(BLOGGER REVIEW) FLEETWOOD MAC - LONDON (2 NIGHTS)

TWO NIGHTS OF FLEETWOOD MAC AT WEMBLEY
Wembley Arena, 30 & 31 October 2009
Trackaghost

"When I was 14 my Dad took me to see Stevie Nicks, on her one lone UK tour, as a birthday present. I was madly obsessed with her and Fleetwood Mac at the time having discovered the band two years earlier when their album Tango In The Night broke big. Even though our seats were terrible, and by all accounts it was one of her least impressive tours voice- and energy-wise, it was a magical evening for me and started what would be a lifelong passion for music, concerts and, of course, anything Fleetwood Mac."

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REVIEW: FLEETWOOD MAC - BIRMINGHAM, UK

Review:

Fleetwood Mac, at the NIA, Birmingham

By Andy Coleman

BirminghamPost.net

It is rare for a rumbling bass guitar riff to get one of the biggest cheers at a concert but it happened when John McVie played those famous notes of The Chain, introduced to a whole new audience thanks to its use as the theme tune to TV’s Grand Prix racing coverage.

And, just like an F1 car, Fleetwood Mac got off to a flying start as they took the audience on a Greatest Hits trip. The Chain, the second track of a 22-song set, was followed by Dreams and a rockin’ I Know I’m Not Wrong.

Frontman Lindsey Buckingham explained: “We’ve got no new album to sell so we’ve decided to do the songs we love – and we hope you love them too.”While 60-year-old Lindsey provided the hard-edged rock ‘n’ roll, former girlfriend Stevie Nicks, a year his senior, enchanted with her more ethereal tunes.

Rhiannon and Gold Dust Woman were highlights of the two-hour 20-minute show, while at the end of Sara, Nicks and Buckingham hugged, a sign that time has healed the rift between them.

The duo may be in the spotlight at the front but the power is at the back of the stage in the shape of 63-year-old McVie and towering 62-year-old drummer Mick Fleetwood, who provided the muscular rhythm for another show-stopper, the mighty Tusk.

When it comes to guitar maestros, however, it’s hard to top Buckingham who played a blistering solo at the end of I’m So Afraid.

He had the stage to himself for Big Love, a song, he explained, that was written as an ensemble piece but has evolved into a solo performance.

Drummer Fleetwood encored with a madcap solo before a rip-roaring finish of Don’t Stop which had the sold out crowd singing along.

The Mac are well and truly back.

REVIEW: FLEETWOOD MAC - BIRMINGHAM "Stevie Nicks still knows how to have a good flail and wail, too"

Review: Fleetwood Mac, Birmingham NIA
Nottingham.co.uk
by: Michael Greenwell

MIDDLE aged rocking is something of an art and Lindsey Buckingham has it down to a tee.

The Fleetwood Mac frontman still has the legendary guitar skills that first caught the eye of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie in the seventies, while strutting his stuff within appropriate bounds.

Stevie Nicks still knows how to have a good flail and wail, too.

I had doubts about this show if truth be told and especially after a rather pedestrian version of The Chain early on.

Buckingham, along with Stevie Nicks, also murdered Dreams shortly after, both opting for a more rock flavoured vocal on the classic tale of lost love and relationship breakdown.

But as this Brum gig progressed ("I love yao", shouted one rocker), their voices softened, with Nicks soon finding the ethereal vocal qualities which have endeared her to fans for decades.

Buckingham also began to harmonise well in his pained and emotional tones, which lay bare the torment of this famous couple, most evident on the classic album Rumours.

As the band indulged in offerings from the Tusk album, the chemistry between Nicks and Buckingham began to delight the crowd.

Sara, one of the highlights of the entire show, finished with the pair embracing before Nicks walked off stage, much to the delight of the capacity crowd.

Landslide was one of her personal highlights, sitting well in the set and featuring just Buckingham on acoustic guitar to accompany.

The classic jam Tusk had people bopping in the aisles with the band's jerky movements and shadows heightened by a fine visual show.

Other highlights included Gold Dust Woman, with Fleetwood on drums setting the perfect dreamy mood, while changing sticks to bang on a large gong behind his kit.

Fans of the bluesier side of Fleetwood Mac were not disappointed either and it was at these junctures that the audience were treated to the truly expansive playing of Buckingham.

Throughout the night, the "backbone" of Fleetwood Mac (Mick and John on drums and bass respectively) showed just how crucial they are to the sound too and their accomplished playing was just as awe inspiring as Buckingham's lead or Nicks' vocals.

By the time Go Your Own Way and Don't Stop had finished, the Mac were left to soak up the adulation after an accomplished performance.

They still have enough of the magic in their music, even if their looks and enigma have faded slightly over time.

(PHOTOS) FLEETWOOD MAC - SHEFFIELD

FLEETWOOD MAC - SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND

2/11/09

Photos by: Danielle Millea

              

PHOTOS: FLEETWOOD MAC - BIRMINGHAM NOVEMBER 3, 2009

FLEETWOOD MAC - BIRMINGHAM

Photos by: Steve Thorne

Gettyimages

 

          

FLEETWOOD MAC - Tour finishes on Friday at Wembley Arena in London

Fleetwood Mac Lift The Lid
BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC

Despite a rocky past, Fleetwood Mac look set to finish their UK tour this week without incident.

The band have pulled off a series of comeback dates that wrap up in London on Friday, but as Stevie Nicks explained, it hasn’t always been such a smooth ride for them with many rows and in-fighting within the band:

“Somebody’s playing a song, and everybody in the room is going, that’s about me right? And of course it’s about you, but what you have to do is let that go, ‘cos if you don’t let that go, you can never play these songs for anybody.”

"Somebody’s playing a song, and everybody in the room is going, that’s about me right?"  Stevie Nicks on troubles in the band.

The band have not shied away from any of their hits on the tour, including songs from all four decades at the shows, which have been hailed a triumphant return for the band. They've managed to overcome several changes to the line-up and had to contend with breakups, drug problems and even a religious cult during their time together.

Lindsey Buckingham says reforming wasn’t a walk in the park, and he didn’t really face up to the full force of their previous problems in doing so: “It was kind of an exercise in denial that really was the only way to get through it, you really had to put your feelings over here and get on with what needed to be done in the rest of the room.”

The band re-released "The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac" last month, which went in at number 6 in the UK album charts. But Ken Caillat who produced their classic album Rumours, and said even during the recording Stevie Nicks, and then partner Lindsey Buckingham, were falling out in a big way:

“They were both sitting on stools next to each other and singing into two microphones, and we had to stop the tape or something, and suddenly they were screaming at each other, “Damn you, damn you, go to hell,” and I was honestly embarrassed, I didn’t know what to do, so I just rewound the tape as fast as I could and the moment I hit play they were back into singing, You Make Loving Fun Again, which I thought was very ironic.”

Since going on tour - now without singer Christine McVie - the band have been able to bury some old hatchets, according to John McVie and Lindsey Buckingham.

“We’d just come back from New York, and I don’t think the band has played better. This is a great body of work we’ve got and that allows you to sort of, all the other good feelings, and the other more objective and positive aspects of how you feel about the people, to follow.”

The tour finishes on Friday at Wembley Arena in London.