Seeing Fleetwood Mac in 2019 is a strange experience — but they’ve always been a strange band
By Dan Condon
ABC.net.au
Photos Robbie Smith
By Dan Condon
ABC.net.au
Photos Robbie Smith
If their songs weren't so strong, endurance may be Fleetwood Mac's greatest legacy
Thirty minutes into Fleetwood Mac's set at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre this week, Stevie Nicks admitted that she didn’t realise 'Black Magic Woman' was a Fleetwood Mac song until well after she’d joined the band.
It's an astounding admission. Sure, the song had been popularised by Santana's 1970 cover, but to not know the extent of your new band's catalogue – especially the hits – before joining is almost unthinkable.
But this says more about the strange and complex entity that is Fleetwood Mac than it does Nicks' own knowledge gaps. This is a band whose history is confusing, whose music is wildly diverse, and who continue to keep us guessing.
Who would have thought that we'd still be seeing Fleetwood Mac in 2019? Moreover, who'd have thought that Neil Finn and Tom Petty collaborator Mike Campbell would join the band?
You don't get a timeline like this without a strange history.
That's why the prospect of seeing this wildly new incarnation of one of the history's most celebrated rock bands doesn't seem completely unfaithful. Consistency is not Fleetwood Mac's strong-point. When their line-up has remained staid, their very existence has been precarious, reportedly fraught with infighting and ill-feelings.
If nothing else, you have to respect the band's endurance. That they are still touring in any form feels almost miraculous.
But are they any good?