By Jerry Shriver / USA Today
Saturday, May 4, 2013
All the cool young kids flocked to the Gentilly stage to catch hot French pop band Phoenix execute songs from their new Bankrupt! album, along with irresistible hit Lisztomania from 2009. Given that they were scheduled against Fleetwood Mac, the size of their audience was impressive.
But lovers of classic Baby Boomer pop-rock, and their grandchildren, packed the huge field of the Acura stage to witness a wonderful reunion of Fleetwood Mac. The group in various configurations has been around since 1967, but the lineup on Saturday was the beloved classic version of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, missing only retired Christine McVie. The group paid loving tribute to its past, taking pains to explain the origins and context of the songs and digging out decades-old obscurities. Buckingham introduced several songs from 1979’s Tusk, an album he said was a turning point in their career. When it came to the classic hits, “Rhiannon” seemed perfunctory but the set reached its peak with a heartfelt “Landslide,” sung by Nicks with an air of resignation. Nicks, wearing a blue velvet long-sleeved gown with a gold wrap, charmed the crowd with a brief a capella version of “New Orleans” from her recent solo album, In Your Dreams.
The whole approach, though well-curated, seemed a bit too low-key for a festival crowd that had been camped in the mud for most of the day.
