(PHOTOS) FLEETWOOD MAC WINNIPEG

Photos by Aqua Swing (click for more)

(REVIEW) FLEETWOOD MAC WINNIPEG JUNE 6TH

Fleetwood Mac go their own ways

The Winnipeg Sun

By DARRYL STERDAN

Imagine being in a wildly successful business. With your ex. For the rest of your life. And just to sweeten the pot, imagine that you would make your money by repeatedly rehashing the ups and downs of your long-dead romance. In public.

Faced with that prospect, there would be only three paths you could choose: 1) Refuse and stay home; 2) Do it and live in a state of constant angst and depression from having to pick at those scabs day after week after month after year; 3) Get over yourselves, find a way to get along and reap the rewards.

If anyone still harboured lingering doubts that Fleetwood Mac have wholeheartedly embraced the latter option, the band erased it with their Saturday night Greatest Hits Unleashed concert for 11,000 fans at MTS Centre. Well, four of the Mac did, anyway — singer-keyboardist Christine McVie took a powder out Door No. 1 a decade ago, leaving singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, vocalist Stevie Nicks, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie to make the best of it.

And make the best of it they have. "We decided to just go out and have fun," the 59-year-old Buckingham exclaimed early on in the proceedings, explaining why the veteran ’70s band are back on the road without a new album. Despite his claims, however — and despite a few moments of undeniable fun that occurred during their 150-minute program — the bulk of their 24-song set felt less like a party than one of those holiday gatherings where both sides of a divorced couple show up and everybody is very deliberately and very publicly on their best behaviour.

That much was apparent from the moment the band played their first song (fittingly, it was Monday Morning, the opening track from their self-titled 1975 album). Buckingham and his former paramour Nicks (who, it must be said, doesn't look anywhere near 61) entered from opposite corners and took up positions several yards away from each other on the massive stage. Behind them were 61-year-old drummer Fleetwood (with whom Nicks once also had an affair, just for the record) and 63-year-old bassist McVie (the only member who, lucky for him, no longer to share a stage with his ex). Flanking the rhythm section were two auxiliary musicians handling extra guitars and keyboards, plus a trio of female backup singers.

And for most of the rest of the night, that's more or less where everyone stayed — including Buckingham and Nicks. Each tended to work his or her own side of the stage. Each went and stood by a different side of Fleetwood's drum riser. And most importantly, each seemed to honour some sort of invisible buffer zone between them. It wasn't that they were ignoring each other; they kept their eyes locked on one another during several songs, and Nicks often turned her mic 90° to face Buckingham while singing. But aside from a few very noticeable moments (we'll get to those in a minute), they didn't physically interact or even come close to sharing a mic (though the side-stage video screens took care of that by almost continually broadcasting a split-screen of the duo). Given that Buckingham reportedly called Nicks some pretty nasty names back in the day — you can look them up on the Interweb for yourself — we'd say it's impressive enough that they're willing to coexist, never mind behave in such a perfectly civilized manner.

For the most part, the rest of the concert was just as civilized. And just as perfect. Perhaps a little too much so in both regards. Granted, it's impossible to complain about any of the musical aspects of the performance. McVie was a rock-solid presence both rhythmically and geographically, never straying from Fleetwood's right flank or from his downbeat. Fleetwood was a god of thunder behind his kit, laying down an endless series of pounding, tribal tom-tom rhythms while sporting a maniacally gleeful grin that gave him the look of a mad English professor. Nicks, whose voice can come off as braying at times, was in fine, powerful form (except, perhaps on Don't Stop, where she seemed to struggle with the high notes) — and she changed clothes faster and more often than a runway model to boot (we gave up counting her outfits after a while, though it quickly became apparent she's singlehandedly keeping the shawl and tassel industries alive).

But when it was all said and done, Buckingham definitely earned the MVP award for the night. Not only were his vocals strong and spot-on; his blazing needlepoint finger-picking was nothing short of stunning. Thankfully, there was plenty of it on display, culminating in an extended, soaring solo during I'm So Afraid that brought him a richly deserved standing O (one of several the players earned during the night).

Nor could you quibble about the technical aspects of the show. The stage was backed and capped by giant illuminated panels that moved and interacted with a tasteful lighting design emphasizing deep, monochromatic shades. The set list was chock full of hits and fan favourites like Rhiannon, Second Hand News, Tusk and Gold Dust Woman. It was also exceedingly well-paced, gradually building in intensity to a propulsive Go Your Own Way. There was a mini-acoustic section in the middle — with Nicks crossing the stage to embrace Buckingham before he performed Big Love solo. Fleetwood delivered a pulverizing, energized and interactive solo, after coming down from his drum riser to thump on a smaller set during a couple of quieter songs. Nicks and Buckingham told a few lengthy, endearingly rambling stories behind songs like Gypsy and Dreams. Nicks did plenty of her witchy-woman moves. Buckingham pretended to collapse on stage at one point. The two even came out holding hands for the encore.

Despite all that, however, there was still something missing. A big part of that something was Christine McVie. Without her rich pipes — and, just as importantly, the songs on which she handled lead vocals — Fleetwood Mac end up being something of a two-legged stool: The Stevie and Lindsey Show. Not that there's too much wrong with that. But the other thing that was missing was even more vital: There weren't enough true, honest sparks of excitement and immediacy to go around. Maybe it's because there appears to be little room for variation in their show — they've been playing the same songs, in the same order, and even seem to have been wearing the same outfits since they started this tour in March. So aside from few previously mentioned moments of fun — notably during a hard-driving, Nicks-free rendition of the Peter Green-era blues-rock gem Oh Well, and that ear-piercing solo from Buckingham — it all felt a little too comfortable, a little too slick, a little too safe.

Which is not to suggest that Buckingham and Nicks get drunk, fall into bed and then have it out onstage or anything. After all, we suspect once was enough for both of them. But even though we're glad we got to see Fleetwood Mac in this lifetime, we have to say once was probably enough for us too.

darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca

Set List

Monday Morning

The Chain

Dreams

I Know I'm Not Wrong

Gypsy

Go Insane

Rhiannon

Second Hand News

Tusk

Sara

Big Love (Buckingham solo)

Landslide (Nicks and Buckingham)

Never Going Back Again (Nicks and Buckingham)

Storms

Say You Love Me

Gold Dust Woman

Oh Well

I'm So Afraid

Stand Back

Go Your Own Way

First Encore

World Turning

Drum Solo

Don't Stop

Second Encore

Silver Springs

(REVIEW) Fleetwood Mac dazzles and tantalizes

Winnipeg Free Press

by: Melissa Martin

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of Fleetwood Mac. The soap opera, the splits, the Rumours and the songs... especially the songs.

Admit it, we’re all curious how the story will end.

Last night, Winnipeg got its peek at the next chapter in the iconic rock band’s dramatic saga. They’re keeping mum on what comes next... an album? Another tour? We don’t know; and so fans who’ve spent their entire lives following the plot flooded the MTS Centre, ready for a preview of that Mac’s millionth reunion means.

Everything about the two-hour, 23-song performance seemed designed to keep them guessing. While lion-maned frontwoman Stevie Nicks crooned Dreams, which was recorded during her acrimonious 1976 split from guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, video screens flanking the stage superimposed the pair next to each other.

This lasted but a moment. One star or the other would soon fade away, leaving an empty space on the screen.

Later, on Sara, the former flames would embrace in a moment that was as tender as it was scripted. (They’ve done the same every night this tour.) But first, they had more hints to scatter. "Fleetwood Mac is a band that has had a convoluted emotional history, to say the least," Buckingham said.

"Sometimes we take long breaks. And every time we come together there’s a sense of possibility. This time we said, ‘Let’s just go out there and have fun.’ Because there is no new album to promote... yet."

Nicks and Buckingham weren’t the only ones on stage, of course. John McVie was there, lingering near Mick Fleetwood’s drum riser and seemingly content to stay far out of Nicks’ spotlight. Christine McVie is still absent from the band, and so were almost all of her Mac hits. A six-piece backing band of vocalists, keyboards and percussion shared the stage instead.

At times the backup was subtle, just filling out that fat ’70s sound that Mac helped pioneer. But the extra help made a huge difference on the enormous, boozy title track from 1979 album Tusk. Its instrumental outro reared up into a tsunami of sound and crashed over the audience, leaving a standing ovation as it receded.

Buckingham is a virtuoso, and he channelled his genius into some of the show’s most emotionally charged moments, like the astonishing syncopated melodies at the opening of 1987’s Big Love. His voice, though, was the big star of that tune: Buckingham writhed and howled like a man trying to escape the grip of Hades.

Next to Buckingham, Nicks’ performance was harder to parse. Whether by accident or design, her vocal was unpredictable, more vulnerable, and perhaps appropriately road-weary for her storied life.

The jury’s out on how this affected the musicality of the show. Nicks’ fatigued moan worked on Gold Dust Woman. But on Rhiannon, she fell offbeat. On Sara and then Landslide, she’d lose herself and find herself again, letting her siren voice soar on the choruses, but slurring and mumbling the verses.

One wonders how lacklustre this might have played if Buckingham had not balanced it out with such tightly-wound ferocity.

Then again, it probably would have been just fine. The real energy in the room last night came not from the stage, not even from Buckingham, but from the crowd, who greeted every song with deafening cheers and filled the air with the tinkling of promotional tambourines.

This energy, radiating from the walls and floor, built to feverish levels as Mac started to bring the show home. Giant light panels, which had remained largely subdued and facing downward for most of the show, began to lift and separate like a spaceship while Buckingham wailed out a marathon solo to I’m So Afraid.

At press time, we left the band only one song away from their legendary hit, Go Your Own Way, but Nicks seemed to finally find her sass on Stand Back, shimmying in a tattered black and white scarf.

After a late-set break, Nicks came back having finally found the depths of her famous sass: she belted out Stand Back while whirling around in a tattered black-and-white shawl and then led the band straight into an extended version of Go Your Own Way, which was hearty, triumphant, and followed by the most exuberant cheers we’ll hear at the MTS Centre until the Jonas Brothers.

For the encore, Fleetwood, 61, took control, first banging out an adrenaline-blasting drum feature on World Turning, then shouting praise for his bandmates and even offering Nicks a friendly catcall. "It is a joy and an honour to be sharing the stage with these three people," he shouted, gleefully, before sauntering into the Bill Clinton campaign classic, Don’t Stop.

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in Saskatoon June 5, 2009

Fleetwood Mac show crowd-pleaser
The StarPhoenix

It may be the most successful breakup story of all time. Not only did the damaged relationships of Fleetwood Mac yield one of the most popular albums of all time, but the band is still on stage together, mostly, and playing songs you'd have to be completely clueless not to know.

It was music from the aforementioned album, 1978's Rumours, that got the most attention Friday at Fleetwood Mac's Credit Union Centre show. And former couple Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, whose fallout inspired many of the band's pain-infused songs, stole the spotlight.

Nicks and Buckingham were joined by bassist John McVie and the lovable oddball, and band namesake, Mick Fleetwood, whose signature Rumours ponytail is still flowing, albeit much greyer.

Fleetwood Mac has had regular personnel changes since forming in 1967, but the incarnation most are familiar with was fully represented Friday night, save for Christine McVie, who is no longer touring with the band. Several of her best-known songs -- Little Lies, Over My Head and You Make Loving Fun -- were noticeably absent from the set. But the show still showcased most of the American/British band's finest.

The show opened with the song Monday Morning. Buckingham and Nicks took the stage hand in hand, one of several gestures -- which later included a prolonged hug -- to prove just how over the past they are. The first song segued into the darker The Chain, followed by Dreams, before which Nicks exclaimed, "We figure we might as well just get the party started." Great song? Yes. Party music? No.

The band made no attempt to gloss over past personal problems -- why would they, considering how profitable they were? -- with Buckingham saying, "Fleetwood Mac has had a fairly complicated, convoluted emotional history. At the end of the day, it has actually worked in our favour."

Nicks -- at 61, still dressed in her signature drapey, gypsy-like garb and singing into a scarf-covered microphone stand -- doesn't try to hit the higher notes anymore, but has retained that inexplicably sexy, smoky quality that makes her voice so special.

The foursome -- backed by three singers and two extra musicians -- definitely left the enthusiastic audience satisfied. The band barrelled to 21/2 hours of hits, including Gypsy, Go Insane, Second Hand News, Sara, Say That You Love Me, Go Your Own Way and Gold Dust Woman. A highlight for Nicks was her performance of Rhiannon, a song that sounds better the older she gets. The encore included the crowd favourite Don't Stop.

REAL TIME REVIEW OF FLEETWOOD MAC SATURDAY NIGHT

Join us Saturday night at 8 p.m. for real-time coverage of the Fleetwood Mac concert from the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, MB. Canada - Then, read the full review from Melissa Martin in the Sunday Winnipeg Free Press.

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