Review Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders - Chicago December 3, 2016

Stevie Nicks dazzles at the United Center
by Althea Legaspi
Chicago Tribune - View the Photo Gallery

Photo: United Center

Stevie Nicks' recent musical forays may find her mining the past to cast songs in a new light, but in so doing, she's forged a strong path forward, filtered through the wisdom she's gained. At United Center on Saturday, the icon breathed new life into decades-old songs, revisited early underrated treasures and peppered in megahits to satisfy superfans and recent acolytes alike in a two-hour set that reinforced that timeless songwriting endures.

Nicks is currently on her "24 Karat Gold Tour," which features live takes on newly recorded, previously unreleased demos culled from her storied, 40-plus-year career, which appear on 2014's "24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault." The set also featured material from her first two solo records, 1981's "Bella Donna" and 1983's "The Wild Heart," which were reissued last month, as well as some of her Fleetwood Mac songs.

And though the latter material, which included an affecting "Gypsy" and a rousing, extended "Gold Dust Woman," were fan favorites, there was a certain freedom to be found in her solo work. Nicks is a perpetual role model: a trailblazer who's had a valiant career alongside her trials, from overcoming substance abuse to tangled relationships, and come out stronger.

Nicks' mystique and bewitching charm permeated the show, from her signature flowing black dress paired with shawls and capes to her trademark twirls and sultry rasp with its enchanting, indelible hue, though time may have slightly compressed her range. She also pulled back the curtain on the origins of many songs, which added a rare, welcomed intimacy to the set.

This gave insight into tunes such as the standout "Starshine," which she wrote in Tom Petty's basement, and the disco-fueled "Stand Back," which was inspired by the late Prince. Her humorous admission about the oldest song in the set, 1973's Buckingham/Nicks song "Crying in the Night" ("At 22, I don't know where these words came from") showcased that her poetic musings don't have to be literal to evoke emotion. "Wild Heart" and a sterling "Rhiannon" were also highlights.

Songs such as the affecting set closer "Landslide" and "Edge of Seventeen" sagely referred to the passage of time. Though written three decades prior, these songs' themes of love and loss seemed to resonate more deeply with age. The soothsaying chanteuse's gifts extended to her choice of collaborators. Chrissie Hynde — whose stunning voice buoyed her rocking opening set with The Pretenders, which also included timeless hits ("Brass in Pocket") and newer gems ("Alone") – joined Nicks for the awesome "Stop Dragging My Heart Around." Hynde also discussed religious tolerance, the only political statement of the night, before performing "Holy Commotion."

In an era that can be rather antagonistic and ageist, particularly towards women, both Nicks and Hynde's performances were empowering. Beyond surviving, they've persevered, and continue to excel at their craft. "Crazy as life is," Nicks advised at the end of the show, "Stay in the path of love."

Review Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders at MSG New York City December 1, 2016

Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders Rise Above the Fray at Madison Square Garden
by Andrew Unterberger
Billboard

Embed from Getty Images

The legendary rock acts paired for a night of musical perserverance during Nicks' 24 Karat Gold Tour stop in New York.

"It's a pleasure to be back in New York with a message of love!" declared Chrissie Hynde, legendary frontwoman for Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Pretenders, as her band indeed launched into the martial swing of their 1981 classic "Message of Love" on Thursday night (Dec. 1). After beginning their opening set with two riotous numbers off the group's fine new LP Alone, "Message" properly jolted the packed crowd at Manhattan's Madison Square Garden to life, and Chrissie & Co. took it from there, captivating with an expertly paced set that reminded why the group still has to be included in any discussion of the greatest active rock bands.

Despite leading with some new songs and making a couple early deep-cut detours (Hynde's 2014 solo single "Down the Wrong Way," Get Close paean to femininity "Hymn to Her"), the band mostly kept to the hits and the fan favorites afterwards -- even indulging the crowd with a singalong of 1994 power ballad "I'll Stand By You." But the now-quintet kept it tight throughout, and though Martin Chambers -- the only original member remaining besides Hynde -- may no longer quite live up to Chrissie's billing of him as "The World's Greatest Rock Drummer," the group still shredded their way through ragers new and old with typical Akron-via-U.K. muscle. (Appropriately, Hynde got some of the biggest cheers of the night when she rolled up the sleeves on her Elvis T-shirt.)

The Pretenders stayed mostly apolitical throughout their set, though perhaps inevitably for a show by a punk-bred band in the year 2016, there was a sense of desperation throughout, as songs like "My City Was Gone" took on extra significance, and even the group's more personal numbers felt as hefty as hymns. Hynde introduced their latest single "Holy Communion" as a song about "religious tolerance," but then shortened that to just "tolerance," declaring hopefully: "If you're answering to him" -- pointing skyward -- "You're probably going to be all right."

Of course, the real figure of worship for Hynde on stage was her touring partner, the iconic singer/songwriter and Fleetwood Mac frontwoman Stevie Nicks, who Hynde gushed about throughout her set ("It's like being on tour with Elizabeth Taylor!"). The Church of Stevie was definitely in session from the opening songs of her headlining set, and her lead disciple even came back on stage to serve as her Tom Petty on a stellar duet of Nicks' breakout solo hit, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." "I'm gonna marry her," declared an ecstatic Hynde after the performance. "So don't get any ideas."

Even with that early moment of fan wish-fulfillment, Nicks made it clear early in her set that crowd-pleasing wasn't going to be her primary goal for the evening. "It's not gonna be the same show that you're used to seeing," she warned of her gig to come, instead promising "magical gothic things from my gothic trunk of secrets and mysteries." What followed was a set full of little-heard rarities like "Starshine," a reject from 1981 solo debut Bella Donna that eventually ended up on 2014's 24 Karat Gold - Songs From the Vault and "Crying in the Night," a Buckingham-Nicks-era favorite that Nicks rarely played live before this tour.

The centerpiece of the performance was undoubtedly "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)," the dramatic power ballad whose recording reinvigorated Nicks' solo career in the early '10s, and which she now calls "my favorite song I've ever written." The singer/songwriter, cultivating a family atmosphere throughout the evening with her convivial storytelling -- even the introduction of her band, which she promised to keep brief, was deeply felt enough to take ten minutes -- explained the origins of the song as having been inspired by the doomed romance at the heart of the Twilight film franchise. "There's nothing like a tragic love affair," Nicks concluded.

For most of her set, Nicks kept Fleetwood Mac material to a minimum, only including 1982's "Gypsy" among her first 14 songs. It was enough delayed gratification that when her drummer launched into the arid, cowbell-led clomp of the Rumours closer "Gold Dust Woman," the building erupted in release. That rapture that only built through set closer "Edge of Seventeen" -- with a "When Doves Cry"-cribbed outro, paying tribute to Nicks' late friend Prince, who she'd previously talked about building early hit "Stand Back" with -- and first encore, the witchy-woman all-timer "Rhiannon."

The night closed with the Mac perennial "Landslide," and 40 years and hundreds of covers later, there's still nothing that properly prepares you for the sound of Nicks' simultaneously gravelly and feathery wisp intoning that first "Took my love, and I took it down..." In a time of national tumult and insecurity, the song can't help but take on a "Hallelujah"-like resonance, and its healing powers were on full display at MSG as the crowd belted every word along with their leader. "Rise above the fray," Nicks advised as her band exited. "Get in your car, and turn it up."

SETLIST

The Pretenders:

Alone
Gotta Wait
Message of Love
Private Life
Down the Wrong Way
Hymn to Her
Back on the Chain Gang
I'll Stand By You
Holy Communion
My City Was Gone
Stop Your Sobbing
Don't Get Me Wrong
Mystery Achievement
Middle of the Road
Brass in Pocket

Stevie Nicks:

Gold and Braid
If Anyone Falls
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (w/ Chrissie Hynde)
Belle Fleur
Gypsy
Wild Heart
Bella Donna
Enchanted
New Orleans
Starshine
Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)
Stand Back
Crying in the Night
If You Were My Love
Gold Dust Woman
Edge of Seventeen

Encore:
Rhiannon
Landslide

More videos here

Review Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders - Toronto November 29, 2016

Nothing beats a night with Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde
The Pretenders rocked, and Nicks drew from her "black gothic trunk of mysterious and fantastical things"
BY CHAKA V. GRIER
Now Toronto

View Photos: Lithium Magazine

Setting off an unbelievable night of rock at the Air Canada Centre were the Pretenders, led by the charismatic Chrissie Hynde, whose appearance instantly got fans on their feet, where they stayed for the rest of the night. No introduction was needed when the wild-maned, denim-clad singer sporting large hoop earrings, an Elvis tee and ruby red blazer dove into the 16-song set starting with Gotta Wait from the Pretenders' 2016 album, Alone.

“Always a pleasure to be back in Toronto,” said Hynde. “The reason we’re here is to love each other, take care of each other,” she said, ahead of hit Stand By You.

As with Stevie Nicks, whose performance would finish the night as high as Hynde began it, Hynde has a voice that's still as recognizable and evocative as ever, moving from smoothly seductive on classics like Don’t Get Me Wrong and Brass In Pocket to impassioned on Holy Commotion. Her playful ease and glammy showmanship set the tone for the night, making her the perfect ying to the other great’s yang.

It takes a lot to become a star, but it takes even more to turn into a legend, especially in your own time. And in a year that's seen the unprecedented loss of one legendary superstar after another, seeing Stevie Nicks live and still at the top of her game made it all the more poignant and exhilarating.

After opener Gold And Braid, she introduced the next few hours as music drawn from her “black gothic trunk of mysterious and fantastical things.” The two-hour show focused on giving life to a slew of unreleased tracks and never-before-sang-in-concert songs that she had discarded from previous albums, revamped in ways that she now preferred over the originals, or never had a chance to perform in the first place, like Wild Heart.

And though songs like New Orleans may not have been familiar even to the most hardcore of Nicks fans, she sprinkled in classics like Stand Back (inspired by Prince’s Little Red Corvette – “He disappeared into the purple haze” she chuckled, sharing the story of his brief but magical guitar contribution to the original recording) and Fleetwood Mac’s Gypsy and Rhiannon, helping the audience feel involved in the night.

Her songwriting relationship with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers also played a significant role in the show, starting with the Petty-written song that helped her solo career take flight, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around. Hynde joined her onstage for that one, leading Nicks to conclude that “I’m destined to be in duets”. We also got Starshine from 2014's 24 Karat Gold album, a song Nicks has said she wrote while hanging out with Petty.

Clad in her iconic jet-black, twirl-ready frock, a fringed tambourine hanging casually off her arm, the reigning Queen of Rock subtly transformed into different mythical characters – fringed priestess, stage shaman, sorceress – with each song and wardrobe change. After a moving performance of Bella Donna, dedicated to her mother who died three years ago, she proudly displayed the gorgeously preserved silk chiffon Bella Donna cape, circa 1981. “It’s silk chiffon. That’s what they make bullet things out of, so if you’re going to invest your money into something, right now, in this political world, silk chiffon,” she joked.

The most breathtaking moment of the night occurred during the Twilight-saga-inspired track Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream), which Nicks credits with bringing her back into the music industry as a songwriter after nearly a decade of not releasing new material. She stretched the thrilling song to over seven minutes of pure magic.

Though the world sees her as an icon, Nicks sees herself as a poet, writer, archivist and chronicler, weaving captivating behind-the-music stories with each song. She imbued the fervent arena with an MTV Unplugged kind of intimacy, and shaped the show with the peaks and valleys only a seasoned performer is capable of.

After introducing her masterful nine-piece band – she’s been working with many of the members for 40 years or more – she ended the 17-song set with a double encore that included 1981's Edge Of Seventeen, replete with a collage of Prince photos filling the screen behind her, and tear-jerker Landslide, which left the emotional audience right in the palm of her enchanted hands.

Reviews Stevie Nicks with The Pretenders Live in Detroit Nov 27, 2016

Stevie Nicks and the Pretenders rock fans for three hours at The Palace
By Edward Pevos
Mlive.com - includes Photos

 Photos by Tanya Moutzalias - View Gallery

AUBURN HILLS, MI - They have two of the most distinctive voices in music history, Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde. Question is: How do they sound today?

The music icons were in concert at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Nicks' "24 Karat Gold Tour" on Sunday, November 27, 2016.

The Pretenders:

Chrissie Hynde put a little more umph when singing the "Brass in Pocket" line: "been driving Detroit leaning." She and the Pretenders are fresh off the release of their 10th studio album, "Alone," in 2016.

Hynde and the band performed some new stuff, some old stuff and the band's biggest hits including "I'll Stand By You," "Back On The Chain Gang", "Don't Get Me Wrong," and the aforementioned "Brass in Pocket."

To put it short and sweet, Hynde performed nearly every lyric and every note of each song the way it was meant to be performed. The 65 year old's voice is as powerful and flawless as ever. Hearing her live, along with a solid band was a real treat before the main course.

Stevie Nicks:

That main course was the living legend herself, Stevie Nicks. When you see her without her Fleetwood Mac band mates, you are treated to not only some of her big Mac hits, but many of her solo classics and duets.

No, that wasn't Tom Petty singing with Nicks on their classic "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." Nicks brought out the Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde for a fun rendition of the 1981 hit which originally featured Petty.

Nicks nearly 20 song setlist also included a few songs from her newest and 8th studio album, 2014's "24 Karat Gold." The album is actually filled with new versions of demos that Nicks recorded from 1969 to 1987 with a couple from the 90s. Each song has a story, and Nicks made sure to take a minute to tell the crowd about how her songs came to life.

In her two hour set, Nicks mixed in three Fleetwood Mac hits with "Gypsy," "Gold Dust Woman" and "Rhiannon." Her solo hits included "Stand Back" and "Edge of Seventeen." She also threw in some deeper tracks with "If Anyone Falls," "Wild Heart," "Bella Donna" and "Enchanted."

The 68 year old Nicks still has that amazing voice which is both hypnotizing and mesmerizing. I think fans would have liked to have heard a couple more Fleetwood Mac songs, and I'm not sure what happened to "Leather and Lace," the show closer for most of the tour so far, but if you get a chance to see Nicks in concert, it's well worth your time and money. You never know how many times she'll be back again, with or without Mac.

Review: Stevie Nicks spreads 24 karat gold dust at The Palace
By Gary Graff
The Oakland Press

AUBURN HILLS -- At the start of her concert Sunday night, Nov. 27, Stevie Nicks told the crowd at The Place that, “This show is not what you are going to think it will be.”

In other words, it was time for something other than a pro forma parade of hits -- which Nicks certainly has the catalog to do -- over its two hours and 17 songs.

Those hits were there, of course, from a pounding “Stop Draggin’ My Heart” around with Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, who opened the show, guesting to Fleetwood Mac favorites such as “Gypsy,” “Gold Dust Woman” and “Rihannon” and Nicks solo successes like “Stand Back” and “Edge Of Seventeen.” But the show -- ostensibly promoting Nicks’ 2014 rarities album “24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault” -- was also designed as a dive into what she called “the gothic trunk of magical, mysterious things, something different for me after all these years.” And that troll unearthed some of the night’s best moments.

Nicks and her eight-member band started the night digging deep, in fact, with the country-flavored “Gold And Braid” from her 1988 box set “The Enchanted Works of Stevie Nicks” and a slightly twanged-up arrangement of “If Anyone Falls” from her 1983 sophomore solo album, “Wild Heart.” Nicks was in robust if not always accurate voice -- shuffling around the stage in formidable high heels and sporting eight different shawls during the course of the show plus, for one song, a full-length white fur coat -- as she pulled out “24 Karat Gold” rockers such as “Belle Fleur” and “Starshine” (a collaboration with Tom Petty that sat in the vaults for two decades) and the moody epic “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream).”

She neatly pared the title tracks of her first two albums, “Bella Donna” and “Wild Heart,” draped in the original shawl she wore on the album cover for the former, while a muscular performance of the 1973 Buckingham Nicks track “Crying In The Night” added a bit of pre-Fleetwood Mac fame perspective to the show.

Nicks had plenty of stories to tell as well, some specifically about the songs, others about the circumstances surrounding them. She spoke about the struggle, especially during the early 80s, of balancing her solo work with Fleetwood Mac -- “They’re not understanding. Very nice people, but not very understanding,” Nicks noted -- and she paid tribute to Prince with video screen images during “Stand Back” and “Edge Of Seventeen.” “Prince and I were friends,” Nicks acknowledged. “There’s a story. I’m not ready to tell it yet. It was a long, crazy friendship, a lot of phone calls, a lot of philosophy...”

Nicks’ show accented the songs with plenty of eye candy, too, including animations, prepared videos and vintage photos on the rear-stage LED screen, while orb-shaped chandeliers and light bulbs floated overhead in shifting formations. The effect may have indeed been a different kind of show for Nicks, but also proof that different can be good.

The Pretenders’ generous, hour-long opening set, meanwhile, was its own revelation. With Hynde’s punky swagger still evident -- and her voice as potent now as it was when the group emerged during the late 70s -- the quintet touched on its new album, “Alone” and Hynde’s 2014 solo album “Stockholm,” but mostly tore through 80s touchstones such as “Message Of Love,” “Back On The chain Gang,” “Don’t Get Me Wrong,” My City Was Gone,” “Mystery Achievement” and a ferocious “Middle Of The Road.” Hynde and company, including original drummer Martin Chambers, effectively dialed it down for torchy, soulful performances of “Hymn To her” and “I’ll Stand By You,” and by the time it wrapped with “Brass In Pocket” the group had done considerably more than just warm the Palace crowd up for Nicks.

Review Stevie Nicks Live at Mohegan Sun Casino Nov 25, 2016

Stevie Nicks, Pretenders thrill Mohegan Sun Casino crowd (review)
By Chris Dondoros
Masslive.com

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – More than four decades into her musical career, Stevie Nicks has a lot of stories to tell.

Fleetwood Mac's most recognizable voice stopped by the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night, treating concert-goers to a career-spanning set – and career-spanning anecdotes – as part of the "24 Karat Gold" tour.

Known as the "Reigning Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" to fans, Nicks lived up to that title early on in her set, with a humble demeanor juxtaposed against a voice that – despite decades of touring – sounded nearly identical to recorded versions of songs such as openers "Gold and Braid" and "If Anyone Falls."

Nicks also wasn't afraid to hit some of Fleetwood Mac's most memorable tunes early on in her 19-song set, including a memorable performance of "Gypsy," complete with Lindsey Buckingham's memorable guitar melodies performed courtesy of longtime guitarist "Waddy Wachtel," who Nicks said she has known since 1971 and whose discography as a session guitarist spans from James Taylor to Iggy Pop.

Unfortunately, however, fans hoping for a performance of "The Chain" or by-the-book "greatest hits" concert would be disappointed.

Instead, Nicks and her backing band took a fresh look at "deep cuts" from her first two solo efforts – 1981's, "Bella Donna" and 1983's "Wild Heart" for much of her set, alongside tracks off Nicks' 2014 effort, "24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault," which were accompanied with stories from Nicks about how each song was written and subsequently "lost" over the years.

Notably, according to Nicks, "Starshine" started off as a 1979 demo written and originally performed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers between album cycles, which left the song unreleased until 2014.

In one of the night's most notable moments, Nicks invited Chrissie Hynde – who opened the show with seminal New Wave band the Pretenders – on stage for a performance of another Petty tune, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," with Hynde and Wachtel providing Nicks support during the song's choruses, originally sung by Petty.

With much of her set moving along at a slow pace, Nicks would save some of the night's best performances for last, starting with a brooding rendition of 2011's "Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)," which Nicks said was inspired by the film "Twilight: New Moon" and inspired her to release her first solo album in nearly a decade. She also offered the one-two punch of Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman" and an extended rendition of solo effort "Edge of Seventeen."

Nicks rounded out the show with a pair of encores that aptly paid respect to the two distinctive eras of her career: concert favorite "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac, which Nicks said she has performed at every concert since 1975, and "Leather and Lace" from 1981's "Bella Donna."

Hynde and the Pretenders opened the show with a lengthy set to an already-full arena that included back-to-back performances of hit songs "I'll Stand By You" and "Back on the Chain Gang" along with "Brass In Pocket."

Happy 71st Birthday to John McVie

Happy Birthday Johnny! Have an amazing day! Wishing all the health and happiness in the world.