(Eric Brown)
Home » REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac @ The O2

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac @ The O2

It was Buckingham’s Palace on Friday night at The O2…

(Eric Brown)
(Eric Brown)

Rating: ★★★★☆

My tickets were booked 228 days before the gig. The first two shows having sold out within 10 minutes, it was lucky that an extra date was released that afternoon. These O2 gigs were highly sought-after and it was a privilege to be there. The question that loomed for all concerned was how well could they perform together 36 years after the release of their iconic Rumours album. The 2013/14 world tour coincided with a spate of band reunions. The Rolling Stones headlining that list, with mixed, but generally favourable reviews, most notably at this year’s Glastonbury. Would the FM band be a landslide success? Oh yes.

After a 20 minute delay, the band played in excess of two and a half hours including two encores, running right up to the 11pm curfew imposed by the venue.

The atmosphere was relatively muted for the opening number Second Hand News but the 15,000 strong audience soon warmed up to the opening riff of The Chain, which soon followed.

Lindsey Buckingham stole the vast majority of the limelight with an awesome all-round solo contribution on Big Love, which received one of many of the standing ovations across the night. As well as his excellent distinctive vocals, still powerful and nimble despite the passing of the years, stunning guitar solos were not in short-supply either and at one point I caught myself with my mouth hanging open.

Buckingham and Stevie Nicks often provided stories or explanations behind their songs. Nicks described the possible motivations for the rest of the band in take them in to the Fleetwood fold suggesting it was the way the vocalists formed triangular harmonies but thought the whole time Lindsey was thinking ‘well actually they really need a new lead guitarist, not sure why they need a cleaning lady’. They also had a quick kiss onstage quite early on, this was welcomed by whistles and cat-calls from the fans.

That ‘cleaning lady’ also maintained her superb vocals. While singing in a lower register than the Golden Years (which often threw me on the openings some of their most famous tracks) it meant that many songs had obviously been specially rearranged or redesigned. This was refreshing and made it more appealing as a live event. Nicks also sang a poem of hers that she had repeatedly lost and found, but which finally made it to the North Greenwich stage.

Go Your Own Way rocked the house as everyone clapped and chanted along to the classic chorus. The arena lights went up for this song and you could see all the fellow audience members which fed the collective enthusiasm and euphoria back into the crowd’s response.

A special word here for Mick Fleetwood on drums. Following World Turning he launched into a crazed off-the wall solo performance, playing up to the crowd for what felt like 10 minutes. Again, I was rather mesmerised so perhaps someone will know how long it actually was… He spent much of it not looking at his drums and shouting into the camera over his shoulder which projected his mad-eyed thrash onto the large screen backing the stage.

The wonderful Christine McVie made a special appearance for two encores. She rejoined the band on-stage for a crowd-pleasing Don’t Stop performance in the first, with an angelic rendition of Silver Springs and a final Sad Goodbye to end the second and close the night out. These were beautiful and showcased her part in Fleetwood Mac perfectly, but left a small part of me lamenting the absence of Little Lies and Everywhere, two of her other signature tunes.

The quality of the arena’s sound system was very high. This was the third date at the former Millennium Dome, therefore it may have benefited from some tweaks discovered in previous nights. The lighting and use of the big screens was inventive… artful (an eclipse of the sun doubling as an eye’s pupil and iris was a personal highlight) and interesting backgrounds (Windows screensaver-esque, think kaleidoscopes and symmetrical phasing patterns) were mixed in with extra large close ups of individual performers. The best use shown by a monotone, isolated shot of Lindsey Buckingham through Big Love allowing even those at the back see the hand-speed involved in his guitar master-class.


George Meixner / WhatCulture! (UK) / Monday, September 30, 2013

stevienicks

LIVE IN CONCERT (2024)

Stevie Nicks

MAY 3, 2024 – MAY 5, 2024
Lovin’ Life Fest
Charlotte, NC
TICKETS

MAY 7, 2024
Enterprise Center
St Louis, MO
TICKETS

MAY 10, 2024
WinStar World Casino & Resort
Thackerville, OK
TICKETS

MAY 14, 2024
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, TN
TICKETS

MAY 18, 2024
Frost Bank Center
San Antonio, TX
TICKETS

MAY 21, 2024
Yaamava’ Resort & Casino – Yaamava’ Theater
Highland, CA
TICKETS

MAY 24, 2024
BottleRock Napa Valley
Napa, CA
TICKETS

MAY 27, 2024
Delta Center
Salt Lake City, UT
TICKETS

MAY 30, 2024
Ball Arena
Denver, CO
TICKETS

JUN 4
Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Indianapolis, IN
TICKETS

JUN 9 
Mohegan Sun Casino
Uncasville, CT
TICKETS

JUN 12
MVP Arena
Albany, NY
TICKETS

JUN 15
Hersheypark Stadium
Hershey, PA
TICKETS

JUN 18
Van Andel Arena
Grand Rapids, MI
TICKETS

JUN 21, 2024 (with Billy Joel)
Soldier Field
Chicago, IL
TICKETS

JUL 12, 2024
BST Hyde Park
London, England
TICKETS

^ Non-Live Nation show


Previous 2023 dates

March 10, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Los Angeles, CA
SoFi Stadium

March 15, 2023
Seattle, WA
Climate Pledge Arena

March 18, 2023
Las Vegas, NV
T-Mobile Arena

May 12, 2023
Raleigh, NC
PNC Arena

May 16, 2023
Knoxville, TN
Thompson-Boling Arena

May 19, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Nashville, TN
Nissan Stadium

May 22, 2023
Atlanta, GA
State Farm Arena

May 25, 2023
Orlando, FL
Amway Center

June 16, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Philadelphia, PA
Lincoln Financial Field

June 20, 2023
Toronto, ON (Canada)
Scotiabank Arena

June 23, 2023
Chicago, IL
United Center

June 27, 2023
Louisville, KY
KFC Yum! Center

August 5, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Columbus, OH
Ohio Stadium

August 8, 2023
Milwaukee, WI
Fiserv Forum

August 12, 2023
Houston, TX
Toyota Center

August 15, 2023
Austin, TX
Moody Center

August 19, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Kansas City, MO
Arrowhead Stadium

September 23, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Foxborough, MA
Gillette Stadium

September 27, 2023
Pittsburgh, PA
PPG Paints Arena

October 1, 2023
New York, NY
Madison Square Garden

October 4, 2023
Buffalo, NY
KeyBank Center

October 7, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Baltimore, MD 
M&T Bank Stadium

October 28, 2023
Memphis, TN
FedEx Forum

November 1, 2023
Savannah, GA
Enmarket Arena

November 4, 2023
Allentown, PA
PPL Center

November 7, 2023
Detroit, MI
Little Caesars Arena

November 10, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Minneapolis, MN
U.S. Bank Stadium

November 29, 2023
San Diego, CA
Viejas Arena

December 2, 2023
Inglewood, CA
The Kia Forum

December 5, 2023
Palm Desert, CA
Acisure Arena

December  8, 2023 – BILLY JOEL
Phoenix, AZ
Chase Field

December 12, 2023
Sacramento, CA
Golden 1 Center

December 15, 2023
San Francisco, CA
Chase Center

FEB 10, 2024
Mark G Etess Arena
Atlantic City, NJ

FEB 14, 2024
UBS Arena
Belmont Park, NY

FEB 17, 2024
CFG Bank Arena
Baltimore, MD

FEB 21, 2024
Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Greenville, SC

FEB 24, 2024
Hard Rock Live
Hollywood, FL

FEB 28, 2024
Smoothie King Center
New Orleans, LA

MAR 3, 2024
CHI Health Center
Omaha, NE

MAR 6, 2024
Simmons Bank Arena
North Little Rock, AR

MAR 9, 2024
AT&T Stadium
Arlington, TX
Billy Joel

 



2022 Tour

Stevie Nicks

Jazz Aspen Snowmass
Snowmass, CO
Labor Day 2022

Ravinia Festival
Highland Park, IL
September 8, 2022
September 10, 2022

Pine Knob Music Theatre
Clarkston, MI
September 13, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Sea Hear Now Festival
Asbury, NJ
September 17, 2022

Xfinity Center
Mansfield, MA
September 19, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Maine Savings Amphitheatre
Bangor, ME
September 22, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Sound on Sound Festival
Bridgeport, CT
September 24-25, 2022

Ohana Festival
Dana Point, CA
September 30, 2022

Hollywood Bowl
Los Angeles, CA
October 3, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

POSTPONED
Ak-Chin Pavilion

Phoenix, AZ
October 6, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

POSTPONED
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

The Woodlands, TX
October 9, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Alpharetta, GA
October 12, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Ascend Amphitheater
Nashville, TN
October 16, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Credit One Stadium
Charleston, SC
October 19, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

PNC Music Pavilion
Charlotte, NC
October 22, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tampa, FL
October 25, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
West Palm Beach, FL
October 28, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Orion Amphitheatre
Huntsville, AL
October 31, 2022

RESCHEDULED SHOWS

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
The Woodlands, TX
November 2, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton

Ak-Chin Pavilion
Phoenix, AZ
November 5, 2022
w/ Vanessa Carlton