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

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE 

KANSAS CITY - MAY 8, 2009

By Jason Harper in Last Night's Show

The Pitch - Kansas City

BY DANNY ALEXANDER

Fleetwood Mac gave precisely the kind of show everyone wanted to see Friday night, which was its strength and weakness. Without a new album to support, the band played most fan favorites back to 1969's "Oh Well," with Lindsay Buckingham admirably playing the Peter Green role and original member Mick Fleetwood's face lighting up in response to that old, familiar call, I can't help about the shape I'm in/I can't sing, I ain't pretty and my legs are thin.

Of course, as that Zeppelinesque ditty showed, immediately trumped by a high energy "I'm So Afraid," this 2009 Fleetwood Mac frontman is in pretty damned good shape. Despite his often labored theatrics, Buckingham showed no signs of flagging energy after two and a half hours of performance, and he almost never left the stage.

The one time he might have (aside from the encore breaks) would have been during "World Turning," when Mick Fleetwood did an extended drum solo. This was a refreshingly spontaneous moment, including mostly incomprehensible calls from the drummer to the audience, "Are you blah blah blah?" That back and forth gradually worked its way from '70s nostalgia to something close to hip-hop with Fleetwood's beats all but scratching in response to sampled bits of the Buckingham and Nick's vocals. When what now sounded like a turntable battle reached near fever pitch, the band retook the stage to close out the song.

This was during the first of two encore sets, which ended with "Go Your Own Way" b-side, "Silver Springs." That Nicks-led song was one of the night's most emotionally affecting moments, along with her other signature songs "Sara" and "Landslide." Nicks's voice sounds as strong as ever, and though sometimes her witchy scarf and top hat antics feel like hopelessly dated shtick, the power and beauty of these songs makes up for it.

The show is meticulously planned out, so much so that the Star was able to print the set list accurately the day before, but the planning has its merits. The changes Buckingham emphasized as the core of "Big Love" giving way to the acceptance in Nicks's "Landslide." And the couple's repeated gestures of affection -- a leaning embrace after "Sara," holding hands before the encores and Buckingham's peck on Nicks' head before "Silver Springs" -- may have been only so much soap opera, but they were reassuring celebrations of the ties that bind us together.

In fact, one of the most moving Buckingham moments came with the great Rumours opener, "Second Hand News." Buckingham's quirky pop sensibility still makes the mix of anger, lust and acceptance as engaging as ever, and Nicks seems to enjoy tearing into that "bam bam bam bam ba bam bam" with a vigor to match Buckingham and the rhythm section. Somehow, those nonsense syllables express the perennial pop music theme of just how bad people can hurt each other and how music can get them through it. The show as a whole celebrates how creativity and platonic love transcend romantic relationships.

That said, rarely did the show exceed expectations. It started off very strong, the second song, "The Chain," showcasing each band member. The most powerful moment, the stage lights going dark except for John McVie's bass and that ominous progression at the heart of the song, promised an evening of such magical moments. The fact that that magic remained a 32-year-old, letter-perfect riff suggested something about the night's limits.

And though she's been gone for over a decade, the band misses Christine McVie. She was an anchor that, as a third frontperson, somehow bridged the gap between the veteran British blues men at the back of the stage and the two California kids up front. This incarnation had several additional musicians: jack of all trades Brett Tuggle playing McVie's keyboards and guitarist Neil Heywood giving Buckingham a little run for his money on "Stand Back." The band also had three back-up singers, including Nicks's sister-in-law Lori Nicks. But the show felt primarily like a celebration of the history of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham -- a little canned, but mighty impressive all the same.

Photos by: Forester Michael

TULSA, OK SHOTS

TULSA VISUALS

Photos by: rodrigueztim10 (click for more)

FLEETWOOD MAC BILLBOARD ATLANTIC CITY

by iirraa

PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac Live in Kansas City - May 8, 2009

FLEETWOOD MAC KANSAS CITY VISUALS

Photos by: Mr Forester

Click for more

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.