Monday, July 30, 2012

Photo Review: Lindsey Buckingham Live in Spartanburg 7/29

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM LIVE 
SPARTANBURG, SC - JULY 29, 2012
Memorial Auditorium

All I can say is WOW! Spartanburg clearly has it going on in the photography department!... Check out the photos below of Lindsey tonight in Spartanburg at Memorial Auditorium. Some pretty amazing shots by Ken Toney, Edward Overstreet and GoUpstates John Byrum. All three captured Lindsey beautifully tonight.  My favorite would be this first one by Ken Toney from Lindsey's left.  To me it's just so life-like!  

Thank you Mr. Toney for allowing me to use your photos.  To see more of Ken Toney's work, check out his website and also check him out among other photographers at the Spartanburg Photo Guild.

PHOTOS BY KEN TONEY and EDWARD OVERSTREET


Lindsey Buckingham wows enthusiastic crowd in Spartanburg
Reviewed by: Dan Armonaitis

Lindsey Buckingham can sure pick a mean guitar.

The legendary musician, best known for his role in Fleetwood Mac, made that clear with an electrifying solo performance that wowed a small but enthusiastic crowd Sunday at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium.

So impressive was the manner in which Buckingham moved his fingers that when an audience member loudly proclaimed, "You're the greatest guitarist in the world," it didn't seem that far-fetched a statement.

Buckingham smiled sheepishly when given the compliment but said not a word, instead going right back to work on his musical instrument.

Of course, Buckingham's talents aren't limited to his instrumental prowess; he's also a gifted singer-songwriter with a knack for producing well-crafted pop songs that are loaded with introspective lyrics and memorable hooks.

For about 75 minutes on Sunday, Buckingham performed an assortment of material from his solo career as well as a few audience-pleasing Fleetwood Mac classics.

The show started on a musically pensive note with Buckingham performing "Cast Away Dreams," from his 2006 solo album, "Under the Skin," followed by Fleetwood Mac's "Bleed to Love Her."

Then, after bowing his head in appreciation for the applause he was receiving, Buckingham spoke directly to the crowd for the first time during the evening.

"I always love coming around to this part of the country," Buckingham said. He then elaborated by noting that when he and his then-girlfriend, Stevie Nicks, were struggling in their pre-Fleetwood Mac days, the South was among the first places to show appreciation for their music.

"You guys got it and we've always loved you for it," said Buckingham, a California native.

Throughout the evening, Buckingham made sporadic references to the "big machine" that is Fleetwood Mac and the "small machine" that is his solo career. He talked about how each reinforces the other and helps him grow as an artist.

John Byrum managed to capture 88 great shots of Lindsey. 
The gallery can be seen at GoUpstate.com

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Stevie Nicks | Lindsey Buckingham - Pittsburgh & Atlanta Recap

Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks Live in Pittsburgh
Consol Energy Center - July 28, 2012 

Photo by Bill Wade Post-Gazette
Stevie's truly turning into Bob Dylan! Bob Dylan never plays the same setlist night after night and again Stevie surprises and changes the set again last night in Pittsburgh. Crowd pleaser "Leather and Lace" with her vocal coach Steve Real was back in the set replacing "For What It's Worth". I think it's great that Leather and Lace is back but it's sad that it had to replace "For What It's Worth"! She sounds so great on that one live... With Moonlight, Annabel Lee and For What It's Worth not in the set, that leaves only two from In Your Dreams being played with 5 Solo tunes, 4 Fleetwood Mac and 1 cover.  Given her time frame to perform is short compared to a solo show, I'm sure it's a tough decision to leave tunes out of the set, maybe she could alternate, and keep people guessing... Again, no duets with Rod... I think it's pretty much a given that going forward we won't see Stevie during Rod's set.
Melodic Rock Concerts
73 Photos in the Gallery That you HAVE to see!
(includes the two below)

Stevie Nicks Photo in the
Pittsburgh Post Gazette July 29, 2012

Unconfirmed setlist:

SETLIST:
Rock and Roll (Led Zepplin cover)
Enchanted
Secret Love
Dreams
Gold Dust Woman
Stand Back
Soldier’s Angel
Rhiannon
Leather and Lace
Edge of Seventeen

ENCORE:
Landslide








Check out Karen Howell's Photo Gallery on Facebook.  
Over 40 shots of Stevie including this stunner!


LANDSLIDE


Lindsey Buckingham Live in Atlanta
Center Stage Theater - July 28, 2012
REVIEW:

Well, Mr. Buckingham earned a 5/5 last night in Atlanta. The one thing I can do with a guitar is fingerpick it properly with an alternating bass and a melody on top. So naturally I look down on people who fingerpick differently (like LB) or can't fingerpick like that at all (Paul McCartney). Last night, Lindsey used his fingerpicking style to lay out a beautiful, rich tapestry of notes. It was gorgeous. Apparently he was looping a lot and I didn't f-ing catch it (alcohol) so no doubt that helped with the tapestry. I thought he might struggle with his voice. Wrong. His voice was fantastic for the whole ~80 min show. I read a review of a different show in which the crowd was so loud Lindsey had to ignore the dynamics of his song and play and sing everything loudly for the whole show. Last night was totally different. He played and sang so softly at times it was almost like a whisper. The crowd was dead silent. Fantastic. Lindsey played with no band, and used backing tracks for some of the electric numbers, all of which contributed to a very intimate show. Naturally people expect performers to tells stories in shows like that. That part didn't work too well. LB seemed a little nervous and forced telling stories. Fortunately, story-telling was kept to a minimum. Also odd was that the one number that didn't seem to work was Go Your Own Way. LB's mistake was playing it right after the epic power-ballad I'm So Afraid. The show gets five stars anyway. So in case it isn't obvious, don't miss Lindsey Buckingham.

Photo Gallery by Music News Nashville... 
26 Really great shots of Lindsey!

STEPHANIE

SEEDS WE SOW

This cracked me up last night... An after show snap shot of Lindsey... with explanation in the Tweet below.



Saturday, July 28, 2012

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham Shuffle Setlist + Photos >> Videos and Observations

STEVIE NICKS LIVE IN WASHINGTON, DC
Verizon Center - July 27, 2012
Last night in Washington, Stevie performed the same set she performed in Nashville on the 24th... Moonlight and Annabel Lee are still out of the set and Stand Back moved ahead of Soldiers Angel.  She's sounding really loud and strong and seems to have gotten over whatever issues she was having with her throat.  No duets were performed with Rod again last night.  He didn't introduce her set either which was something he started last year, continued at the beginning of this jaunt, but seems to have stopped doing as well...  The mini photos below are by ML Layton via Getty.  Rod and Stevie continue on in Pittsburgh, PA tonight.

CONCERT RECAP IN PHOTOS - OVER 50 SHOTS OF STEVIE

RHIANNON 
Check out the twirls she gives us at about 5:25... Looks very cool!




SOLDIERS ANGEL
Stevie was really powerful sounding last night



MORE VIDEO:
Photo Tweeted by Verizon Center
LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM LIVE IN FRANKLIN, TN
The Franklin Theater - July 27, 2012
Seems to be a little setlist change (or addition) for Mr. Buckingham as well.  Last night in Franklin, TN - two shows into this leg of the tour, he pulls out Rock Away Blind!  Well that didn't take long!!  Seems to be a fan favourite wherever he plays and a request he's willing to fulfill... No video/photos or reviews from the sold out show have surfaced yet...

Lindsey met up with Walter Egan after the show... Walter also met up with Stevie too when she played Nashville the other night - along with former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Billy Burnette.  It's kinda trippy seeing all these old friends back together again!

Next up for Lindsey is Atlanta, GA at Center Stage Theatre Tonight.

Photos posted on Facebook

Video: Fleetwood's on Front Street

Official announced came yesterday on the Fleetwood's on Front Street Facebook page that Mick's new restaurant in Lahaina on Maui will open August 2nd.




Friday, July 27, 2012

Lindsey Buckingham Reviewed | Stevie Nicks Silk Screened | Bella Donna Celebrates & Micks Picks

An Evening With Lindsey Buckingham

I have seen Fleetwood Mac from outside an arena, along with 500 other people who couldn't get a ticket for the Rumours tour; inside the same packed arena for the Tusk tour; Stevie Nicks solo in an arena setting; and, last night, Lindsey Buckingham in a smaller, more intimate but still packed venue. I enjoyed them all.


Short but stellar: Lindsey Buckingham's solo concert at Birmingham's Alys Stephens Center 
by Mary Colurso

A stellar solo concert. An attentive, appreciative group of listeners filled the majority of seats in the concert hall and gave Buckingham several standing ovations. The choral balcony was blocked with curtains; the venue holds about 1,100 people in that configuration.

Read the full review at AL.com


Photos below by: Jessica | Tommy Terrell


Elsewhere.... 
BELLA DONNA Celebrates it's 31st Birthday Today...


Bella Donna, the debut album by Stevie Nicks was released on this day (July 27th) in 1981.  The album hit #1 on Billboards Top 200 Albums Chart September 5, 1981 remaining for one week and has sold in excess of 4 million copies in the United States.  Stevie's first solo album had four substantial hits during 1981 and 1982: Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, Leather and Lace, Edge of Seventeen and After The Glitter Fades.

The album also marks the first recordings that feature Stevie's backing vocalists, Sharon Celani and Lori Nicks, both still on stage with her today.

If you don't have the album in your library... Today's the day to get it.  Amazon in the US has a deal on right now. The physical CD is $4.99 while the MP3 Digital album is $5.99.

Buy on Amazon


Print Mafia have put together a cool Stevie / Rod retro poster to commemorate their Nashville show the other night... 16 x 20 print will set you back $25.  They have a huge selection of Silk Screen hand made posters to load your walls with... Cool creative stuff if you ask me!

Take a look at their site

















Mick Fleetwood: my 11 greatest recordings of all time 
Fleetwood Mac sticksman names his biggies

Check it out at Music Radar


Boxscore: Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart - Cincinnati - July 21st

Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks 
Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, Ohio July 21, 2012 
Gross: $827,913 
Tickets Sold: 12,155 / Tickets Available: 12,155 
Shows: 1 / Sellouts: 1 
Ticket Prices: $149.50, $27.50 
Promoter: Live Nation 

Here's "DREAMS" from
Nashville, TN - July 24, 2012