(PHOTOS) FLEETWOOD MAC LAS VEGAS - MGM GRAND

FLEETWOOD MAC - LAS VEGAS - MGM GRAND - MAY 30, 2009

PHOTOS BY: DEHUMIDIFIER(hit link for more)

VARIETY at Fleetwood Mac Los Angeles Show May 28, 2009

Fleetwood Mac

Los Angeles - May 28th

By STEVEN MIRKIN

In "Don't Stop," one of Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits and the penultimate song of their Staples Center performance Thursday night, the band advises "don't you look back." But with no new album on the horizon, the entirety of their two-and-a-half-hour concert was an exercise in nostalgia.

But nostalgia isn't what it used to be. While the setlist focused on their multiplatinum albums "Fleetwood Mac," "Rumours" and "Tusk," the romances and recriminations that animated them burned out long ago, and this edition of the venerable British/American band felt less like a re-creation of their mid-to-late-'70s glory days than a Lindsay Buckingham solo concert. With Christine McVie retired from touring (with her down-to-earth bluesy presence sorely missed) and Stevie Nicks' voice and charisma diminished, Fleetwood Mac is more than ever Buckingham's band.

The set included an indulgent version of "Go Insane" (the title track from his second solo LP) and included a solo acoustic showcase. A facile guitarist whose solos are not quite as inventive as he thinks they are (tellingly, his best moment was a version of Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer's 1969 guitar workout "Oh, Well"), he stalked the stage with an uncomfortable mix of modesty and preening self-regard, ending almost every song with his head bowed and guitar lofted high, as though he was a victorious warrior paying fealty to his king.

But at least he was present, which was more than you could say for Nicks. The energy level flagged whenever she took the lead. Her performance was little more than a procession of shawls; with the exception of "Gold Dust Woman," her heavily processed vocals were metallically hollow, and for long periods she wasn't even on stage.

It was left to the rhythm section of founding members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie to hold things together, and they did an admirable job. Fleetwood attacked the drums with a loose-limbed but powerful enthusiasm, while McVie's bass provided a modest if muscular bottom. Their unassuming musicianship (save Fleetwood's less-than-scintillating solo during "World Turning") provided a timeless tonic to Buckingham and Nicks' tired and conflicting star turns.

(myMICKTV.com) 3 NEW VIDEOS FROM MICK FLEETWOOD

MICK FLEETWOOD ON THE ROAD WITH FLEETWOOD MAC

Three New Episodes: 9,10 & 11 at myMICKTV.com

Episode 9(link)

Mick Fleetwood - In Philly Before The Big Show (April 15th)

- Show his Drum Kit just after Sound Check.

- Changing his clothes.

Episode 10(link)
Mick Fleetwood - Home Away From Home in Canada (end of March)
- Montreal Hotel Room
- Arriving in LA

Episode 11(link)
Mick Fleetwood - Mick's Cab Adventures (NYC and St. Paul)
- Cab to airport to Uncasville
- Cab in St. Paul looking for workout equipment.

MICK FLEETWOOD... MUSIC LOVERS ANTE UP

VIP fans pay very impressive prices Music lovers ante up for 'exclusive' extras

SignonSanDiego

How much does it cost to be a VIP at a rock concert?

How much have you got?

Despite the recession, the prices – and demand – for “exclusive” VIP concert-ticket packages are climbing for shows by everyone from Aerosmith and Beyoncé to U2 and the recently reunited No Doubt.

Then there's Fleetwood Mac, which performs tonight at the San Diego Sports Arena as part of its tour of North America. Ticket prices range from $29.50 for the cheapest seat to $517.81 for a “platinum” ticket in the second row.

But for fans who really want to stand out from the crowd, there's the “five-star VIP” package.

It guarantees each customer a ticket in the first 10 rows, an exclusive Fleetwood Mac gift bag and a pre-concert party with dinner and drinks. Also included are parking, “hassle-free entrance to venue,” “crowd-free merchandise shopping” and a discount coupon to Fleetwood Mac's online store. But the big draw is the pre-show “meet and greet” and onstage photo opportunity with drummer Mick Fleetwood, who co-founded the legendary band in 1967.

The cost: a VIP-friendly $820 per person.

“It's something people do of their own free will, so I'm happy to do it,” Fleetwood said from a tour stop in Dallas. “We get to talk – they can ask any questions they want – and I get into it 100 percent, whether it's 40 people, 10 or five. It's going great, and people seem to be enjoying it. I do know they're well taken care of.”

VIP options at rock concerts date back nearly 30 years. But they have surged in popularity over the past year, despite the slumping economy, thanks to fans willing to pay whatever it costs to be part of an exclusive club, if just for a night.

The Web site ILoveAllAccess.com has VIP options for tours by such acts as Fleetwood Mac, Creed and Journey (which performs July 29-30 at Pala Casino in North County).

“The growth has been huge. We had five tours with VIP packages last summer, and this summer we have 10,” said Tamara Conniff, president of music services for Irving Azoff's Frontline Management.

Frontline, which owns ILove-AllAccess.com, oversees the careers of superstars such as the Eagles, Christina Aguilera and Van Halen, whose 2004 reunion tour with singer Sammy Hagar helped lay the groundwork for today's VIP-ticket boom. Another precursor was Alabama's 2006 tour, which – at a price of $1,000 – included a guitar for each VIP-package buyer.

“Maybe only five people in each city could afford it, but that adds up,” said Gary Bongiovanni, the publisher of Pollstar, the concert industry's leading weekly publication.

For artists and the concert industry, the upscale exclusivity for fans buying VIP tickets provides additional revenue at a time when overall attendance is declining.

“It's not a secret that somewhere around half the tickets on our system go unsold,” said Vito Aiaia, Ticketmaster's vice president of music services.

“Not all fans are the same, so you need to offer different experiences and products to different fans. It's also a way for bands to capture more revenue and bring ticket prices for the best seats up beyond their face value, with added features for fans, instead of a ticket being resold for 10 times its original price by brokers.”

Presumably, there won't be any markups for the Chris Isaak Guitar Package being offered to just one lucky buyer on his summer tour, which stops in San Diego on Aug. 25 at Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay.

The package is $5,000 for two premium tickets, a gift bag, a photo op and meet-and-greet with Isaak and an autographed Epiphone Sheraton II semi-hollow-body electric guitar. (The list price for the current edition of the instrument is $1,042, although dealers sell it for about half that. A vintage 1950s original of the same model costs about $2,000.) Isaak fans also can get a guitar-free VIP ticket for $325.

That's $70 less than San Diego City College student Veronica Iñiguez paid for a “five-star” VIP ticket to last fall's reunion tour show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles by '80s teen-pop faves New Kids on the Block. Her package included a sixth-row ticket, a pre-show reception, a gift bag with a New Kids fleece blanket and the all-important meet-and-greet and photo op.

“My friends and family look at me like I'm crazy for having seen New Kids five times since last fall – and for having paid $395 for a five-star experience in L.A.,” said Iñiguez, 29. “I was star-struck. I couldn't believe I was finally getting to meet these guys that I had on posters on my wall as a kid. For the photo op, I stood right next to Jordan Knight, my childhood boy crush. It was definitely good value for the money.”

Veteran heavy-metal band Testament offers an even better VIP value. For $160, the package offers a ticket, access to the sound check, various keepsakes and a meet-and-greet with the band at its June 10 show at the Live Nation-owned House of Blues San Diego.

“Ticketmaster and Live Nation wanted to charge us $300 to do these packages,” Testament singer Chuck Billy noted. “But since metal-heads aren't going to spend that much, we decided to drop it. ... We limit it to about 20 people a night, and it's worked out very well.

“Obviously, it has to do with the economic climate. People don't want to spend the money, so you want to give fans more for their buck. More is always better.”

Make that more, times two, for Rachiel Fai, 33, a longtime fan. She and her husband, Nick, bought VIP tickets for a pair of recent Testament concerts in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, at a total cost of about $700.

“We were going to go on a vacation, but we did this instead and it was absolutely worth it,” said Fai, a finance manager for a home-building company in Lethbridge, Alberta. “I would have paid $1,000, easily, just to shake Chuck Billy's hand.”

That would still be a bargain compared with what the Ticketmaster-owned company SLO is asking for its four VIP packages for Andre Rieu, “the waltz king of Europe.” Only one, the “Andre All-Access” package, includes a photo op and entrance to a post-concert party with violinist Rieu and members of his orchestra, who perform June 22 at Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista.

The cost: $1,599 per person.

That's a bit higher than the $1,500 it costs to get one “Diamond” VIP package for Yanni's June 20 show at Cox Arena. The package consists of a premium reserved ticket, a pre-show reception, an “exclusive” merchandise item and a meet-and-greet and photo op with the Yanni Voices Performers.

What your $1,500 won't get you is Yanni. According to Ticketmaster's Web site, the Greek-born New Age star “will not be in attendance” at any of these pre-show activities.

Then again, the VIP packages for several upcoming shows at Humphrey's – Jackson Browne (Aug. 13, $185) and Crosby, Stills and Nash (Sept. 28-29, $205) don't include meeting the artists. Each, however, provides a “premium ticket,” a “collectible laminate” and an “exclusive merchandise item,” which – in Browne's case – is also “eco-friendly.”

Some artists, including Mick Fleetwood, U2 and No Doubt, are donating part of their VIP-ticket earnings to various charities. But even with a good cause, not every musician buys into the VIP-ticket concept, even if some of their fans and colleagues do.

“I guess a lot of people are doing it, but in my world, for my set of sensibilities, I find it a little distasteful,” Fleetwood Mac singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham said from Los Angeles.

“Having said that, if there's a market for it and it appeals to a certain number of people – and, more importantly, if Mick wants to go out (and do it) – who wants to say no? But there's a little cheese (factor) there.”

ROCK TO WINE

Sophie Gayot's Dinner with Mick Fleetwood

From rock & roll to wine? But why? And how come? This is the question I posed to Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac while dining with him at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar at L.A. Live. Both Jonathan Todd, the drummer’s manager, and longtime friend producer Michael Shapiro commented on Mick’s involvement in the wine-making process.

Full Blog Post

PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac Live in Los Angeles May 28, 2009

Below Photos by: YEAHOK (View Gallery)