REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Finally Landed in Ottawa Last Night

BY LYNN SAXBERG, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

OTTAWA — Fleetwood Mac finally landed in Ottawa last night, a couple of decades past their heyday, but didn’t take long to remind an audience of 14,000 why they were everyone’s favourite band way back when.

So what if the configuration of the group wasn’t exactly the same as it was in the late 70s. The concert was still an unabashed nostalgia fest, consisting largely of songs from the band’s golden days. “There’s no new album to promote … yet,” Lindsey Buckingham teased the crowd early in the evening. “This time we said ‘Let’s just go out and have fun.’ Let’s do the songs we all love and hopefully that’s the thing that you love as well,” he added.

Sure enough, the veteran musicians looked like they were having almost as much fun as the fans who packed Scotiabank Place. A rock-solid version of Monday Morning immediately established a groove that was heavier than expected from the soft-rock superstars. Bass and drums blazing, it was a potent reminder of the awesome power of the rhythm section that provides the band’s name, that of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie.

However, as the concert unfolded, over the next two-plus hours, it became clear that Fleetwood Mac is, at its heart, a Buckingham-Nicks project. Singer-guitarist Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks traded lead vocals, and shared the duty of chatting with the audience. There were small signs of warmth between them but few actual sparks. Even when Nicks put her head on Buckingham’s shoulder, no one was fooled.

To fill in a bit of Mac history here, singer Stevie Nicks and guitarist Buckingham were lovers when they first joined the band in the mid-70s, and many of the songs on the classic 1977 LP, Rumours, were inspired by their break-up (as well as the divorce of McVie and his wife, singer Christine, who chose not to take part in this reunion tour). As Buckingham said last night, those were “complex and convoluted times.”

Rumours was a landmark album, ample proof that complicated emotional situations make for the best songs. Although relationships can go sour, the best songs stand the test of time. With every selection from Rumours, including The Chain, Dreams, Second Hand News, Go Your Own Way and Don’t Stop, the band dug in, rocked out and had no problem reclaiming the original passion of the times, to the delight of the audience.

Both Buckingham and Nicks were in fine form, ageless in appearance, their voices as strong as ever. Nicks wore her blond hair long and sleek, had scarves hanging from her microphone stand and twirled her shawl on stage, her voice haunting. Buckingham dazzled on guitar, exploring the softer side during an acoustic version of Never Going Back Again but then working up to some full-out electric soloing for Go Your Own Way.

Backing the core quartet on stage were a couple of extra instrumentalists and a trio of female backing singers.

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in Ottawa

By SHANE ROSS - Sun Media

OTTAWA - Not they don't still look pretty darn good, but listening to Fleetwood Mac and wondering who's sleeping with who just doesn't have the same appeal as it did 30 years ago.

Did Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood get it on before the show? Who cares? Probably not even Lindsey Buckingham.

He's already told her to go her own way. She went.

But she's back, again, still sexy at 60. They were all back last night at Scotiabank Place. All except Christine McVie, who declined to join her ex -- bassist John McVie -- and the four other bandmates for the tour, which kicked off March 1 in Pittsburgh and heads to Montreal tonight and Toronto on Thursday.

That left Nicks as the only woman in the band that became known in the 1970s as much for their tangled love lives as their chart-toppping hits.

"As you know, Fleetwood Mac has a convoluted and emotional history," Buckingham wink-winked to the 14,000 fans last night.

Yes, we know. Their 1978 Grammy-winning album, Rumours, filled us in. Stevie-Lindsay, Mick-Stevie, John-Christine, Christine-lighting guy-etc. It's what gave songs like Go Your Own Way, Second Hand News and Dreams an almost voyeuristic feel.

Teenage imagination, run wild.

Anyway, time heals all wounds. As Buckingham said last night, "We take breaks, long breaks, and every time we reconvene it's a little different. This time, we just said let's go out and have some fun."

They stuck to the plan last night. On drums, Fleetwood -- the ponytail, so prominent on the Rumours album cover, now grey -- sported a perma-grin. Buckingham teased the crowd by hinting at an upcoming album. "With no album to promote -- yet," he said, "we thought we'd sing the songs we all love."

And Nicks was warm and engaging in her black top and grey skirt -- and later, ruby dress and gold shawl, and even later, black dress and top hat -- that flowed when she swayed and twirled in that familiar hippie-like dance.

Proof of the reconciliation was in the encore. Stevie's Silver Springs, which reportedly caused a row when Mick cut it from Rumours, was the closer last night. Apology apparently accepted.

So while there may not have been much sexual tension on stage last night -- Stevie did lay her head tenderly on Lindsay's shoulder at the end of Sara -- there was plenty of good music. The songs stand up on their own, without the "convoluted history."

They sang most of their greatest hits last night, but not all. They couldn't, not without Christine. Over My Head, You Make Lovin' Fun, and Little Lies wouldn't be the same without her distinct lead vocals. Nicks and Buckingham attempted Say That You Love Me, which was sung by McVie on their self-titled album, but it didn't sound quite right. Nicks fared better on the second verse of Don't Stop, which was McVie's. But, hey, if Bill Clinton could sing it during his 1993 presidential campaign, anybody can.

Regardless, Nicks and Buckingham sing vocals on enough Fleetwood Mac hits to easily fill out a three-hour concert. If it was Nicks, instead, who wasn't there, they wouldn't have attempted Rhiannon, Gypsy and certainly not her solo hit, Stand Back.

And that was a pretty good tradeoff.

INTRODUCING "MyMickTV"

Mick Fleetwood and his assistant Karol will be carrying a Flip MinoHD camera and will be shooting behind the scenes footage of his life both on and off the road.

Some of the upcoming weekly webisodes on MyMickTV will include a backstage tour of Mick's dressing room at Madison Square Garden, Mick offering wine tips, Mick in Private jets, doing media interviews and CD signings, in short, Micks life on the road and at home in between "Unleashed" gigs.

Roland Woerner, heading up the Fourtress film and editing team of Fourtress Development Group, LLC said, "Mick has granted us unprecedented access to his world both on a personal and professional level. He understands the power and excitement of new media and has given us the green light to share his story with a global audience. With an instant online delivery system to millions of viewers, this is the ultimate reality show that's available 24/7."

The Premier Episode has Mick packing in LA and getting ready to head to Pittsburgh for the first show of Fleetwood Mac's "Unleashed" tour.

Episode 2 has been posted on MyMickTV.com regarding his association with Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar.

LINKS to Bookmark

MyMickTV.com

MyMickTV (on Youtube)

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"BLUE AGAIN" the new live cd release from The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band feat. Rick Vito is in stores now. It climbed to the #1 spot on the blues chart at itunes the day of release and was in the top 20 of all music sales for two days.

Listen to full cd tracks here

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MEET MICK FLEETWOOD

Mick is scheduled to visit 8 Costco stores this fall in

September and November throughout Arizona and

Nevada with additional dates to be announced. 

Visit Mick Fleetwood Private Cellar Wine 

for his full schedule

STEVIE SCHEDULED ON LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON

STEVIE NICKS is scheduled to be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

Not sure if this will be a performance with interview or just performance - but she'll be on promoting "The Soundstage Sessions" CD along with the "Live in Chicago" DVD.

Jimmy Fallon is on NBC weeknights at 12:35 / 11:35 central.

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in NYC "A weekend replete with Fleetwood Mac was exactly what I needed"

Fleetwood Mac Soothe Kim Stolz’s Soul With NYC Gig
by Kim Stolz
MTV Newsroom

A weekend replete with Fleetwood Mac was exactly what I needed to detox from the wrangles and chaos that was MTV Spring Break 2009. Sure, I may have spent a full month’s salary on my ticket, but it was worth every penny. I’ve fallen in love with indie-pop bands over the years like the Knife and Animal Collective, and recently I’ve fallen in a type of lust for hip-hop artists like Drake, Lil Wayne and Charles Hamilton, but my heart undoubtedly beats steady and strong for the classic rock I grew up with — specifically, Fleetwood Mac.

I’ve spent hours watching the video for “Silver Springs” from the Dance Tour, and I am obsessed with any DJ that mixes Fleetwood Mac along with the more “club-worthy” sounds of Kanye, Lady Gaga, Crystal Castles … you get the picture. So, when I found out that Stevie, Lindsey, John and Mick (Christine McVie seldom performs with the band, except for an occasional U.K. appearance) were doing a Hits Tour, I dropped everything and bought tickets to two of their shows in the NY area.

Wearing the first of several scarves that would make appearances throughout the show, Stevie took the stage — along with Lindsey and the rest of the band — and began “Monday Morning.” The set then went on to include “The Chain,” “Sara,” “Rhiannon,” “Tusk” (which was surprisingly sonically satisfying even without horns), “Stand Back” (also surprising but very exciting) and the other likely suspects of a Fleetwood Mac Hits Tour.

With the epic and tragic — but also media-friendly — tale that was the love story of Lindsey and Stevie, it’s hard to decipher how much of their onstage tension and affection is genuine and how much is part of the show. Fleetwood Mac and “Silver Springs”-obsessed, I have to believe that it’s real and crave even the shortest glance between them. In the beginning of the show, Lindsey spoke about their decades-long affair and “emotional and tumultuous history,” adding that “each time we come together, it’s always different. … We’re always moving in a forward motion and we decided that this time, we’re just going to have fun.” Still, though, in the moments where they sang the most heart-wrenching of lyrics — written for each other — you could see a certain look in their eyes, which, to me, was a clear example of the years of practice in keeping their lives separate and, in a sense, an attempt to hide the residual feelings, which never seemed to vanish.

During “Go Insane,” it dawned on me that — more so than the Fleetwood Mac concerts I’d watched on television — this particular set could almost be classified as “The Lindsey Show.” Of course, the vast majority of the audience kept their eyes on Stevie as she twirled around, creating a hypnotizing silhouette, leaving the stage and coming back from time to time with different scarves. Although she displayed different emotions — another sign that perhaps her fight to close off the feelings for Lindsey is still in full force — Lindsey did most of the speaking, and his songs and guitar solos were a major focus of the show.

Their second encore began with “Don’t Stop,” and as the rest of the audience swelled with joy and sang every lyric, my heart sank a little bit, fearing that “Silver Springs” would be left out of the Hits Tour. But a few minutes later, the chimes that commence the track echoed in the arena and, holding hands, Stevie and Lindsey began the song, seemingly symbolizing an emerging friendship between the two. However, as the painful and extremely personal lyrics continued, Lindsey and Stevie barely looked at each other — when Lindsey gave his famous side-glance in Stevie’s direction, her eyes remained fixed on the crowd, almost emotionless at times, and when she turned her head toward him, it was clear she was staring just past him rather than in his eyes.

As far as looking forward, Stevie Nicks has announced a “Live in Chicago” DVD, to be released on April 1. And during the set last night, Lindsey told the audience, “We don’t have a new album to promote … yet!” Before walking off stage for the last time, he thanked the crowd for coming and quelled our panic at the potential for this being their last tour, saying, “We’ll see you next time!” I took a deep breath and immediately updated my Twitter with the good news.

SOUNDSTAGE CD SAMPLER

CD Sampler For

Stevie Nicks

"The Soundstage Sessions"

is now available on Amazon.com