REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Live in Austin, TX February 9, 2019

Fleetwood Mac Goes a New Way at Frank Erwin Center
Slow start aside, don’t dream it’s over

The Austin Chronicle
By Doug Freeman | Photos David Brendan Hall

When Fleetwood Mac rolled through Austin in 2015, Lindsey Buckingham provided the spark for the now half-century-old institution. With the longtime guitarist now unceremoniously fired, the double-axe add of Crowded House’s Neil Finn and Tom Petty mainstay Mike Campbell has received mixed reviews.

As irreplaceable as Buckingham, 69, may be, Fleetwood Mac’s new lineup ultimately proved a worthy evolution over the two-and-a-quarter-hour, 22-song showing this past Saturday night – even after a far from stellar beginning.

Working through a heavy dose of Rumours to start, hits “The Chain,” “Dreams,” and “Second Hand News” all spun out lethargically. Granted, nearly every song from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers struck familiar to the rafters-packed Erwin Center. Nevertheless, the kickoff run churned rote and uninspired.

The switch flipped six songs deep, as the core sextet – Mick Fleetwood, 71; John McVie, 73; Stevie Nicks, 70; Christine McVie, 75; Finn, 60; and Campbell, 69 – reclaimed founding F-Mac guitarist Peter Green’s “Black Magic Woman.” Nicks enchanted on lead with one hand gloved in lace and the other leather, but Campbell lit the fire as he worked the stage and guitar throughout the jam, ultimately pulling up next to Christine McVie’s keys, hat reverentially in hand.

REVIEW FLEETWOOD MAC LIVE IN AUSTIN FEBRUARY 9, 2019

Fleetwood Mac makes way without Buckingham at Erwin Center
By Peter Blackstock | Photos Photos: Ana Ramirez
Austin360

Last year’s trademark Fleetwood Mac drama that led up to the group’s current tour had already been plenty: the dismissal a year ago of guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, who then took legal action that was settled out of court. But the day before the tour pulled into Austin for Saturday’s Erwin Center show, word circulated that Buckingham had undergone emergency open heart surgery a week ago.

Buckingham’s reportedly recovering, though there’s concern about possibly permanent vocal cord damage. At 69, he’s the youngest of the five musicians who recorded the mid-1970s classic “Rumours” and “Fleetwood Mac,” which together sold more than 25 million copies and eventually put the band in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Recasting Fleetwood Mac without him was a challenge, though he’d been absent from the group for an extended stretch before, and Fleetwood Mac’s 52-year history is interwoven with significant lineup changes. Drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie, keyboardist Christine McVie and singer Stevie Nicks welcomed Crowded House leader Neil Finn and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell into the fold for this tour, which began last fall and continues through September of this year.

How’d it work? Well, mixed results. There are moments when they clearly miss Buckingham. Finn’s a fine singer and did his best on indelible Buckingham imprints such as “Second Hand News” and “Monday Morning,” though it was hard not to think of them as a Buckingham cover band in those moments. Finn couldn’t hit Lindsey’s high notes on “World Turning” (a Buckingham/Christine McVie co-write), though he seemed fully up to speed on “The Chain” and “Go Your Own Way,” definitive Fleetwood Mac numbers that bookended the main set.

REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Dallas, TX February 7, 2019

Fleetwood Mac played a landslide of greatest hits at Dallas concert, sans mention of Lindsey Buckingham
Guidelive.com
By Tiney Ricciardi

Fleetwood Mac's split with Lindsey Buckingham marked one of the biggest breakups of 2018. But if the iconic rock band's longtime guitarist and vocalist was missed Thursday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas, it wasn't obvious. 

Fans packed the venue, floor to rafters, for a two-hour journey through a collection of Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits. Throughout the show, the group proved to be an indomitable and engaging force, despite missing one of its core members.

Guitarist Mike Campbell (Tom Petty's Heartbreakers) and vocalist Neil Finn (Crowded House) joined singer Stevie Nicks, keyboardist Christine McVie, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitar player John McVie, expertly filling in the musical spaces left behind by Buckingham, who is said to have left over creative differences. Only once did any of the members seem to acknowledge their former bandmate, though they stopped short of mentioning of him by name. 

"What a crazy, magical ride it is, this band Fleetwood Mac," said namesake drummer Fleetwood about halfway through Thursday's set, addressing the crowd before turning to Campbell and Finn. "We're absolutely overjoyed to welcome you to the band."

REVIEW Fleetwood Mac Live in Dallas, TX February 7, 2019

Yesterday’s Gone, But Fleetwood Mac is Still Here
CODY STARR | Photo: Mike Brooks
Dallas Observer

If you were to make a short list of bands that shaped music during the post-Vietnam era of the 1970s, Fleetwood Mac is arguably in the top five. While Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Eagles and a host of others were easily holding down the rock ‘n’ roll, Fleetwood Mac found massive success on the pop end of the spectrum.

Having just acquired the romantically involved duo of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood’s band hit pay dirt with their 1975 self-titled album and topped it with 1977’s Rumours, which is one of the best-selling records of all time. Despite the commercial success, the band’s 50-year history of strife and dysfunctional behavior has resulted in numerous lineup changes. That tradition continued last year when Buckingham was fired just before the group embarked on their tour. With big shoes to fill, Fleetwood and company went big by enlisting the help of Mike Campbell (lead guitar of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and Neil Finn (lead vocals/guitar of Crowded House).

Thursday night, the newly revamped Fleetwood Mac lineup played to a sold-out American Airlines Center. Mac kicked off the show with longtime opener “The Chain.” Mick Fleetwood’s kick drum thumping in the darkness, joined by that signature guitar intro and reaching a crescendo with those big Fleetwood Mac harmonies belting, “Listen to the wind blow…” started the night off perfectly.

PHOTOS Fleetwood Mac Live in Houston February 5, 2019

Fleetwood Mac still casts a spell in Houston
By Joey Guerra

Fleetwood Mac's legacy is as much about music as it is drama. And they don't stop giving us what we want.
Houston Chronicle
Photos: Karen Warren

Lindsey Buckingham was fired from the band in early 2017 after Stevie Nicks issued an ultimatum -- it was her or him. Nicks is still with the band.

Buckingham was replaced by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Crowded House. The current An Evening with Fleetwood Mac tour boasts more than 50 dates, including Tuesday's show at Toyota Center.

Nicks was last here in 2016 for a solo show. Fleetwood Mac's last local performance was earlier than that.

The current setlist includes everything you want to hear: "The Chain," "Dreams," "Don't Stop," "Gold Dust Woman."

Photos Fleetwood Mac Live in Sioux Falls, SD February 2, 2019

Fleetwood Mac Sioux Falls, SD February 2, 2019
(Rescheduled show from October 24, 2018)

Photos: Photos by Chad Mercurio via Denny Sanford Premier Center