UNCASVILLE, CONN. – There have been some intriguing pairings of stars to try and light up box offices during the economic downturn, and you can add the double bill of Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks to the list.
The two veteran singers brought their “Heart & Soul” tour to a full house at the Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday for a nostalgia-filled night courtesy of two of the most distinctive vocalists of their era.
Both in their 60s, the pair focused on familiar, crowd friendly-fare during their individual sets and surprisingly did only a couple of songs together during the entire show.
However, one thing was certain when all was said and done: Stewart was the headliner and it’s a good thing that he was. His electrifying stage presence and high-energy performance made Nicks’ hour-and-20-minute opening set seem pretty pale in comparison.
The Fleetwood Mac songstress fronted a seven-piece band and was accompanied by two female backing singers as she moved through songs such as “Dreams,” “If Anyone Falls,” and the harder edge of “Gold Dust Woman,” while the pulsating “Secret Love,” a new song from her forthcoming album “In Your Dreams” was well received by the crowd.
The mystical enchanter from the 1970s and ‘80s surfaced occasionally as Nicks drew shrieks from the audience when she started spinning with her shawl wrapped around her in “Stand Back,” while classics like “Rhiannon,” and the touching take of “Landslide” (the latter complete with a video backdrop showing plenty of images of the singer with her father) brought the set to an emotional peak.
Unfortunately, “Edge of Seventeen” was long and rather anticlimactic while the encore ballad “Love Is,” was positively deflating.
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