REVIEW | PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac - Live in Minneapolis / Saint Paul - April 28th

Fleetwood Mac Live 

Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center

April 28, 2013

Top and bottom left Photo by Jefferson Wheeler - View gallery at Star Tribune.

The Fleetwood Mac Poster is an original design by Adam Turman commissioned by Xcel Energy and given to Fleetwood Mac as a gift.

Photo by: Scott Takushi - View Gallery at Pioneer Press

Fleetwood Mac review: Wait, this is starting to sound familiar

by Ross Raihala

Pioneer Press

Something felt rather familiar about Fleetwood Mac's Xcel Energy Center show Sunday, April 28, and it wasn't just the band's songs, which remain some of the biggest-selling, most widely known of the rock era.

Instead, it was the set list -- the very order in which the group played those songs -- that was secondhand news. Four-fifths of Fleetwood Mac's most famous lineup last headlined the downtown St. Paul hockey arena in March 2009, and Sunday they performed a whopping 17 of the same songs. Of course, with a band like this, there are hits they're always going to play ("Don't Stop," "Go Your Own Way," "Landslide"). But this wasn't just hearing the same old numbers four years later, but hearing them largely in the same sequence.

Just like in '09, "The Chain" led into "Dreams" early in the show and then "Big Love," "Landslide" and "Never Going Back" occupied the same three-song stretch at the midway point. And once again, the sequence of "I'm So Afraid," "Stand Back" and "Go Your Own Way" wrapped things up and opened the door for virtually the same encore, with "Say Goodbye" added to "World Turning," "Don't Stop" and "Silver Springs."

So what was different this time around? Well, most notably, Stevie Nicks was much more present and didn't let her energetic frenemy Lindsey Buckingham steal the spotlight quite as much (even though the crowd cheered at nearly everything he did). At 64, her voice has lost much of its power, but she still looks terrific and she seemed to be enjoying herself much more Sunday night than four years back.

Buckingham reportedly wanted to record a fresh disc for 2013, but Nicks couldn't get her act together in time. They did manage to work in one brand-new track, the upbeat and poppy "Sad Angel," and one number they dug out from the vaults, "Without You" (an unreleased snoozer from the pair's pre-Mac band Buckingham Nicks).

They also upped the total number of songs drawn from 1979's "Tusk" -- the expensive, Buckingham-led flop that derailed the band's career -- from three to four. In addition to Nicks' ballad "Sara" and Buckingham's monstrous "Tusk," they worked in "Not That Funny" and "Sisters of the Moon," with Buckingham taking the opportunity to once again harangue the crowd about the album's initial failure. (Dude, it's been 34 years. Let it go already!)

Beyond that, the band kept to the oldies, with the vast majority of the songs originally written and recorded in the mid-to-late '70s. It was a nice surprise to hear "Eyes of the World," a deep cut from 1982's under-appreciated "Mirage" album, although almost any one of the other album cuts from that era would've been a better choice. As always, Christine McVie was missed. She retired in 1998 and while she was always a distant third behind Buckingham and Nicks, her softer, more romantic songs lent the band a certain humanity they've been lacking in the years since.

Lindsey Buckingham, not croaky Stevie Nicks, carried Fleetwood Mac Sunday night at the X.
by: Jon Bream
Star Tribune

Lindsey Buckingham wore the exact same outfit again. Black leather jacket, black V-neck T-shirt, black boots and, presumably, the same bluejeans.

That’s what the rock star sported when he performed a solo concert in November at the Dakota Jazz Club, the most impersonal (and loudest) performance probably ever in that intimate space. On Sunday at the sold-out Xcel Energy Center, he gave one of the most impassioned performances ever in a Twin Cities arena, this side of Bruce Springsteen.

Oh, sorry, it wasn’t actually a Lindsey Buckingham show. It was Fleetwood Mac, the band that made him famous. But singer/songwriter/keyboardist Christine McVie retired in 1998 and Stevie Nicks — Buckingham’s former lover whose romance and breakup has been the subject of many of the band’s songs — needed a good half of Sunday’s 2 ½-hour show to warm up her voice.

Granted, her voice is lower, harsher and less fluid than before, but her versions of “Rhiannon” and “Sara” were so croaky and lifeless that she couldn’t have placed in the top 5 in a Stevie Nicks sound-alike contest.

Nicks, 64, finally found her voice for “Landslide,” a duet with Buckingham, his voice and acoustic guitar. After saying she usually dedicates the song each night to a family member, Nicks said on Sunday, it would be a rare dedication to her “one and only husband,” Minnesotan Kim Anderson, who was in the audience and, of course, is no longer her husband (they divorced after a short marriage; he was the widower of her best friend, who died of leukemia).

Nicks’ incurable romanticism has fueled her art and Fleetwood Mac. She got so inspired during “Landslide” on Sunday that at song’s end she and Buckingham blew kisses at one another. Of course, they followed that with a scorching “Never Going Back Again,” during which Buckingham sounded maniacally determined on vocals and guitar and Nicks offered credible vocal harmonies.

Although she did only a few slow-motion revolutions of the famous Stevie Nicks dervish dance, she hit her vocal stride, delivering “Gypsy” with conviction while facing drummer Mick Fleetwood (another of her exes).

She finally became the bewitching Nicks of yesteryear on “Gold Dust Woman,” investing the song with mystery, passion and her trademarked accouterments of shawls and scarves (the top hat would come later, thank you).

But while Nicks clearly was a favorite of the 16,000 fans on Sunday, it is Buckingham who elevates Fleetwood Mac into an exciting arena attraction 36 years after the blockbuster “Rumours” album made them one of the biggest bands of the 1970s. On Sunday, he was a live-wire ringmaster, a guitar monster, a heartfelt singer, a hammy performer and, as Mick Fleetwood put it, “our inspiration.”

With all of the Buckingham/Nicks soap-opera songs, the comforting, buoyant tunes (and sweet vocal harmonies) of McVie were missed. The band did her “Don’t Stop,” with Buckingham and Nicks alternating as lead singer on the verses. But this really was the Lindsey Buckingham Show.

Buckingham, 63, tried to provide context with his introductions to songs. For instance, he explained that “Big Love” was written as a “contemplation on alienation” but now he sees it as “a meditation” on change. Indeed, his transformation to de facto frontman of Fleetwood Mac has helped the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group maintain its magic.

A set list & a few more thoughts about Fleetwood Mac at the X

Lindsey Buckingham claims Fleetwood Mac has recorded a bunch of new material. He promises an EP to be released in days. On Sunday at the sold-out X, 16,000 fans heard only one new number – plus one obscure Buckingham Nicks song.

Despite its title, “Sad Angel” was peppy rocker, asking the sad angel if she’d “come to right the war.” The vocal harmonies between Buckingham and Stevie Nicks felt different, and the song had almost an Americana vibe, with guitars ringing like Springsteen.

As for “Without You,” the Buckingham Nicks rarity was an un-dynamic slice of dated folk-rock with pretty straightforward lyrics.

Although Nicks wasn’t in acceptable voice for the first half of the show (as chronicled in my review), she, like Buckingham, was fairly chatty. She was certainly friendlier than at Big Mac’s last St. Paul gig, in 2009.

At the end of the evening, after Buckingham and everyone else had left the stage, Nicks told the crowd that “it’s all your fault. We throw the songs out and you catch ‘em with dream catchers and throw them back at us.” OK, discuss amongst yourselves.

The surviving Fleetwood Mac quartet was augmented by two female backup singers (including Nicks’ sister Lori Nicks), a guitarist and a keyboardist/guitarist, all of whom were introduced. There also was a second drummer behind Fleetwood’s kit who was anonymous.

Fleetwood Mac’s set list on Sunday:

Second Hand News/ The Chain/ Dreams/ Sad Angel (new) / Rhiannon/ Not That Funny/ Tusk/ Sisters of the Moon/ Sara/ Big Love/ Landslide/ Never Going Back Again/ Without You (Buckingham Nicks outtake)/ Gypsy/ Eyes of the World/ Gold Dust Woman/ I’m So Afraid/ Stand Back (Nicks solo hit)/ Go Your Own Way ENCORE 1 World Turning/ Don’t Stop ENCORE 2 Silver Springs/ Say Goodbye



Fleetwood Mac at Xcel Energy Center, 4/28/13
By Tony Nelson
Sunday, April 28, 2013
City Pages + Photo Gallery (Photos by Tony Nelson)

More than 35 years since their mega-platinum Rumours album, Fleetwood Mac reconvened for another

major tour, which came to Xcel Energy Center Sunday night. Since keyboardist and vocalist Christine's McVie's retirement, their shows have become very much the Lindsey Buckingham/Stevie Nicks show, of course backed by the most solid rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and a few additional musicians. Sticking mostly to their peak period of mid-'70s to mid-'80s, the two alternated between their many hits, relying on their long and storied history of romance and breakup, using that tension to fuel their strong chemistry. The two traded places in the spotlight with Nicks occasionally leaving for wardrobe changes -- mostly variations on her trademark flowing gowns suitable for twirling.

Two big exceptions to the predictable "best of" set included a brand new tune, "Sad Angel." The upbeat, almost country-ish acoustic shuffle will be part of a new EP to be released in a few days, according to Buckingham. The second, "Without You," while new to most everyone was actually a very old tune Nicks explained they'd literally forgotten about and only rediscovered when it popped up on YouTube and sparked their interest in reviving it.

While their stage set included the now customary multiple jumbo screens and choreographed digital animation, the focus was always on the four bandmates, who occasionally slowed the tempo for the quieter numbers but never seemed to let up on their intensity over the two-and-a-half hour show, much to the delight of the capacity crowd.

Songs from each of the band's albums of the Buckingham-Nicks era were featured, but some of the loudest cheers came for the brief acoustic set midway through the show with Buckingham's insanely frenetic solo version of "Big Love", Nicks's "Landslide," and Buckingham's "Never Going Back Again," which was drawn out for a little extra drama. One of rock's most innovative, versatile (and occasionally overlooked) guitarists, his playing was continually and appropriately in the spotlight as was his energetic presence as band leader and all-around driving force, something Fleetwood acknowledged during the band intros at the end of the night.

The drama continued with a powerful version of the '75 classic "I'm So Afraid", followed by Nicks's solo hit "Stand Back" and the rousing closer "Go Your Own Way" -- for which Nicks donned her classic top hat. The last encores brought an emotional end to the evening with Nicks's Rumours-era b-side "Silver Springs" and ending with the bitter sweet "Say Goodbye" from the 2003 Say You Will LP, an acoustic song Buckingham wrote about finding closure to his relationship with Nicks and sung as a tender duet directly to each other. After the last song, both Fleetwood and Nicks came out for a final curtain call and to thank the audience for both a wonderful night and possibly a wonderful career as it's obviously possible that this could be the last visit by the iconic group.

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REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Newark, NJ - Stevie Nicks "rode the wind like a kite" Mick "a marvel throughout the show"

Fleetwood Mac Live at Prudential Center - Newark, NJ April 24, 2013
Still restless, Fleetwood Mac goes deep at Prudential Center
By Tris McCall - The Star-Ledger + Photo Gallery

Guitar in hand, Lindsey Buckingham crouched as he walked, approaching the microphone like a cat on the prowl. Mick Fleetwood gave him a heavy downbeat on a tom and he pounced, barking out the verse to “Not That Funny,” an abrasive deep cut from “Tusk,” the 1979 experimental-pop double album on which he spent the capital Fleetwood Mac had earned with the blockbuster “Rumours.”

Fleetwood Mac has frequently been a band of complementary voices without a clear leader. But “Tusk” was Buckingham’s baby, and the Mac set at the Prudential Center in Newark on Wednesday felt very much like Buckingham’s show.

The band is famous for interplay between huge personalities. Christine McVie, the electric pianist and songwriter who acted as a serene counterbalance to Buckingham’s spastic energy, has spent the last decade in retirement from the group, and wasn’t present. Stevie Nicks remains a commanding onstage force, but her voice is diminished — she no longer tries to reach high notes that once seemed to come effortlessly to her. Bassist John McVie is dedicated to self-effacement; drummer Mick Fleetwood remains a powerhouse, but pointedly called Buckingham the band’s musical mentor. Funny, that: it was Fleetwood who, in 1974, invited Buckingham and Nicks to join a group half-named after him, and whose thunderous backbeat holds the group together.

Fleetwood Mac is celebrating the 35th anniversary of “Rumours” with a reissue and a tour. The band played seven of its cuts, and each one drew an ecstatic response from the packed house. But the group seemed more energized by other material.

Buckingham introduced four straight songs from “Tusk” with fighting words about artistic independence and the importance of creativity. Later, he held the stage alone for his flashy solo reading of the 1987 hit “Big Love,” and closed the evening with the quiet, acoustic “Say Goodbye.” He took some chances with the “Rumours” material, too, slowing down “Never Going Back Again” to a crawl, and punking up “Go Your Own Way.” “I’m So Afraid,” the brooding final cut on the band’s self-titled 1975 album, became a launching pad for a guitar solo that, while spectacular in its dexterity, flirted with self-indulgence.

Buckingham and Nicks dissolved their romantic partnership more than 30 years ago — yet the concert kept reminding us of it. The stars emerged hand in hand, beaming like a presidential couple getting off Air Force One, for the encore set. Earlier in the show, Nicks concluded “Sara” with a turn at Buckingham’s microphone and a sweetly flirtatious dance with him. “Without You,” a love song from the pair’s early years as Buckingham Nicks, was presented as evidence of their initial romantic illusions.

A cynic, or even a passionate fan, might reasonably ask why the two continue to poke the embers of a relationship that cooled ages ago, and if that is threatening to eclipse the manifold dimensions of one of rock’s most fascinating groups.

In the late ’70s, Fleetwood Mac was singular. Here was a successful rock band where men and women engaged in musical and lyrical dialogue on equal footing; their stories of love and betrayal bore a stamp of authority that comes from lived experience and mutual respect between romantic partners. Christine McVie’s work was an indispensable part of that dialogue. It is a testament to the depth and quality of the Fleetwood Mac catalog that the band could play for nearly 2½ hours while swerving around McVie’s rapturous songwriting. Nevertheless, she was missed like a lost limb.

The band did not lack energy. Stevie Nicks took a few songs to warm up, and her performances thereafter were often inexact, but when she lost herself in an outro, as she did during a strong reading of “Gypsy,” she rode the wind like a kite. “Stand Back,” a lively but mechanical Nicks solo hit from the ’80s, was made organic by McVie’s bass and Fleetwood’s fills.

The drummer was a marvel throughout the show: His martial intro to “Eyes of the World,” steady stomp during “Tusk” and dramatic build-up before the climax of “Sisters of the Moon” added drama to songs that might otherwise have flatlined. He is the rapid, healthy pulse of a group that, 50 years into its run, remains restless.

Photos Brian Killian

REVIEW | VIDEO: Fleetwood Mac Live in Pittsburgh 4/26

Nicks, Buckingham take center stage at Fleetwood Mac show

by Kellie B. Gormly

Triblive

Two things that struck the audience at Fleetwood Mac's show at Consol Energy Center on Friday night were how great Stevie Nicks looks and sounds at her age, and how peculiar and intriguing her relationship with co-star Lindsey Buckingham remains.

Nicks and Buckingham gave a stellar concert at Consol, where the other members of the classic band were relegated to the background and, often, even out of sight. Nicks and Buckingham performed more as a duo, although the British drummer and founding member Mick Fleetwood got in a few appearances with a drum solo and dialogue with the audience toward the end of the show.

Nicks sports her signature thick, long, blonde hair, along with a frilly black top and skirt, and her popular shawl — which she spreads out with her arms, as she twirled to “Gypsy” on stage in a favorite move. Her distinctive voice often eerily sounded exactly like it did in the radio classics of three decades ago. Nicks' vocal range has decreased, though, as she avoids the higher notes and sometimes sings at a lower octave.

Although Nicks' and Buckingham's tumultuous romantic relationship ended years ago — a devastating split that drove Nicks to avoid Fleetwood Mac for a long time — the two send mixed messages now that they have reunited as bandmates. They often stood way apart on stage and didn't interact much, but at other moments, they showed affection toward each other. The two ended their encore with “Say Goodbye,” a song that Buckingham wrote about Nicks, and the emotion between the two was undeniable, if anything for old time's sake.

Although Fleetwood Mac played for two and a half hours with no opener or intermission, and we heard plenty of classic hits, most songs from Christine McVie didn't make the set list, except for “Don't Stop” in the encore. This created a notable void, since so many of the band's biggest hits came from McVie, who left the band in the late ‘90s. Fans miss her, but Nicks and Buckingham have made the best of her absence. Nicks included some of her solo work, including “Stand Back,” with complementing video images of a younger, glamorous Nicks twirling in a red outfit.

The audience included mostly middle-aged fans, but also a big crop of younger-generation 20-somethings who love Fleetwood Mac's music.

Almost the entire show from last night by clubdoc can be found here... Looking and sounding awesome!

1. SECOND HAND NEWS
2. THE CHAIN
3. DREAMS
4. SAD ANGEL

MORE VIDEO BELOW (hit the 'Continue Reading' link)

REVIEWS: Fleetwood Mac Live in Pittsburgh, PA - Consol Energy Center 4/26

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE

PITTSBURGH, PA

CONSOL ENERGY CENTER

APRIL 26, 2013

Fleetwood Mac show is powered by hits and rarities
By Scott Mervis

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Fleetwood Mac obviously has some issues playing nice with each other in a studio, as its last release was a decade ago and there have been a combined four solo albums from its dynamic duo up front since then.

On stage, though, FM still has the golden touch.

The band, which started as a British blues outfit in 1967 but practically defined mid-'70s pop-rock, turned up at Consol Energy Center tonight three weeks into its first tour since 2009. Once again, it's a foursome with a few sidemen and backup singers, as Christine McVie, out of the picture since 1998, has chosen to steer clear, taking with her the earthy harmonies and such hits as "Over My Head," "Say You Love Me" and "You Make Loving Fun."

They were missed, as usual, but even without that, Fleetwood Mac has no shortage of beloved classics. The hit parade started energetically with a galloping beat from the ageless Mick Fleetwood launching Lindsey Buckingham into "Second Hand News" (a sly, self-deprecating statement?), joined on the chorus by his former flame Stevie Nicks, still striking at 64.

Mr. Buckingham isn't often mentioned with rock's guitar heroes, clearly an oversight if you've seen him live. Those heroics started in earnest on the second song, "The Chain," with its tense riffage and piercing solo going over top John McVie's rumbling bass.

Ms. Nicks remains a vocal enigma, as there's no one way to describe her instrument, other than expressive. It's still nasal and husky ranging somehow to clear and girlish, as we heard on "Dreams" and a powerful "Rhiannon." As you'd expect, she runs around the occasional high note.

There's no new album to freshen the set -- or perhaps get in the way of a casual Mac fan's good time -- but there is a promised EP on the way.

They teased it with "Sad Angel," a vintage-sounding Buckingham-Nicks collab that was more up-tempo than the title suggests.

The band's other creative twist on this tour is its four-song mini-set from "Tusk," the 1979 curveball that Mr.
Buckingham described as "a line in the sand" creatively for the band. It included the cacophonous title track (with the USC marching band on the screen) and the lovely "Sara," during which Mr. Fleetwood sounded more like competition. They also added Mr. Buckingham's quasi-punk freakout "Not That Funny" and Ms. Nicks' bewitching "Sisters of the Moon," which sounded a little chaotic, too.

They also revived the long-lost Buckingham Nicks song "Without You," which could have stayed lost, and offered a few old deep cuts: rumbling rocker "Eyes of the World" and "I'm So Afraid," with a killer guitar jam that explored the high end of the neck to the furthest extreme.

The stripped-down mid-section, one of the best parts if the night, brought Mr. Buckingham's frantic acoustic workout on "Big Love," a dramatic, finger-picked "Never Going Back Again" and a beautiful "Landslide" with the emphatic and always warmly received line, "I'm getting older, too."

Even more well received was Ms. Nicks' shawl dance at the end of a "Gold Dust Woman" that toed the line in the sand between plodding and mesmerizing.

For the closers, they tapped the Nicks solo catalog for a hard-driving "Stand Back," with the singer spinning in circles, followed by one of rock's best fist-pumping breakup anthems, "Go Your Own Way," ecstatically played.

The encores started with a pummeling "World Turning" and "Don't Stop," the one Christine McVie song they can't skip, and ended with a gentle "Say Goodbye" ??? that's only goodbye for now.

"You'd think there'd be nothing left to invent," Mr. Buckingham said at one point, "but there apparently are some new chapters to be written for Fleetwood Mac."

With a 50th anniversary on the way -- at least for the band name and esteemed, cranked-up rhythm section -- they can't very well stop now.

(not mentioned, but Silver Springs was back in the set)

PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac Live in Newark, NJ (by Gabrielle Dragan)

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE 

NEWARK, NJ - April 24, 2013

Prudential Center

(Photos sent in by Gabrielle Dragan)

The video below isn't Newark, it's at Mohegan Sun Arena - but the footage is incredible!... Shot right at the stage.
GO YOUR OWN WAY:

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