REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in Kansas City May 8, 2009

Photos by Chris Cummins/Special to The Star

Back To Rockville

The version of Fleetwood Mac that visited the Sprint Center on Friday isn't the best-known of the band's many versions. Without Christine McVie playing keyboards and singing some of her everlasting pop songs and love ballads, the Fleetwood Mac that is out on the road today isn't the one everyone remembers most. Nonetheless, it can still indulge an arena filled with rabid fans thirsty for a big dose of nostalgia.

For more than two and a half hours Friday, they played a setlist loaded with hits and favorites -- 23 songs in all. Most were from the trilogy of mega-platinum albums released in 1975-79: "Fleetwood Mac," "Rumours" and "Tusk. "With help from three background singers, an extra guitarist and a keyboardist, they made everything sound a lot like it did more than 30 years ago.

The rhythm section hasn't changed since the band was founded in the 1960s as a British rock-blues band: John McVie and Mick Fleetwood are still keeping time (and still wearing the black vests over white shirts). But this version of the band has become the Lindsey & Stevie show. Both implicitly and explicity, the show emphasized their tempestuous long-term relationship, both professional and personal.

Before she sang "Gypsy," Nicks recalled the first time she met him back in 1965. After "Sara," they posed for a long moment in an odd embrace: he leaning his head on her shoulder, she with her back to him. During "Storm," they looked hard at each other as they sang, "Not all the prayers in the world could save us." And they re-entered the stage for the two encores holding hands, like a teenage couple.

But all that was just window dressing for an event that showcased two things primarily: The band's enormous catalog of hits; and Lindsey Buckingham's dazzling work on the guitar. He makes a noise that is like no one elses, using only his bloodthirsty fingers, at times hammering out his own rhythms with his thumb and playing leads over them. His voice these days is still in remarkably good shape, even when he has to howl through a song like "Go Your Own Way."

Nicks isn't the twirling gypsy-witch she used to be. These days, she dances in parentheses (as a quiet afterthought), and her voice has dropped at least an octave. Still, she can carry all her tunes and add some nice harmonies to Buckingham's lead vocals. They sang the Christine McVie hit "Say You Love Me," and made it sound like some kind of Everly Brothers tune.

The place was nearly full and loud, all night. The crowd was decidedly boomer-heavy, but there were plenty of fans 30-something and younger, too, a sign of how all these songs have taken root in younger generations. It's hard to imagine a band these days putting out records like this one did: Fans know the words to every track; and every song feels like a hit.

There were one or two lulls. "Storms" prompted a flood of traffic up the aisles. So did Fleetwood's long drum solo during "Oh Well," the traditional nod to the band's blues roots. He is looking wizened and wizardly these days, his white beard giving him a strong Dumbeldor resemblance. (He wears a long black cape off stage and has his own cape attendent, like James Brown.)

The highlights: The first four songs, each setting off its own detonation of cheers and singing. Buckingham's guitar play on "Never Going Back Again." "Tusk," in which keyboardist Brett Tuggle sufficiently re-created the sounds of the USC marching band. "I'm So Afraid," which ended like it always does: with Buckingham stirring up some wildfire on guitar. "Landslide," in which Nicks took back the song from everyone who ever covered it poorly (especially Billy Corgan). And "Go Your Own Way," which ignited the most mania of any song all night.

They ended with three encores: "World Turning," a raucous rendition of "Don't Stop" and then an anti-climactic "Silver Springs." Most of the crowd stuck around till the end, however, though some had been in the place for nearly four hours.

And it's worth mentioning that after the show, some of them showed up in the line outside the nearby Czar Bar, which was filled to capacity with lots of young music scenesters. Inside a tribute band was playing Fleetwood Mac songs.

| Timothy Finn, The Star

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.

FLEETWOOD MAC BACK ON STAGE

Tumultuous band is playing nice on Greatest Hits tour
BY HEATH MCCOY, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE

After all these years Fleetwood Mac, legendarily the ultimate in dysfunctional rock bands, still seems to be a rather awkward unit.

At least that's the way it felt during a recent interview in advance of the classic rock group's current Greatest Hits Unleashed tour.

Despite the rather restrictive formal nature of the teleconference -- with several journalists on the line at once from all over North America, each limited to one or two questions -- the band's inner dynamic seemed to shine through in the interview. And, much of the time, that dynamic was bloody well goofy.

On the one hand you had the band's old guard:Drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, the English blues rockers who have been around since the group's formation in 1967.

Fleetwood, 61, answered many questions with rambling long-winded answers that ultimately weren't all that revealing. McVie, 63, on the other hand, seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else on the planet, saying as little as possible even as his bandmates urged him to take a question or two.

Then you had American singer-songwriters Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham who joined Fleetwood Mac in the mid-70s, their perfect radio rock tunes making the band one of the biggest of the decade.

Nicks, 60, was a fine, imminently quotable interview subject, despite her diva-like snippiness when pressed about the band's relationship with singer Sheryl Crow -- who nearly wound up joining Fleetwood Mac last year.

As for Buckingham, 59, well, he shuffled in late. When exactly he joined the teleconference is unclear but things were well underway when we first heard from him.

"Lindsey is not here." answered Nicks when one reporter directed a question at the Mac's resident studio wiz and guitar star.

"No, I am here," blurted Buckingham, speaking for the first time. "Have you guys been on the phone for awhile?"

"We have," said Nicks, congratulating her bandmate for his sudden appearance.

Nicks and Buckingham both admitted that their famously tempestuous relationship remains a work in progress.

According to Nicks, that's even what instigated the idea of inviting Crow to join the band, something that ultimately fell through when she opted not to join Fleetwood Mac in the studio last year, due, at least in part, to her new commitments as a mother, (Crow adopted a baby boy in 2007).

Mind you, those problems have been a key ingredient in Fleetwood Mac's artistic chemistry over the years.

A musical duo, as well as young lovers when they joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975, it was the angry end of their love affair that inspired many of the songs on Rumours, the 1977 album that went on to sell 30 million copies world wide.

"That's, in fact, what makes Fleetwood Mac what it is," said Buckingham. "It's the kind of energy... created from that contrast of personalities."

That's something that applies to the whole band.

"We are a group of great contradictions... the members don't necessarily have any business being in a band together because the range of sensibilities is (so) disparate," Buckingham noted.

The greatest hits tour is ideal in that it puts minimal pressure on an often strained band, he added. Rather than having to deal with the stress of recording a new album together and then promoting it on the road, Fleetwood Mac is instead able to settle into the job of playing the same tried and true songs that they've played for decades. "The stakes (are)... a little bit lower and it just allows you to relax into the situation," Buckingham said.

But despite the delicate business of interpersonal relationships within Fleetwood Mac, Nicks felt every one was in a good place in the lead-up to the tour. "Lindsey has been in incredibly good humour since we started rehearsals. . . . When he's happy, everybody is happy," she said.

Even so, Nicks said she still misses singer Christine McVie, who made up the third part of Fleetwood Mac's songwriting trio before departing in 1998.

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(REVIEW) FLEETWOOD MAC - OMAHA 5/7/09

Fleetwood Mac still has chops

BY KEVIN COFFEY

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

OMAHA.COM

The band hasn't put out an album in years, but that didn't stop the crowd from celebrating Fleetwood Mac on Thursday night.

The group put on a simple, straightforward performance at Qwest Center Omaha that showcased all its hits for 2½ hours. Fans got a taste of everything, from less famous tunes like "Monday Morning" to smash hits "Don't Stop" and "Go Your Own Way."

"Omaha, welcome! We are thrilled that you are here with us tonight. We feel like we should get this party started," Stevie Nicks said from behind her scarf-covered microphone while the crowd applauded.

Drummer and band namesake Mick Fleetwood introduced band members as the "man with the magic fingers," guitarist Lindsey Buckingham; the "poet" and "first lady," singer Stevie Nicks; and the "backbone" of the band, bassist John McVie.

In addition to her trademark scarves and tambourine, Nicks added a few other flourishes to her wardrobe by changing dresses and donning shawls throughout the set. Before the set-closing "Go Your Own Way," Nicks left the stage and re-emerged wearing a top hat.

Unlike other veteran rockers, Fleetwood Mac didn't update songs to eliminate '80s-era synthesizers or change its stage displays to include an elaborate video montage or pyrotechnics. And the crowd - most of whom looked like longtime Fleetwood Mac fans - cheered them on throughout the show.

Nicks famously sings "I'm getting older, too," in Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide." But while she and the rest of the band are (she turns 61 in a few weeks), they haven't lost any of their vocal or instrumental chops.

Nicks' voice Thursday night sounded as sultry as when she joined the band in the mid-'70s, and Fleetwood and McVie haven't lost a step.

But most impressive was Buckingham, who put on a display with his guitar work during every song, all while splitting lead vocal duties with Nicks.

Although there were two backup guitarists onstage, Buckingham didn't need them. He played lead guitar for the band throughout the concert, switching styles with ease - finger-picking his way through blues riffs, slow acoustic ballads and loud rocking tunes.

During the show, Buckingham explained that the band members had "said to each other, 'Let's just go out there (during this tour) and have fun. Let's go out there and do the songs that we love.'"

He turned to the crowd and said, "Hopefully those are the songs that you love, too."

Concertgoers also heard some history of the band and got a window into how and why certain songs were written. Like an episode of VH1's "Storytellers," Nicks and Buckingham took turns introducing songs, telling how they were written, how each joined the band and how songs' meanings had changed over time.

The emotional turmoil that fueled the writing of many of Fleetwood Mac's songs wasn't apparent Thursday. Nicks and Buckingham made a point of proving that there was no animosity, taking the stage holding hands, turning to sing to one another during some songs and even hugging in the middle of "Sara."

Members of the band thanked the audience obsessively. Near the end of the concert, Buckingham took a moment to address them: "Omaha, you guys are just great tonight. Thank you all for coming, and good night."

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE - Return of the Mac

Mick Fleetwood dispels the rumours about latest tour
by Elizabeth Chorney-Booth
FFWD Weekly

When it comes to mega-platinum, superstar arena bands, they don’t get much bigger than Fleetwood Mac. Not only do they have one of the best selling albums of all-time (1977’s Rumours) and an unrivalled ubiquity when it comes to both classic rock and lite rock radio, but they’ve also toured regularly over the past decade. Since it’s pretty clear that the band members aren’t living anywhere close to the poverty line, why is Fleetwood Mac doing yet another full-scale tour? With prime ticket prices for the show sitting at almost $200 a head, is it just about the money?

“Think of someone like Neil Young or Eric Clapton or Elton John and these are people that are extremely successful, and in truth, in many ways way more successful in the long term than Fleetwood Mac, and that answers the question usually,” explains drummer Mick Fleetwood. “They would be doing this whether or not they were famous or wealthy. I truly believe that these people would be doing this, and that is our pleasure. I can’t imagine one person in Fleetwood Mac not being involved in music.”

So, it’s all about the music, man? While there couldn’t be a more clichéd answer, Fleetwood is surprisingly sincere. He points to another famous drummer — probably the most famous drummer — as an example of why it’s essential to just keep playing.

“I remember sitting down with Ringo Starr and it’s no secret that both Ringo and myself in our day enjoyed a party or two,” Fleetwood says. “One of the things he said so resonated with me. We were sitting and he was talking about his journey, and he said, ‘One day I suddenly realized that I didn’t have a drum kit in my house.’ It was like, what’s wrong with that picture? Once he reconnected with that, he will always go out and do these tours, which he does religiously every year, and he loves it. Some people don’t understand it, but he doesn’t care.”

None of this makes those hefty ticket prices any easier to swallow, but with Fleetwood Mac being such a complicated band personally (almost every member of the band having been romantically involved with one another at some point), it’s hard to believe that they’d be willing to spend time together onstage if it was a chore. When they do hit the stage, it isn’t hard to feel the love and the old tension between the band members, pushing the live Fleetwood Mac experience a step beyond your typical cash grab reunion tour.

“With us, business is involved in getting anything like this out on the road, but when we do this, we have to be pretty damned happy about how we are with each other,” Fleetwood says. “And that makes the magic.”

LISTEN TO LIGHTNING 100 IN NASHVILLE

TICKET GIVEAWAY.... NASHVILLE

2nd Row - Thursday (5/7/09) between 6am and 10am local time on the Mary Brace Morning Show on Lightning 100 to win tickets to Fleetwood Mac's show in Nashville, TN (June 19th).

1st Row - Friday (5/8/09)  Dan Buckley of the same Lightning 100 radio station in Nashville has first row tickets up for grabs.  Listen to his show from 12pm - 3pm (local time).