By Joey Guerra / Houston Chronicle
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Somewhere amid the first few songs of Fleetwood Mac’s more than two-hour set Wednesday at Toyota Center, Lindsey Buckingham explained what he called an “axiom” of the music business.
“If it works, run it into the ground and move on,” he said
It was his way of saying that the Mac was most certainly not doing that and a proper introduction to “Sad Angel,” a feisty song from a new EP released in April.
But really, what fans came for were the classics, the unspoken stories, the still-potent chemistry between Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. That’s not running anything into the ground. It’s simply honoring the work.
“Every time we come back together, it’s different,” Buckingham said. “You’d think after this long there would be nothing left to discover. It appears that there are still quite a few chapters left in the book of Fleetwood Mac.”
Indeed, there’s still something exciting about all of these songs. A trio from 1977′s Rumours album — “Second Hand News, “The Chain,” “Dreams” — set a celebratory, sensual tone. People crowded around the lip of the stage and stayed there, dancing and singing to every chorus, guitar lick and drum solo. ”Rhiannon” was the final push to get the lower and upper levels out of their seats.
Nicks flowed in her signature scarves and sparkle and told the crowd she’d lived in Texas for five years. (El Paso, to be exact, when she was a girl.) Buckingham was chatty and excitable, stomping his feet and bending his knees like a kid after hammering into any number of songs.
There was an extended, excellent tribute to the band’s originally misunderstood Tusk album that included “Not That Funny,” the thundering title track and Nicks warbling on “Sisters of the Moon.” Much has been made about the change in her vocals, the lowering of keys, the weather of age. But she sounded nothing less than sweet and sincere throughout the evening.
And when she glided over to Buckingham during a heartfelt “Sara,” took his mic for the final line and gave him a hug, there was some bit of unspoken magic between them.
Buckingham was reliably excellent on “Big Love;” “Landslide” is still a deceptively sweet tearjerker; and Nicks did the spin during “Gypsy.” (You know the one.) “Without You,” a lost song from the Buckingham Nicks era, was another highlight. And Nicks was bathed in yellow light and one of many shawls during “Gold Dust Woman.”
“I’m So Afraid” rustled several people into the aisles and up the stairs for a break, but they missed Buckingham’s sensational guitar work. They were back at full focus during Nicks solo tune “Stand Back,” even if it felt a bit loud and messy.
The blaring, triumphant “Go Your Own Way” set the band up for a series of encores that included “World Turning,” a Fleetwood drum solo, “Don’t Stop,” “Silver Springs” and, appropriately enough, “Say Goodbye.” (Some folks skipped out on the final two songs, thinking the show was done.)
“You guys really are the dreamcatchers. You listen to them (songs) as if you’re listening to them for the very first time. And you’ve been doing that for 35 years,” Nicks said. “We want all your dreams to come true. We want love for you.”
Setlist
“Second Hand News”
“The Chaim”
“Dreams”
“Sad Angel”
“Rhiannon”
“Not That Funny”
“Tusk”
“Sisters of the Moon”
“Sara”
“Big Love”
“Landslide”
“Never Going Back Again”
“Without You”
“Gypsy”
“Eyes of the World”
“Gold Dust Woman”
“I’m So Afraid”
“Stand Back”
“Go Your Own Way”
“World Turning”
“Don’t Stop”
“Silver Springs”
“Say Goodbye”
