STEVIE NICKS WORSHIPERS DESCENDED UPON THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM

NOTS 19:

Stevie Nicks impersonators ring like a bell through the night,

and wouldn't you love to love them?

May 1, 2009
NY Metromix

While you were busy drinking somewhere cheap and nondescript, hundreds of Stevie Nicks worshipers descended upon the Highline Ballroom to celebrate the 19th annual Night of a Thousand Stevies party—some coming from as far away as Las Vegas to shake their tambourines, toss their long blonde wigs and wave their lace capes to the beat of "Rhiannon" (this year's theme song). Plus there were a few people in elaborate costumes that had nothing to do with Stevie Nicks at all, but they were amazing anyway. New York, you were in fine, fine form last night. So, obviously, start planning your costume for NOTS 20....

PHOTOS

REVIEW: FLEETWOOD MAC - Live in Houston - May 2, 2009

Fleetwood Mac takes musical walk down memory lane
By JOEY GUERRA
Houston Chronicle

There were no surprises, radical reworkings or new tunes to promote during Fleetwood Mac's Saturday night set at Toyota Center.

There were just music and memories — keys to the complete Mac experience. (And Stevie Nicks in a shawl, of course, during Gold Dust Woman.)

The echoes of hope and heartache informed every lyric, and each song signaled a memory, a moment in time for someone in the crowd (and onstage).

"Fleetwood Mac, as I'm sure you know, has had a complex and emotional history," Lindsey Buckingham told the crowd.

"It's kind of worked for us. Every time we come together, there's a sense of possibility."

The band walked onto a dark stage, Buckingham leading Nicks by the hand. They kicked off with a jangly, lighthearted Monday Morning — but things quickly intensified with the pounding groove of The Chain, which boasted solid harmonies (aided by a trio of background singers).

The staging was simple but effective, a maze of shadows and light. Nicks' trademark scarves were wrapped around her microphone stand.

The gypsy woman can't quite hit the girlish high notes of enduring hit Dreams, but her voice still has a bleating allure. She introduced Gypsy as a nod to her musical history in San Francisco, which gave it a wistful sense of remembrance.

Less dynamic were the moments when Buckingham took command (I Know I'm Not Wrong, Go Insane). The crowd thought so, too, and several folks scurried up toward the lobby. His voice-and-guitar take on Big Love, however, was a searing set highlight.

Nicks sparkled amid the rueful strains of Rhiannon, and Second Hand News (the first song recorded for the Mac's legendary Rumors album, Buckingham said) was a blaze of joyful vocals and instrumentation. Tusk boasted a blaring kick, and it's impossible not to be moved by Landslide's weary grace.

But the small details often made the biggest impact: Nicks sweetly placing her head on Buckingham's shoulder during a heartfelt Sara; Buckingham taking quick moments to soak in the cheers after every song.

joey.guerra@chron.com

(ON UK TV) THE FLEETWOOD MAC STORY

THE FLEETWOOD MAC STORY

BBC FOUR

MAY 2nd - 11pm

A series that takes a fresh look at the last 30 years of pop history, using family trees compiled by music journalist Pete Frame to explore the dramas that lie behind some of the best-known bands.

Fleetwood Mac, formed in 1967, has survived many different line-ups, but band members have paid a high price for their success. Key figures such as Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Stevie Nicks tell the band's story.

PETER GREEN: MAN OF THE WORLD

BBC FOUR

MAY 8th - 9:30pm

MAY 9th - 1:35am

Legendary blues guitarist BB King named Peter Green as one of the greatest exponents of the blues, and the 'only guitar player to make me sweat'. If Green had only written Black Magic Woman, his name would still have a place in blues rock history forever.

His three short years leading Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac saw the band established as one of the biggest-selling groups of the 1960s. Yet at the height of their fame Green left the group, with his life spiralling into turmoil as drug-induced mental health issues took control. Rumours of his demise began to spread, and sightings of him became notorious.

After years battling his mental illness, Green is writing and recording again. Featuring archive performances and interviews with Carlos Santana, Noel Gallagher, founding members of Fleetwood Mac and Green himself, this film tells the story of one of blues rock's living legends.

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).