Fleetwood Mac Live
Minneapolis, MN
September 30, 2014
Fleetwood Mac Kicks Off New Tour, with Christine McVie Back on Keyboards
Fleetwood Mac was at the Target Center in Minneapolis Tuesday night, kicking off their latest tour -- the first with longtime singer/keyboardist Christine McVie since 1998.
According to TwinCities.com, drummer Mick Fleetwood noted McVie’s return by telling the 17,000 fans in attendance, “Our songbird is back,” a reference not only to the 71-year-old singer-songwriter, but also to "Songbird," one of her contributions to Fleetwood Mac's celebrated 1977 album, Rumours. Fittingly, the band ended the night's show with the song.
The nearly two-and-a-half-hour performance opened with “The Chain,” followed by “You Make Loving Fun.”
Christine McVie celebrated her return by thanking the band and the fans, saying, “It’s a dream come true, a chance you don’t often get in life.”
Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham all took time out to praise McVie. Buckingham told the crowd, “This is a band that continues to evolve through good times and adversity. This is just, I guess, the latest chapter.”
Buckingham continued, “It’s a beautiful, profound, poetic new chapter now that this lady is back with us. And it’s a chapter that is going to go on for a while. A chapter that is going to yield much fruit. We are very, very excited.”
The band’s next concert is Thursday night at the United Center in Chicago.
Fleetwood Mac's On with the Show tour runs through a December 20 concert in Tampa, Florida.
ABC News
The full Fleetwood Mac is back with McVie
by: Jon Bream
Star Tribune
REVIEW: This heyday incarnation — reassembled after some rocky years — came across as a democratic, respectful, polite and mostly sparks-free.
You look for those little moments at a Fleetwood Mac concert.
Like when Christine McVie, back in the fold after a 16-year retirement, cracks a smile as the sellout crowd gives her a huge ovation after she sings her first line of the night. Or when Stevie Nicks and her ex, Lindsey Buckingham, exchange a glance, grasp one another’s hand and even share a hug. Or when McVie slaps her ex, John McVie, on the shoulder in a fond way.
Because Fleetwood Mac is rock’s famously fractured fivesome, you looked for those little signs Tuesday at Target Center, where the Rock Hall of Fame band launched its reunion tour with McVie.
Nicks hasn’t sounded this good since the early ’90s. Buckingham didn’t hog the spotlight as he did last year in St. Paul. McVie held her own, though her voice clearly doesn’t have arena oomph. And the band sounded terrific, as always. What a rhythm machine and what an articulate and emotional guitarist Buckingham is.
But, ultimately, this heyday incarnation — reassembled after some rocky years — came across as a democratic, respectful, polite and mostly sparks-free Fleetwood Mac. There weren’t any opening-night glitches. And the performance was never really tentative. But it was never really lived in. You’d love to see this band at least 10 shows into this 40-concert On With the Show Tour, especially because Tuesday’s opener was so encouraging.
The key thing that seemed to be missing was palpable camaraderie. Each lead singer stayed in his or her own space each time they sang. There were no sparks or even darts between Buckingham and Nicks, whose romantic tension has fueled Fleetwood Mac to superstardom since they joined the long-lived British/American band in 1975. To be sure, there were a couple of times on Tuesday when they turned toward one another — though they stood a good 20 feet apart — and sang pivotal lyrics as if they meant them. She was shooting lasers at him during “Silver Springs” as she proclaimed, “I know I could have loved you but you would not let me.”
Maybe a more telling moment about their relationship and this night came during “Landslide,” which is essentially a duet for them. Buckingham crept closer to Nicks than usual and when she hit the high note on “snow,” she rolled her eyes in disbelief that she could actually reach that note. He broke into a smile and suddenly there was an exchange of genuine emotion between them — even if their grasping of hands at the end seemed as much about showbiz as deep fondness.
The principal emotion during the nearly 2 ½-hour performance was the joy of having keyboardist McVie back in this group of graying veterans (who range in age from 65 to 71). She brought high harmonies and several songs, including “Little Lies,” “You Make Loving Fun” and the closing “Songbird,” back into the repertoire.
When drummer Mick Fleetwood introduced the band members, McVie received the night’s loudest and longest ovation. And Nicks, Buckingham and Fleetwood told the 17,000 fans how elated they were to have her back.
Nicks, who looked encouragingly at McVie all night, admitted she would have bet all her money that McVie would never return. Buckingham talked about this being the beginning of a new chapter with much new material to be written. Fleetwood declared: “Fer sure, the Mac is back.”
But only time will tell if this On with The Show Tour is a full-blown reunion, merely a victory lap or just a sense of closure for a oft-broken band before it retires.
Full review and photos
Review: Reunited Fleetwood Mac a whole lot of fun at Target Center
by Ross Raihala
Twincities.com
Fleetwood Mac's sold-out show Tuesday at the Target Center proved one thing that everyone already knew: There has been a Christine McVie-size hole in the band for the past 16 years. Not anymore, though, as Tuesday's concert kicked off the first Mac tour to feature the entire "Rumours"-era lineup since 1998. Now 71, McVie has emerged from retirement looking and sounding like she hasn't aged a day.
Drummer Mick Fleetwood said it best, with 17,000 fans cheering him on: "Our songbird is back!"
McVie's return to the fold not only allowed the group to reintroduce "You Make Loving Fun," "Everywhere" and "Little Lies" back into the set, her presence brought fresh energy and excitement to the entire proceedings. The band, sans McVie, played St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center in April 2013, but Tuesday night in Minneapolis, they felt like a different band altogether.
Early on, the set crackled with a certain nervous energy from the stage, especially during the rockers "The Chain" and "Second Hand News." It was charming to see a bunch of old pros actually sweat a little bit while missing the occasional note or chugging ahead a little too fast. Soon after, though, the band locked into a groove together, with McVie's vocals and keyboards adding an extra dimension throughout the show, which fell just short of 2 1/2 hours.
Each band member seemed to be operating at full speed, including rock-steady bassist John McVie, fresh from battling cancer last fall.
The oft-grumpy Lindsey Buckingham took the opportunity to focus on his blazing guitar work. "I'm So Afraid" ended with a solo that had middle-aged guys literally rushing up to the lip of the stage to cheer him on. Stevie Nicks turned in some of her finest Mac vocals in ages. She also took the opportunity to thank the cable drama "American Horror Story" after she wrapped "Seven Wonders." (That song, and Nicks herself, played a key role in the show's last season.)
An acoustic set midway through the set offered a trio of songs that had the audience swooning, and occasionally tearing up: "Big Love," "Landslide" and "Never Going Back Again." The vibes were so good, it was even easy to forgive Professor Buckingham for telling us he now sees "Big Love" as "a meditation on the power and importance of change."
The ageless McVie thanked the band and the crowd, cooing: "It's a dream come true, a chance you don't often get in life." Everyone on stage shared that jovial mood, with Nicks, Buckingham and Fleetwood each taking time out to praise her, with wide grins that suggested they were serious.
Fleetwood Mac has already started work on a new album, which means this probably won't be a one-off reunion.
As Buckingham himself said from the stage: "This is a band that continues to evolve through good times and adversity. This is just, I guess, the latest chapter. It's a beautiful, profound, poetic new chapter now that this lady is back with us. And it's a chapter that is going to go on for a while, a chapter that is going to yield much fruit. We are very, very excited."
Full review and photos
VIDEOS:
Love the stage... Love the backdrop graphics even more than last year... Christine looks and sounds fantastic! Stevie and Lindsey look and sound amazing as do Mick and John. So happy John is doing better. He's trimmed down it looks like since last year... Lindsey's dropped the leather jacket look for a more refined cropped blazer type jacket. Stevie, always in black doesn't seem to have any wardrobe changes except for her shawls or wraps. So great to hear these 5 playing together again!!
THE CHAIN / YOU MAKE LOVING FUN
The best way to open a show! John's monster bass prominent mid-way... Christine's first tune is the second song in the set... Hitting those hi notes!
RHIANNON / EVERYWHERE
Stevie does that little twirly thing mid-way through the song which I think is cool... And the shawl seems to have been toned down a bit. So good to hear Everywhere!! Christine sounds really strong vocally for being away from it for so many years... Wow!
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