Review: "Buckingham oozed energy and charisma even while playing songs he’s played hundreds of times before"

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE

CHARLOTTE, NC - TIME WARNER CABLE ARENA

JUNE 24, 2013

Photo by Shane Arrington

Review: Fleetwood Mac at TWC Arena

by Courtney Devores

Sound Bites

Fleetwood Mac celebrated founder and drummer Mick Fleetwood’s birthday Monday with several thousand fans at Time Warner Cable Arena. With no opening act, the core group - now all well into their sixties - opened the two and a half hour set with a bouncy “Second Hand News” and the harmony-driven “The Chain.”  

Although 2012 marked the 35th anniversary of its seminal “Rumours” album, the group seemed at its most reinvigorated playing new material like “Sad Angel” or celebrating its 1979 album “Tusk.” After noting how unconventional and confounding to record execs the 20-track double album was for its time, guitarist Lindsay Buckingham led the charge through “Not That Funny,” “Tusk,” “Sisters of the Moon,” and “Sara.”

Continue to the full review

Photo by Thomas Finke

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Rhino to Reissue Early Fleetwood Mac Classic "Then Play On"

By Matt Rowe, Columnist

The Morton Report

If we begin to talk about Fleetwood Mac, most will immediately think of the version that employed Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. They will remember "Second Hand News," "Sara," and "Go Your Own Way," but likely couldn't hum the first note of a song called "Oh Well." What may surprise many is that the Fleetwood Mac they remember is a refresh of a much older band, older than they realize.

As a brief biographical sketch, Fleetwood Mac began way back in 1967, a full eight years before the self-titled 1975 classic that broke them wide open with "Over My Head," "Say You Love Me," and "Rhiannon." Moreover, the band had already released nine studio albums with several different incarnations of the band. Essentially, the band began with the highly regarded (among fans) but heavily underrated guitarist, Peter Green as well as Jeremy Spencer, soon transitioning with both Danny Kirwan and Bob Welch. The great thing was that all incarnations of the band were great in their own way. And they created vastly different sets of albums. All their albums are loved by various groups of fans. Believe it or not, some fans find earlier incarnations of Fleetwood Mac to be intrinsically better than the one that most know, you know—that famous version.

Without getting into a grand discussion of what albums preceded that groundbreaking 1975 classic, and their various virtues (and we could do that, easily), it is sufficient for the sake of brevity to just simply announced that Rhino Records will be releasing a deluxe edition reissue of the last Peter Green involved album, Then Play On (1969).

Then Play On was Fleetwood Mac's third studio album and is highly regarded by many FM fans. It comes as a bit of a surprise that the major label would green-light an early era reissue of this band that doesn't guarantee a rabid reaction by most people like Rumours would. But there we have it. They are. And early fans couldn't be happier.

The details are quite sketchy at this point concerning bonus track inclusions (if any) or whether they will go with the original UK track-listing rather than the punctured US release that left several songs off from the UK edition. Nevertheless, it's exciting news.

Currently scheduled for August 19 (UK) and August 20 (US), the Rhino-shine edition of Then Play On will make scores of early Fleetwood Mac fans very, very happy. And what is even more exciting is the possibility that if this does well, Rhino Records might revisit Heroes Are Hard To Find (1974), Bare Trees (1972), Kiln House (1970), and even Mystery To Me (1973). Of course, there are others. But the above mentioned hopefuls will be a great start if they see the light of day.

Fleetwood Mac – 1969-1972

MusicTAP

As if this weren’t enough exciting Fleetwood Mac news, Rhino also has plans to release a 4LP set, Fleetwood Mac – 1969-1972, also on August 20.  Included in this massive LP collection will be a bonus 7″ vinyl single.

Charlotte, NC Welcomes Fleetwood Mac Live Tonight at Times Warner Cable Arena

THE MIGHTY MICK TURNS 66!

Mick Fleetwood celebrates his 66th Birthday tonight in Charlotte, NC.

Fleetwood Mac play the Time Warner Cable Arena tonight in Charlotte, NC.  Decent tickets still available at Ticketmaster.

Hey if you are down at the front close to the stage, get the ball rolling and start singing Happy Birthday... Maybe Stevie and Lindsey will join in.  Don't be shy... as Mick would say.

Mick and Lindsey were spotted last evening (June 23rd) at Flemings in Charlotte... a little pre-Happy Birthday dinner perhaps.  Photo by Angela Hardin.

Cause and Effect: Big Business for Fleetwood Mac in 2013 - on the road and on the charts

IT'S BIG BUSINESS FOR FLEETWOOD MAC IN 2013:

7 shows reporting so far:  New additions to the Tour Stats list this week include Philadelphia, Toronto, Newark and Tacoma.  Massive numbers for Fleetwood Mac overall but especially in Philly, NYC, Toronto Newark and Tacoma. The important average ticket price overall is sitting at $110.00 per, which is huge, but this is based only on these 7 shows.  It likely comes down to a more reasonable number once you factor in the unreported shows. Still, some really healthy grosses on a per show basis.

Whether the live show drives cd sales or vise versa I'm not sure.  Used to be the live show drove your album sales and I'm sure it still does to a certain extent, but it's clear the money is definitely on the road.

Fleetwood Mac's catalogue has been making an impact on the charts world wide pretty much none stop since the promotional machine kicked in back in early 2011 for Stevie's solo album "In Your Dreams" and her subsequent touring.  It continued through Lindsey's released solo material and touring in 2011 and 2012. With each reminder of their vast catalogue through 2011 and 2012 like the Glee episode dedicated to Rumours, The Tribute Album release, the 25 Years: The Chain box set re-release outside North America, and the re-release of the multi-disc Rumours package this year - all this material just re-introduces the band to a whole new generation of music lovers/listeners. It almost seems calculated when you think about it. All these little promotional segments or events along the way over the last couple of years seemed like calculated moves to re-introduce the public to Fleetwood Mac and their catalogue and ultimately gear them towards this particular tour.  It's like cultivating an audience in a sense... Cause and Effect.  Just a theory.

U.S.A. - 6/29/13
Rumours hangs on another week on Billboards Top 200... The album has been bouncing in and out of the chart pretty much all year.  It's up this week to #135 from #163 last week.

Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart
# 135 (163) Fleetwood Mac "Rumours"

IRELAND - 6/20/13
The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac re-enters the Top 100 Irish charts this week at #78.

Top 100 Albums Chart
# 78 (R/E) Fleetwood Mac "The Very Best Of"

UK - 6/29/13
Moving up on the UK Charts, Rumours advances to #74 from #88 last week and The Very Best Of moves down a few notches to #58 from #52 last week.

Top 100 Albums Chart
# 58 (52) Fleetwood Mac "The Very Best Of"
# 74 (88) Fleetwood Mac "Rumours"

Top 40 Catalogue Albums Chart
# 7 Fleetwood Mac "Rumours"

Lindsey Buckingham takes agility to a whole new level during Fleetwood Mac Jones Beach show

The Brooklyn Vegan website posted an amazing assortment of photos, like the one above by Photographer Greg Cristman, of last nights Jones Beach show.  The photos are captures from through out the show and what's really great to see are really great shots taken during the entire show!  Whether Greg was granted permission or not I'm not sure but over the course of this tour, professional photographers have been limited to taking photos of the band only during the first 3 songs of the night and from the soundboard area - hence the reason all the photos kind of look the same from each tour stop. These are a prime example of the missed moments not captured by professionals of the band in each city.  They should change that policy!  

Check out the Brooklyn Vegan site for more of Greg's work.

Also, according to Greg C. all those photos on the Brooklyn Vegan site, and possibly more, will be uploaded to his flickr page on July 6th after the exclusivity deal with Brooklyn Vegan expires.  He also indicates his photos will also be for sale.

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM:
HE'S DOWN.... NOPE HE'S UP!

Photo by Amy Weisel

If you blinked last night at Jones Beach you may have missed it during all the excitement of "So Afraid", but Lindsey actually wiped out right near the end of the song just after hitting one of his foot pedals.  He likely was caught with the cord right behind him.  Reminds me of the time in Vancouver back in either 2006 or 2008 during his solo show, he kind of did the exact same thing, was backing up near the end of a tune and dropped to the ground, feet in the air... all the while still playing.  It happened in a split second and if your head was turned the other way for just a moment, you would have missed it.  He survived that and survived this as evident in the video below.

SO AFRAID

Here's more great video from last nights show:

LANDSLIDE: 
Dedicated to Jada Yuan who wrote the awesome "Stevie Nicks, the Fairy Godmother of Rock" ariticle in New York Magazine a few weeks ago.  If you haven't read it, check it out now here.

And also to Doug Morris, the President of Atlantic Records (back in the day) When Stevie first signed her solo recording career contract prior to releasing Bella Donna.

SARA

Below photos by Sara @SteviesSara... Thanks Sara!

Nicks is the hippie earth mother cloaked in shawls and mystery

FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE

MANSFIELD, MA - COMCAST CENTER

JUNE 21, 2013

Review: Fleetwood Mac goes its 'own way'

Rock giants enthrall Comcast audience with their classics
By Lauren Carter
The Sun Chronicle

MANSFIELD - Fleetwood Mac will not be going gently into that good night.

If Friday night's show at the Comcast Center was any indication, the legendary band will be staging spirited live performances well into their golden years.

The foursome - John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Buckingham and Stevie Nicks - have survived breakups, breakdowns, drug addictions, a fickle music climate and the loss of singer-songwriter and pianist Christine McVie, and what remains is a band that's clear-eyed and clearly in love with what they do, full of youthful energy despite the fact that they're technically senior citizens.

With no opening act and two encores, Friday's set was a 2 1/2-hour marathon of Mac classics that spanned from their self-titled 1975 album - when the addition of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham transformed them from a British blues band to an international rock sensation - to 2003's "Say You Will" and a pair of tracks off their new four-song EP.

There was time for mega-hits such as "Go Your Own Way," "Don't Stop," "The Chain" and the hypnotic "Dreams" as well as lesser-known tracks like a slowed-down "Never Going Back Again" and a punchy "Eyes of the World." A segment from "Tusk" - the album that represented the band's collective subversion of industry formula - included "Not That Funny," "Sara" and "Sisters of the Moon," which, before this tour, hadn't been performed onstage since 1981.

Buckingham continues to play the tortured guitar god, delivering masterful work on songs such as "So Afraid" and the acoustic "Big Love" and standing on the stage in triumph after solos as if he'd just slayed a personal demon.

Nicks is the hippie earth mother cloaked in shawls and mystery, twirling and dancing and conjuring up characters on songs like "Rhiannon" and "Gold Dust Woman." If Buckingham is the group's power source, Nicks is its emotional center, and nowhere was that more evident than on the venue singalong that was "Landslide." Even her rambling intro to new song "Without You" - originally recorded as a demo in 1974 and lost for many years until it surfaced on YouTube - was charming.

WITHOUT YOU Intro

With Christine McVie absent, the former Nicks-Buckingham love affair is now the axis around which Fleetwood Mac revolves. They take the stage together, they sing to each other and about each other, and a mere look in each other's direction or a slight embrace elicits howls from the crowd. During the second encore, Nicks aimed a spiteful "Silver Springs" at Buckingham, and then the pair remained alone onstage for an acoustic "Say Goodbye," a beautiful and bittersweet song about acceptance and closure.

Thirty-eight years later, some things have changed. Nicks no longer has the range she once did. Band members have visibly aged. But the band's giddy energy and their lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry remains intact.

It seems the pitfalls and excesses of fame have fallen away, and what's left is a foursome whose stardom has been tempered by wisdom and gratitude.

Buckingham said there are several chapters left in the book of Fleetwood Mac, and indeed the band's love affair with music - and their fans' love affair with the band -doesn't appear to ending anytime soon.

Photos by Kelly Glowik - Facebook Gallery

EYES OF THE WORLD
GYPSY

GOLD DUST WOMAN

SO AFRAID