Christine McVie, all of the hits and more
Rock legends don’t come much bigger or more iconic than the Mac, and these shows look set to be typically historic. But what can fans expect from the most anticipated tour of 2013?
From rumours about Rumours, the return of Christine McVie, a hit-packed set list, celebrities and specials guests, here are 12 very special reasons to get excited at Fleetwood Mac playing live in London.
1. Christine McVie – She’s back in the Mac! Despite Stevie Nicks claiming that they were ‘never, ever, ever getting back together’, the reunion was confirmed earlier this year, with drummer Mick Fleetwood telling Gigwise: “I think she’s going to come and do the last two shows in London. It’s going to be great – Christine’s music is so much part of Fleetwood Mac. She’s been gone now for many, many years and she’s like my sister.”
2. Hits – When the band’s tour reached Dublin last week, they delighted fans with an epic, career-spanning 23 song set that packed in all of the fan favourites. Prepare to lose your mind to ‘The Chain’, ‘Dreams’, Rhiannon’, ‘Tusk’, ‘Don’t Stop’, ‘Go Your Own Way’ and many, many, many more.
3. All generations – Unlike some ‘classic’ bands, it won’t all be older people trying to relive their youth. Fleetwood Mac manage to appeal to everyone, so expect to see a complete mix of people – from children to grandparents.
4. The famous chemistry – The onstage tension between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks is a thing of legend. From the way they hug at the end of ‘Sara’ to Stevie turning her back on Lindsey during the ‘shacking up’ line in ‘Go Your Own Way’, the history between the two of them only serves to add an extra-special magic to the songs.
5. Lots of love for Rumours: The tour happens to coincide with the re-release of the famous Rumours, which could lead to more songs than usual from the ’76 album. Stevie said to Rolling Stone, “There are a lot of songs on Rumours that are in the set no matter what. I think what will happen is we’ll end up talking about it onstage. Most of those songs are in our set anyway. We’ll just end up telling stories and talking about how these things happen. It’s always fun to share that with your audience.”
6. Eight minute drum solo – Last time of touring, Mick Fleetwood chose to perform an eight minute drum solo that teetered on the balance of brilliant and insane. As one reviewer put it, “This was a refreshingly spontaneous moment, including mostly incomprehensible calls from the drummer to the audience, ‘Are you blah blah blah?'”
7. Stevie Nicks solo material: The band dropped in the Nicks’ solo track ‘Stand Back’ at their Dublin show, and with her new LP In Your Dreams out soon, the band could well delight London with a couple more songs.
8. Stevie Nicks’ trademark twirls – Google ‘Stevie Nicks twirl’ and there are tons of results. Stevie’s trademark twirl is a thing to behold – and we doubt we’ll ever know how she manages that without seemingly ever getting dizzy. Witchcraft?!
9. Something different – Stevie Nicks told The Guardian, “This is going to be a very different tour. The audience is going to see a very different Fleetwood Mac up there – we talked about how we really need to appreciate what we have and who we are and how far we’ve come.” So who knows what you could see – although there’s no doubt that whatever it is, it’ll be worth it.
10. Celebrities – Yup, prepare to get celeb-spotting for those famous few that managed to swag a free ticket. The Mac’s recent US tour attracted the likes of Nicole Richie and Jennifer Aniston. The least we can hope for in London is Fleetwood superfan Jeremy Clarkson.
11. Special guests? It’s pure speculation, but here’s hoping that the Mac ‘do a Rolling Stones’ and invite a special guest or two on stage. Heaven knows there must be a long line of artists queuing up to perform with them. Notably, The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart (pictured with the band here) recently worked with Nicks on her latest studio LP. Maybe he’ll come along?
12. A taste of what’s to come? Fear not, this may not be the last we’ve seen of The Mac. When asked if we can expect to see them at UK festivals next summer, Mick Fleetwood replied: “I hope so, I would love that. This has been a tough year on the road, but having said that, the boys in the band are hoping that our lady will think kindly about doing a few of the festivals.”
Andrew Trendell / Gigwise (UK) / Tuesday, September 24, 2013
