Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Review: Stevie Nicks, 64, wasn't as physical as Rod Stewart, but her voice was much finer - Milwaukee


Waddy Wachtel
View The Photo Gallery 
Veteran rockers Stewart, Nicks each have strengths
By Piet Levy of the Journal Sentinel

Seeing Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks singing together has arguably been one of the stronger selling points of the accomplished veterans' joint 2-year-old Heart and Soul Tour, which made a stop at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Monday.

But as has been the case on recent dates, the duets didn't happen.

Perhaps their hearts and souls weren't in it. And perhaps it was for the best, given the bad reviews their joint performances have received.

So instead of Stewart warbling his way through "Leather and Lace," Nicks brought out vocal coach Steve Real. Like most of the evening, the performance was affectionate and comforting.

Full Review at JSonline.com

Monday, July 30, 2012

Fleetwood Mac / Stevie Nicks Album Charts Update: US + International

Fleetwood Mac / Stevie Nicks Albums registering significant enough sales in the US and other markets to chart.
USA
With no albums on Billboards Top 200 this week, were left with the Catalogue Chart and the Physical Catalogue Chart for the US.  Fleetwood Mac continue to place 4 titles on this weeks Top 200 Catalogue Chart.  2 Titles share the #73 spot, The Very Best Of moves down this week to #73 from #56 last week on a 12% sales decline, or 2,112 units sold vs 2,394 the previous week.  Rumours moves down to #73 from #61 last week on an 8% sales decline or 2,112 units sold vs 2,293 the previous week.  Fleetwood Mac moves down to #137 from #103 last week on a 16% sales decline or 1,618 units sold vs 1,932 the previous week.  Greatest Hits moves down to #174 from #40 last week on a 50% sales decline or 1,419 units sold vs 2,816 the previous week.  Total US sales for The Very Best Of in the USA since it's release in November, 2002 = 1,499,736.  Total Rumours sales since November, 1991 when Soundscan began tracking over the counter sales = 2,975,439.  Total Fleetwood Mac ('75 White album) sales since November, 1991 = 859,183.  Total Greatest Hits sales since November, 1991 = 4,572,513.

Top 200 Catalogue Albums
week ending July 22, 2012 - Chart date Aug 4, 2012
# 73  (56)  Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of
# 73  (61)  Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
# 137 (103) Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
#174  (40)  Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

On the Top 200 Catalogue Physical Albums Chart, Fleetwood Mac place 3 titles with Stevie Nicks placing 1 title.  Fleetwood Mac's The Very Best Of moves down to #22 from #15 last week with the same sales number as above 2,112.  Fleetwood Mac's white '75 album moves down to #76 from #56 with physical sales of 1,469 vs 1,761 the previous week.  Stevie's Bella Donna moves up to #149 from #152 but moves down in sales.  The album sold 1,077 units last week vs 1,134 the previous week.  Total US sales for Bella Donna since November, 1991 = 869,212. Rumours moves down to #189 from #167 the previous week on physical sales of 944 units vs 950 the previous week.

Top 200 Catalog Physical Albums 
week ending July 22, 2012 - Chart date Aug 4, 2012
# 22  (15) Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of
# 76  (56) Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
# 149 (152)stevie Nicks - Bella Donna

IRELAND

Top 100 Albums chart - week ending July 26, 2012
# 87 (76) Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of
# 89 (87) Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

UK
Fleetwood Mac continue on with their re-issued "25 Years - The Chain" 4cd boxset that was recently re-released to mark it's 20th Anniversary.  This marks the titles 7th week in the Top 100 in the UK.  It was initially released back in 1992 but failed to chart.  The set was never on sale at retail for the price it's being offered for today though. The box set can still be found for an extraordinary deal at AmazonUK and HMV... Amazon = £7.97 and at HMV = 2 For £15.00

Top 100 Albums Chart - August 4, 2012
# 57 (39) Fleetwood Mac - 25 Years - The chain (box set)

Top 40 Catalogue Albums Chart
# 14 - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

AUSTRALIA
In Australia, Fleetwood Mac's The Very Best Of remains on the Top 100, plus The Dance DVD takes a striking leap up the DVD chart from #18 to #7.  The DVD is currently on sale at JB Hi-Fi for $9.99 which is likely the cause and coincidentally the same price for Greatest Hits which is inching it's way back into the top 10.

Top 100 Albums Chart - July 30, 2012
#56 (55) FLEETWOOD MAC – The Very Best Of 

Top 50 Catalogue Albums Chart
# 7  (8)  Fleetwood Mac - The Very Best Of
# 13 (14) Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits

Top 40 DVD Chart
# 7 (18) Fleetwood Mac - The Dance

MICK FLEETWOOD Coming To Lincoln, Nebraska - August 31st










MICK FLEETWOOD will be hosting The Bluesmasters Concert on Friday, August 31, 2012 at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.


The Bluesmasters Concert Featuring The Allman Brothers Band and Master of Ceremonies, Mick Fleetwood.

Tickets Now on Sale for the Best in Blues and Rock, in Memory of Pinetop Perkins and Hubert Sumlin

When: Friday, August 31, 2012 @ 6 p.m. (Doors open 5 p.m.)

Where: Haymarket Park, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

Artists: THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, BLUESMASTERS AND GUESTS, LEON RUSSELL, & ELVIN BISHOP
Guests include Otis Taylor and Eric Gales.

The Allman Brothers Band will be joined at this event by host Mick Fleetwood, best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of Fleetwood Mac, The Bluesmasters and Guests including Otis Taylor and Eric Gales, and Leon Russell and Elvin Bishop.

BUY TICKETS

REVIEW: Stevie Nicks' more subdued style was countered by Rod Stewart's always-animated performance


Stewart animated, 
Nicks more subdued
By Elliot Alpern
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Photo Gallery Included

There's no question that Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart are legends in the music industry. One was a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, and was once called "The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll" by Rolling Stone Magazine- not an accolade to be taken lightly. The other is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, both domestically and in the U.K., where he's spawned an obscene 31 Top Ten singles.

It's also pretty obvious that the masses understand what it is to have two Rock and Roll Hall of Famers touring together. Consol Energy Center was decidedly packed on Saturday night, from the folding chairs on the floor space far up into the nosebleeds. And despite what was likely a higher average age than most concerts at Consol, many came out in full dedication, sporting Stevie Nicks outfits or Rod Stewart hairdos.

Continue to the full review

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.