Review Stevie Nicks Live in Charlotte - November 10, 2016

Review: Stevie Nicks reminds me: We’re strong
by Courtney Devores
Charlotte Observer
Photo: Benjamin Robson - View More

I can never remember a time that I didn’t consider myself a feminist. Even as a little girl, I never considered myself “less than.” I never doubted that I could do what I wanted to do. So this week I wonder: Why is that?

Part of it was probably that my mother was often the main breadwinner in our house, devoted to a job she didn’t always like but that kept us insured while my dad floated from psychology and social work to construction jobs.

The other part, I think, was growing up watching women such as Stevie Nicks, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde and Madonna – women who wrote their own songs, headlined their own shows, and worked with men but didn’t rely on them for their success. This was normal to me.

Watching Nicks and Pretenders frontwoman Hynde on Thursday at Spectrum Centre, I was reminded of that early female power. The endurance of Nicks’ friendship with backup singer Sharon Celani, who has been with her since the start of her solo career, plus her obvious generosity as a boss whose band members have been with her for decades, and her witchy-earth-mother persona, were reminders of her strength and ours.

I’d been worried by reports of the 24 Karat Gold Tour’s “VH1 Storytellers”-style vibe that the show would be a low-key one, heavy on ballads and adult-contemporary songs.

But the format was what made it so special.

Nicks seemed stiff her last time through town, with Fleetwood Mac. This night, freed of having to squeeze in Mac’s plethora of hits, she was physically looser, vocally stronger, and spoke at length and off the cuff.

She and her eight-piece band – coming on after a Pretenders’ set where Hynde sported an Elvis tee and a smoky voice that’s still perfection – reveled in lesser-known tracks. Those included “New Orleans,” which she wrote as Hurricane Katrina loomed, and “Starshine,” which she cut from an album because she didn’t like the label-approved version.

“Because I can do that,” she said. “Girl Power.”

Her stories about writing the encore “Leather and Lace” for Waylon Jennings and Jessie Colter, and its evolution – on the advice of then-boyfriend Don Henley (who would tell her, as she was writing it, when the song wasn’t working) – were precious and funny.

She performed “Bella Donna” and “Wild Heart” – title tracks to her first solo albums – in the same silk chiffon shawl she donned on the back cover of “Bella Donna.” The garment is intact after 35 years, she said: a testament to the fabric.

The most emotional performance was “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream),” a song inspired by the second “Twilight” film that launched Nicks back into recording after a self-imposed, nine-year break. And “Crying in the Night” was a treat for fans of the pre-Mac “Buckingham/Nicks” album: It stood up, 45 years after being written.

Nicks performed expected hits, from “If Anyone Falls” and “Dreams” to “Stand Back,” “Rhiannon” (“that brat, she joked) and the set’s pre-encore capper, “Edge of Seventeen.” That featured photos of Prince – “the white-winged dove” – projected above the band. Nicks ended the song with a line from “When Doves Cry.”

“Gold Dust Woman” served as a showstopper, with Nicks dancing and shaking her hair, then challenging the audience – many of whom were in her age bracket – to do the same when they got home.

Stevie Nicks & The Pretenders The Spectrum Center November 10, 2016 Charlotte, North Carolina

by: jpdeuce73

immusicmag.com

Stevie Nicks rolled into Charlotte, North Carolina on November 10 and she brought the Pretenders along with her on her 24 Karat Gold Tour. Now, just stop for a moment and process something. Those two acts have almost 100 years of musical experience between them. Just take a few minutes to think about how amazing that is and of all the amazing music that they have given to us. With that in mind, we knew that we were in for a treat at this show because we were about to witness musical royalty up on that stage.

Full review with a ton of pics at immusicmag.com

Review Stevie Nicks Live in Nashville with The Pretenders Nov 7, 2016

Stevie Nicks good as gold at Bridgestone
by: Juli Thanki
The Tennesean

Photo: LiveNation

In 2014, Stevie Nicks released "24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault," featuring new versions of demos she made over the last 40-plus years. That album was recorded in Nashville, and on Monday night, Nicks' 24 Karat Gold Tour came to Bridgestone Arena.

For two hours, Nicks enchanted the crowd with her solo material and a few Fleetwood Mac favorites including "Dreams" and "Gold Dust Woman," both from 1977 masterpiece "Rumours." Some of the night's biggest cheers came when, during "Stand Back," she broke into her trademark twirling, which, though perhaps slower than it was 35 years ago, was no less enthusiastic. Nicks accompanied her songs with stories from her career in rock music as well as the occasional prop: At one point, she came onstage in the cape she wore for her 1981 solo debut album "Bella Donna." Showing it to the crowd, she announced, "My mom was very frugal. She would say, if she was standing here right now, 'That was a very good choice in fabric...look at how long it's lasted.' "

The Pretenders kicked off the night with an hour-long opening set that interspersed classic hits like “Back on the Chain Gang,” “Don’t Get Me Wrong” and “I’ll Stand By You” with songs from new album, “Alone.” which lead singer Chrissie Hynde recorded in Nashville; the record was produced by Dan Auerbach and features, among other local musicians, guitar great Duane Eddy. Hynde returned to the stage later for one of the night's highlights: she and Nicks sang “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” a track that Nicks originally recorded with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

After ending the show with “Edge of Seventeen,” Nicks returned for a two-song encore: “Rhiannon” and “Leather and Lace." The latter, she said, was a song Waylon Jennings originally asked her to write for him and Jessi Colter. The country music couple didn't record it, but Nicks and Don Henley had a hit with the song 35 years ago.

Earlier in the show, when reflecting on her lengthy career, Nicks gave Nashville's struggling musicians a pep talk: “Any of you out there who have come to this city of dreams… don’t give up… you just have to reach out there and get that star."

Review - Stevie Nicks Live in Atlanta with The Pretenders Nov 6, 2016

Concert review:
Stevie Nicks enchants faithful fans at Atlanta show
Melissa Ruggieri
AJC.com

As women rock stars go, there aren’t many cooler than Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde.

At 68 and 65, respectively, they look refreshed, focused and as if they want to keep making music for several more decades. They also sound robust, with any previously ragged edges to their voices smoothed by care.

This “24 Karat Gold” tour, which packed three-quarters of Philips Arena Sunday night, is Nicks’ solo ride, her (clearly joyful) diversion after spending three years on the road within the confines and endless compromises of Fleetwood Mac.

But by slotting Hynde and The Pretenders for an hour-long opening set, Nicks is also giving fans a whopping injection of female-fueled musical power.

The ageless Hynde, in tight jeans and lightened hair, stalked the stage while speak-singing the new “Alone,” the title track of The Pretenders’ recently-released 10th studio album.

Only drummer Martin Chambers remains with Hynde from the original lineup and he provided plenty of heft from behind his Plexiglas cage as he pumped through “Back on the Chain Gang” and the joyful rockabilly bounce of “Don’t Get Me Wrong.”

But Hynde appeared to enjoy playing off younger players James Walbourne on guitar and Nick Wilkinson on bass – all the while looking as if she could eat them alive.

She strapped on a guitar to toss out the dirty chords that signal “Message of Love” and stripped to a black Elvis T-shirt to unveil the sumptuous opening riff of “Chain Gang.” Her powerful voice rang clearly on the lighters-up power ballad “I’ll Stand By You” and she nimbly snatched a harmonica from her back pocket for the signature break in “Middle of the Road.”

With a pack of solid new tunes to sell – the new melodic rocker “Holy Commotion!” is making noise on the international charts – Hynde re-affirmed that she will never, ever go quietly.

About 30 minutes after The Pretenders’ rollicking set, an amber hue bathed the stage and the goddess Stevie arrived, clad in her uniform of black – jagged-edged dress, vest, boots – and ready to shake her fringe-adorned tambourine to “Gold and Braid.”

She immediately set the tone for what would be a two-hour-plus romp through her lengthy solo catalog – even digging out the Buckingham/Nicks classic “Crying in the Night” for the hardcore fans – by telling the fawning crowd that she realized after the Fleetwood Mac tour, “I have to do something different this time…If I can’t do what I want to do for a change, then why am I doing it?”

Plenty of hits salted the set – from the sublime “If Anyone Falls” with its romantic synthesizers to Nicks-penned Mac favorite “Dreams” (which, she reminded, was the band’s only No. 1 hit) to a disco-lighted “Stand Back.”

Hynde, who barely had time to towel off, returned for a fantastic duet with Nicks on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” The pair gave the song a twist, leaving guitarist – and longtime Nicks accomplice — Waddy Wachtel to handle most of Tom Petty’s verses in a he said/she said face off.

But this show was indeed a love letter to the faithful, to those who thrilled more to the opening notes of “Outside the Rain” than any classic rock nugget and who never thought they would hear the little-played title tracks of her beloved early-‘80s solo efforts, “Bella Donna” and “The Wild Heart” performed live.

Nicks, who was relentlessly warm, gracious and funny (“This is Music 101 and I’M the teacher!” she giggled), also proved an eager historian, sharing stories with fans about the origins of many of her deepest cuts, such as the rootsy poem-turned-hopeful-anthem “New Orleans,” which Nicks wrote for the city in the throes of Hurricane Katrina.

She and her six-piece band and two backup singers – forever friend Sharon Celani and ‘80s powerhouse vocalist Marilyn Martin – performed on a  stage framed by lighted panels meant to look like pieces of a photo frame, a video screen behind them showing a combination of ethereal images and vintage Nicks photos.

As she sang, her unmistakable voice galloping through “Starshine” — a song recorded with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – and soaring on the piano ballad “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream),” Nicks subconsciously whipped the sides of her dress or tangled her hands in the mass of ribbons wrapped around her mic stand.

She indeed twirled a bit during “Stand Back” and, as smoke curled across the screen and the telltale cowbell echoed through the arena, worked into a hair-whipping frenzy at the peak of the always-dramatic “Gold Dust Woman.”

Nicks’ well-documented history with Prince was illustrated during a charging rendition of “Edge of Seventeen,” with Wachtel adding even more razor-like riffing at the start of the song. White lights snapped and images of doves flashed across the screen with photos of Prince stamped behind them – nothing else needed to be said about his influence.

Nicks addressed fans several times with genuine warmth, and also wanted to leave them with some hope and what seemed like a bit of motherly wisdom.

“In this crazy world that we live in right now, just remember, when you get crazy, turn on the radio, play some music,” she said before her encore.

Lesson learned.

Full review with photos at ajc.com

Review - Stevie Nicks Live in Tampa with The Pretenders Nov 2, 2016

PHOTO BY: CAESAR CARBAJAL

Review:
Steve Nicks, The Pretenders connect to fans with intimate, rare songs set at Amalie Arena
11.02.16 (w/photos)

BY: GABE ECHAZABAL
Creative Loafing

Stevie Nicks has nothing to prove. The famed 68-year old free spirited chanteuse has been singing professionally for most of her life and has deservedly earned the distinction of being one of the most successful female artists of the rock n’ roll era. Whether fronting the enormously popular band Fleetwood Mac or as a prolific solo artist, Nicks has garnered one of the most faithful and passionate fan bases of all time. She sounds like no one else in the biz and her unique look, style, fashion sense and mystical, magical aura are all part of what sets her apart from everyone else.

So, with that type of dedicated audience hanging on her every move, it’d be so easy for Nicks to hit the road between gargantuan Mac tours and wheel out a trite greatest hits package tour without much thought or effort. But this is where Nicks differs from the rest of the pack: for her current jaunt around the globe, the newly launched “24 Karat Gold Tour” (named after a recent release consisting of many previously unreleased songs and recordings), Nicks has instead opted to delve deep into the vaults to offer her most loyal an opportunity to revel in songs that even the most ardent fan has no doubt ever heard played in concert.

Stevie Nicks Live in Sunrise, FL November 4, 2016

Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders Live in Sunrise, Florida

Embed from Getty Images

More Photos:
Rex Features
USA Today

Stevie Nicks set to perform at Tom Petty MusiCares Person Of The Year Concert

Tom Petty MusiCares Tribute Lines Up Foo Fighters, Stevie Nicks, Don Henley, Kings Of Leon,
Randy Newman, & More
Stereogum

Tom Petty is this year’s MusiCares Person Of The Year, and the initial lineup for the accompanying tribute concert has been announced: Foo Fighters, Don Henley, Norah Jones, Kings Of Leon, Randy Newman, Stevie Nicks, Lucinda Williams, Gary Clark Jr., Jeff Lynne, George Strait, Jackson Browne, Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, Elle King, Regina Spektor, and the Bangles will all perform Petty songs. That’s quite a list! T Bone Burnett is the show’s musical director, and Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers will close out the night with a performance of their own.

The MusicCares gala, which will be held on Feb. 10 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will begin with a silent auction followed by a dinner, the tribute concert, and the award presentation. GRAMMY week will conclude with the 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on Feb. 12.

Grammy.org