REVIEW: FLEETOOD MAC in DUBLIN Reviewed by: The Irish Times

Fleetwood Mac
02 Dublin
October 24/25, 2009
Irishtimes
by: SEÁN FLYNN

Fleetwood Mac are back on the road, 32 years after the generation-defining Rumours album. This time around, there is no new album to plug and no new songs to roll out. Yesterday’s gone, but those golden sun-drenched songs roll on forever.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, whose combustible relationship sparked Rumours , emerge hand-in-hand and in warm spirits. Heathcliff and Cathy are chilling out.

Wrapped in her familiar shawls, Nicks is still playing the beguiling gypsy queen. Now 61, she meanders across the stage in long, flowing, chiffon dresses. For those of a certain vintage, it’s as if that fabled footage of Nicks belting out Rhiannon in 1976 has come to life.

Buckingham, with that familiar icy stare, is her counterpoint, all darkness and danger.

The set opens with Monday Morning , from the band’s eponymous second (white) album. The second song, The Chain , is the first of seven from Rumours . What is striking is how time and familiarity have not aged the power and beauty of these songs.

A blistering performance of Go Your Own Way is a real highlight. The song is Buckingham’s finest hour; his defiant guitar driving it forward with relish. Buckingham is very much the first among equals, dominating the stage with two underrated songs, Big Love and Tusk , commanding a standing ovation on each occasion.

Nicks is strongest on Dreams and Sara , two soft rock classics. Stand Back , one of her solo hits, has aged much less well.

There is an extraordinary synergy between the band and the middle-aged audience when Nicks sings that poignant, familiar line from Landslide – “And I’m getting older too”. It’s a terrific performance of a great song.

The concert did not work on all levels. Fleetwood Mac has always been a tapestry of different colours, so the absence of Christine McVie, who has retired from public performance, was keenly felt. Buckingham and Nicks dominated the vocal duties but McVie’s unplayed piano and echoey vocal style were conspicuous by their absence. McVie’s best songs – Songbird and You Make Loving Fun – are part of the Fleetwood Mac canon. The band did pay tribute to one former troubled member when Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood rolled out Peter Green’s Oh Well . It was good to see his contribution acknowledged.

The gig was also a reminder that Fleetwood – the mainstay of the band since the Peter Green era, is one of rock’s finest drummers – even if the solo on World Turning veered close to Spinal Tap country.

Fleetwood Mac also encored with the old foot-stomping Bill Clinton favourite, Don’t Stop . The final song was Nicks’s glorious Silver Springs , tossed away as a B-side back in the day, but given its due recognition here.

At the end, the band lingered on stage, revelling in the warm embrace of the crowd long after the music had stopped.

(PHOTOS) FLEETWOOD MAC - DUBLIN, IRELAND NIGHT 1 & 2

FLEETWOOD MAC

A Combination of Oct 24th and 25th

Dublin, Ireland

photos by: hejiranyc

(or the slideshow option)

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in Dublin 2009

Fleetwood Mac – 02, Dublin

By Lisa Hughes

State Magazine

photo by alison mchugo

Ah, the reunion tour – the cash cow that never loses its value. And, based on tonight’s evidence, we can’t say no to them. After all, in the midst of a recession the O2 is packed to the gills with punters, most of whom paid more than a pretty penny to be there. Adding to the long string of comeback gigs to grace these shores in recent years, Fleetwood Mac joined the ranks with a two night stint at the O2. With their last comeback tour somewhat immortalised as a piece of rock history, Mick Fleetwood pulled the original Rumours contingent together for the Unleashed 2009 World Tour (minus Christine McVie of course, who apparently declined the offer).

With no support act lined up and the stage clothed in darkness, all elements were in place for the crowd to nervously anticipate the show to come and as each band member took their place to kick things off with ‘Monday Morning’ the nervous tension peaked. Once the surreal sensation of seeing the Mac in the flesh wore off, it became clear that there was something of a sing-off taking place before us, with FM’s legendary rivalries surfacing. For a significant handful of songs, Nicks and Buckingham split vocal duties, with both guilty of hamming things up in an effort to own the show. As the tassled and shawled Stevie Nicks tottered around the stage in semi-slow motion in 4 inch heels, she almost managed to rekindle her 70s cool yet, despite the earlier murmurs of the crowd ahead of her entrance. Buckingham however was the undisputed show stealer. With his guitar-wielding swagger and powerful solos, the guitarist’s onstage presence, particularly on moments like ‘Big Love’, made him dominate the performance. Meanwhile, Stevie’s vocals remain top-notch (‘Landslide’ affirmed this), so distinctive that even when she occasionally dropped the ball, it only endeared her further.

Let’s not forget the presence of Mick Fleetwood either, whose steady efforts belting away on the drums underpinned the entire performance. Although he looked physically sidelined by the two most famous band members, half of the group’s namesake was certainly not forgotten, as the huge cheer he garnered at the end rightfully displayed. Things were hammed up further with the sermon-like intervals where Nicks and Buckingham digressed on the band’s often troubled history, attempting to add to the symbolism of the event by harking back to their well-versed dramas. Admittedly it was a tactic that worked, reminding us of the rarity of the occasion by reiterating the group’s stature and legendary status, regardless of how wholly theatrical it felt.

When the clash of egos died down (or became less apparent), things instead centred on the music as the setlist hit all the expected high points and was a solid blend of well-known numbers. From the thundering outro of ‘The Chain’ to the note-perfect rendition of ‘Dreams’ through to the bluesy ‘Gold Dust Woman’, musically the band managed to pull it all together as though they’ve been doing this untroubled without a break since 1977. For a reunion tour there was no sense of the band phoning in their performance and, occasional cheese-factors aside, there was a very real sense that, despite Mick Fleetwood’s call of “Until next time”, this could be the last we see of Fleetwood Mac and that made it an occasion to savour. Tonight’s show lacked that certain something to make it a truly unforgettable night, (perhaps due to the obvious impersonal nature of a mammoth venue like the O2) but on the whole it was an impeccable performance hard to fault and one you couldn’t help but feel privileged to witness.

WIN TICKETS TO FLEETWOOD MAC IN SHEFFIELD

WIN TICKETS TO SEE FLEETWOOD MAC

TheStar.co.uk
Fleetwood Mac make their Sheffield Arena debut!

One of the most successful Rock bands in history are back. With their best-selling line up featuring Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Lindsey Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac make their Sheffield Arena debut on Monday 2nd November AND The star have 5 pairs of tickets to give away.

Since forming in 1967 the only thing about the group that hasn't changed is the rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. Through the '70s, the band's personnel and style shifted with nearly every recording as Fleetwood Mac metamorphosed from a traditionalist British blues band to the maker of one of the best-selling pop albums ever - Rumours. From that album's release in 1977 into the present, Fleetwood Mac has survived additional, theoretically key, personnel changes and yet remained a dominant commercial force.

Fleetwood Mac has sold more than 100 million copies of its albums — including 25 million for Rumours alone — making it one of the most popular rock bands in history, don’t miss out on this rare outing for the band.

If you are not one of our lucky winners don’t worry tickets are still available to buy from The Arena Box Office priced £75, £60, £45 (subject to booking fee) and are available in person at the Arena box office, by phone on 0114 256 5656 and online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk .

For your chance to win this fantastic prize simply enter our free prize draw by text or online at www.thestar.co.uk/competitions

Text STARFLEET and leave a space, followed by your members zone number, full name, postcode and house number, then send to 81800.

Texts cost £1.00p plus your standard network charge. This will be charged to your mobile phone bill. Get the bill payer's permission. Do not text after deadline and please ensure you enter the correct competition name, if this is incorrect you may still be charged and your entry will not be entered into our draw.

Service provided by g8wave London N7.

Deadline for all entries is Friday Oct 30th at 10am.

(PHOTOS) FLEETWOOD MAC - DUBLIN

Images of Fleetwood Mac at The O2...

With a line-up that has changed many times over the last number of decades, our personal fav version of Fleetwood Mac (Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie and Stevie Nicks) lit-up the O2 Arena last week with a set list any band would be proud of. (See The Rest)

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac - 'Landslide' Dedicated To The Late Stephen Gately - Dublin

Fleetwood Mac, The 02, Dublin
by: John Meagher
Independent

THERE have been so many incarnations of Fleetwood Mac over the past 42 years that even the most avowed student of the band may have trouble keeping up.

The current guise comprises four-fifths of the so-called classic line-up that gave the world 'Rumours' in 1977 -- still one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Christine McVie may have quit in 1998, but her ex-husband John McVie, along with Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, are back on the road again for the first time in six years.

With no new album to promote, this Unleashed tour is ostensibly a greatest hits parade and over two-and-a-half hours the foursome duly deliver.

Buckingham, who is looking in very fine fettle for a 60-year-old, is especially up for it, not least when he produces the superb riff on 'The Chain'. It is the first of several occasions where he throws the sort of guitar-god poses one would normally associate with Spinal Tap.

Nicks hasn't lost it either and her voice remains a thing of beauty, not least on 'Gypsy', 'Rhiannon' and 'Landslide'. The latter is dedicated to the late Stephen Gately, much to the appreciation of the crowd.

The night's most spell-binding moment is provided by 'Sara' -- one of Nicks's best compositions -- and she performs it beautifully.

There is a touching moment towards the song's end when she and former lover Buckingham embrace warmly. Later, she's just as affectionate with another ex-lover, Mick Fleetwood. It's a reminder of the band's soap-opera past.

Buckingham alludes to the group's rollercoaster history, not least during the sessions that yielded 'Rumours', as he introduces one of that album's less-celebrated songs, 'Second Hand News'.

In places, the performance drags a little -- Fleetwood's solo drumming and indecipherable chanting towards the end smack of self-indulgence, for instance -- but there are enough tried and trusted songs to reel the audience back in again.

'Don't Stop' has the capacity crowd on their feet and that's where they stay, right until the house lights come on.