Photos by: @amp1979
Lindsey Buckingham solo acoustic: Loud, angry and too short
by: Jon Bream
Star Tribune
The Dakota Jazz Club offered free earplugs at the door (unprecedented). The classy downtown Minneapolis club also suspended food and drink service during the concert (not too common but prudent). And the performance of Lindsey Buckingham left many in Tuesday’s sell-out audience unsatisfied (not common).
Why? Buckingham’s solo acoustic performance lasted only 72 minutes (including the encore). And tickets cost $125 and $80. I imagine his soundcheck – for his four guitars, multiple amplifiers and effects pedals – might have lasted longer than the gig itself.
Buckingham’s previous Twin Cities shows with his own band (once as many as 10 pieces) have been longer if occasionally indulgent affairs. Wearing the same outfit he sported last year at his 110-minute Pantages performance with his backup trio, he called this solo session part of a little experiment. He commented about the shallowness of the Dakota—not the people, the space, he said. He talked about the small machine (his solo projects, namely six solo discs since 1981 but three since 2006) being necessary to balance the Big Machine (Fleetwood Mac) and how one couldn’t function without the other.
Using occasional backing tracks, Buckingham’s finger picking was fancy, fast and often phenomenal. He received standing ovations at the end of every long solo passage – and they weren’t just Fleetwood Mac tunes.
At 63, Buckingham came off as an angry man. Well, at least the songs he chose to sing from his solo career were very angry, from the radio faves “Trouble” and “Go Insane” to “Come.” And loud – for acoustic music. He sang hard, like he was trying to project in an arena.
Of course, the Fleetwood Mac tunes – including “Go Your Own Way,” “Never Going Back Again” and “I’m So Afraid” – weren’t exactly happy tunes. We knew that Buckingham wouldn’t be sweet, but we had no idea that he’d be so short.
Lindsey Buckingham
Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
By Danny Sigelman
"This song is significant to me. Looking at the lyrics when this was written it
accurately describes the person I was." causing some in the audience to laugh.
"It wasn't so funny for me!" he cried defensively, "You try being in
Fleetwood Mac. It's a god damn mine field out there!"
- Lindsey Buckingham "Big Love"
Whether it was the intro music of himself playing acoustic guitar or his stacks of amplifiers, you get the feeling Lindsey Buckingham has lived life mostly on massive stages and is most comfortable bringing his big personality and larger than life sound to adoring fans. As long as he has been performing he truly operates with a majesty and with perfection the giant body of work he has created with Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. It was from that pool of unforgettable songs that he magnificently showed his true self to the sold out Dakota Jazz club Tuesday night.
Springing towards the microphone Buckingham showed immediate gratitude towards the audience. Though in the intimate setting of the Dakota, he exhibited passionate delivery and a true rock star presence on "Cast Away Dreams" and the first of several Fleetwood Mac tunes of the evening, "Bleed to Love Her." The latter sounded much more personal and devout as it brought the song out from under the '90s production style of the recording which hasn't aged as well as the lyrics themselves.
Full Review at Citypages
It's been an incredible year of touring for Lindsey and a great opportunity for his fans to see him up close and personal in some of the really great, small, intimate venues scattered across north america. Since late 2011 we've seen Lindsey with a full band... completely solo... and in conversation at the 92 Street Y in New York City, not to mention the various Meet and Greets that were offered at a lot of this years shows where fans, for a relatively small price, were given the opportunity to meet with Lindsey after the show.
It's been fun following along!
Tour Stats:
After the release of "Seeds We Sow" on September 6, 2011 Lindsey kicked off the 39 date "Seeds We Sow Tour" September 10, 2011 in Reno, NV. With a full band in tow, Lindsey played dates across the US and Canada bringing the tour to a close in Tulsa, OK on November 14, 2011. A planned 9 date UK tour in December, 2011 was first postponed, then cancelled due to an injury suffered by his guitarist
Neale Heywood. Lindsey took a break over the winter, geared up for this little experiment of playing completely solo and acoustic and was back on the road May 3, 2012 in Solana Beach, CA. Ultimately, with this solo show success, the tour ended up being extended through the spring, summer and fall culminating in the Minneapolis show last night. With a total of 77 US and Canadian dates this year alone plus the 39 dates in 2011, Lindsey's managed to rack up 116 live performances since September 10, 2011!
Not only has Lindsey been a beast on the road, but in terms of released music he's been no slouch! Since September 6, 2011 we've seen released:
"Seeds We Sow" - CD released September 6, 2011
"Songs From The Small Machine Live in L.A." - DVD/CD released November 1, 2011
"One Man Show" - Digital only live album released November 13, 2012
And Lindsey's not done releasing new music this year!
On December 11th three new tracks, newly recorded this year, one of which features Nora Jones, will be included on the "This is 40" movie soundtrack due to hit stores December 11th.
With a Fleetwood Mac tour on the horizon for 2013, it will likely be 2014 before we see Lindsey solo again where he's promised to include some sort of request segment of the show, no doubt spurred on by the many requests during his shows to play various solo and Fleetwood Mac tracks not featured in his set. I, like many, hope he can follow through with that.
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