was a long, crazy friendship, a lot of phone calls, a lot of philosophy...”

Nicks’ show accented the songs with plenty of eye candy, too, including animations, prepared videos and vintage photos on the rear-stage LED screen, while orb-shaped chandeliers and light bulbs floated overhead in shifting formations. The effect may have indeed been a different kind of show for Nicks, but also proof that different can be good.

The Pretenders’ generous, hour-long opening set, meanwhile, was its own revelation. With Hynde’s punky swagger still evident -- and her voice as potent now as it was when the group emerged during the late 70s -- the quintet touched on its new album, “Alone” and Hynde’s 2014 solo album “Stockholm,” but mostly tore through 80s touchstones such as “Message Of Love,” “Back On The chain Gang,” “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” My City Was Gone,” “Mystery Achievement” and a ferocious “Middle Of The Road.” Hynde and company, including original drummer Martin Chambers, effectively dialed it down for torchy, soulful performances of “Hymn To her” and “I’ll Stand By You,” and by the time it wrapped with “Brass In Pocket” the group had done considerably more than just warm the Palace crowd up for Nicks.

Review Stevie Nicks Live at Mohegan Sun Casino Nov 25, 2016

Stevie Nicks, Pretenders thrill Mohegan Sun Casino crowd (review)
By Chris Dondoros
Masslive.com

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – More than four decades into her musical career, Stevie Nicks has a lot of stories to tell.

Fleetwood Mac's most recognizable voice stopped by the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night, treating concert-goers to a career-spanning set – and career-spanning anecdotes – as part of the "24 Karat Gold" tour.

Known as the "Reigning Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" to fans, Nicks lived up to that title early on in her set, with a humble demeanor juxtaposed against a voice that – despite decades of touring – sounded nearly identical to recorded versions of songs such as openers "Gold and Braid" and "If Anyone Falls."

Nicks also wasn't afraid to hit some of Fleetwood Mac's most memorable tunes early on in her 19-song set, including a memorable performance of "Gypsy," complete with Lindsey Buckingham's memorable guitar melodies performed courtesy of longtime guitarist "Waddy Wachtel," who Nicks said she has known since 1971 and whose discography as a session guitarist spans from James Taylor to Iggy Pop.

Unfortunately, however, fans hoping for a performance of "The Chain" or by-the-book "greatest hits" concert would be disappointed.

Instead, Nicks and her backing band took a fresh look at "deep cuts" from her first two solo efforts – 1981's, "Bella Donna" and 1983's "Wild Heart" for much of her set, alongside tracks off Nicks' 2014 effort, "24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault," which were accompanied with stories from Nicks about how each song was written and subsequently "lost" over the years.

Notably, according to Nicks, "Starshine" started off as a 1979 demo written and originally performed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers between album cycles, which left the song unreleased until 2014.

In one of the night's most notable moments, Nicks invited Chrissie Hynde – who opened the show with seminal New Wave band the Pretenders – on stage for a performance of another Petty tune, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," with Hynde and Wachtel providing Nicks support during the song's choruses, originally sung by Petty.

With much of her set moving along at a slow pace, Nicks would save some of the night's best performances for last, starting with a brooding rendition of 2011's "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)," which Nicks said was inspired by the film "Twilight: New Moon" and inspired her to release her first solo album in nearly a decade. She also offered the one-two punch of Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman" and an extended rendition of solo effort "Edge of Seventeen."

Nicks rounded out the show with a pair of encores that aptly paid respect to the two distinctive eras of her career: concert favorite "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac, which Nicks said she has performed at every concert since 1975, and "Leather and Lace" from 1981's "Bella Donna."

Hynde and the Pretenders opened the show with a lengthy set to an already-full arena that included back-to-back performances of hit songs "I'll Stand By You" and "Back on the Chain Gang" along with "Brass In Pocket."

Happy 71st Birthday to John McVie

Happy Birthday Johnny! Have an amazing day! Wishing all the health and happiness in the world.

Review Stevie Nicks Live in Grand Rapids, MI November 23, 2016

Stevie Nicks, The Pretenders mint golden performance for Grand Rapids fans
by Lorilee Craker
Localspins.com

VIEW PHOTO GALLERY

Nicks’ “24 Karat Gold Tour” trotted out some golden oldies as well as some fresh material on Wednesday, not to mention spotlighting two rock ‘n’ roll icons. (Review, photo gallery)

Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde on tour together?

It seemed a little weird at the outset, but by the time Nicks sailed onto the stage at Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena on Wednesday night, there proved to be a certain alchemy that made a lot of sense for this “24 Karat Gold Tour.”

And any concertgoer with lingering doubts bought in when the two oddly paired tour mates performed a duet on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” which Nicks originally recorded with Tom Petty.

Now that was golden.

There was Nicks, with her gossamer shawls and sorceress vibe, proclaiming that the Petty song “saved her life.” Or her career, at any rate.

Then witness Pretenders frontwoman Hynde, all sinew and strut, belting the Petty parts in the song. Together, those two grand dames of rock ’n’ roll made beautiful music together on Thanksgiving eve.

At 68, Nicks sounded in top form Wednesday as she warbled some old hits and unearthed some new-to-us songs from the “dark, gothic trunk of mystical, magical things.” From that trunk, she pulled out some songs which had not received their full due over the past 40-some years of her songwriting, or at least, the stories she told to introduce them seemed to imply this.

“Crying in the Night,” for example, harkened back to 1971, when she recorded the beachy gem with Fleetwood Mac bandmate and then-love Lindsey Buckingham and no one paid any attention at the time.

“New Orleans” came out of Nicks watching the impending Hurricane Katrina on TV from “her ocean” in California. And somewhat peculiarly, “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream)” had its origins in Nicks falling for the “Twilight” franchise a few years ago.

ENGAGING STAGECRAFT AND STORY-TELLING

Waddy Wachtel on lead guitar and Carlos Rios on rhythm guitar elevated every song, old or new, known or unknown, with their stringed artistry.

Superb stagecraft, with mystical moonscapes, falling water and – more than once – impressions of Prince showing on massive screens behind the band enriched the experience.

A born storyteller, Nicks’ narrative about almost every song was entertaining and added value to the unknown tunes. At times, it felt like the audience was sitting in her living room, shooting the breeze, learning about her artistic processes.

Still, folks really came to hear the hits and they were rewarded with “Gypsy,” “Stand Back” (which incited most concertgoers to stand up) and Fleetwood Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman.”

Some of that gold dust flickered around Hynde and The Pretenders as they opened with a burly 15-song set.

Taking a page from Nicks’ penchant for playing a bunch of almost unknown songs, Hynde opened with two cuts from a minty new album, October’s “Alone” – the title track and “Gotta Wait” – backed by a dazzling band that featured guitarist James Walbourne and hard-hitting drummer Martin Chambers.

“I love the Midwest,” Hynde said. “People dig guitar-based rock ’n’ roll and that’s what it’s all about!”

Wednesday’s crowd of Midwesterners definitely dug some of the classics, including “Back on the Chain Gang,” “Message of Love” and the ever-sweet “I’ll Stand By You.”

View Photo Gallery by Anthony Norkus