Nearly every member of Fleetwood Mac apologized for postponing the scheduled March 11 show at Verizon Arena because of an undisclosed sickness in the band. No one in attendance April 19 seemed to care. Better late than never. A near-capacity crowd of 12,884 sang, danced, yelled, laughed and maybe even shed a tear or two as the legendary band that has churned out hits since the mid-1970s performed 22 of their popular songs.
Twenty-two songs. We aren’t talking about kids up there belting out tunes, hammering out guitar rifts and playing the drums with reckless abandon that Tommy Lee, in his prime, would’ve been jealous of.
The deeper the show went, the stronger the group performed and the more raucous the large crowd became. One of the highlights came when Mick Fleetwood performed a drum solo on “World Turning” that seemed to go on for a half hour. Kudos to the directors who weaved different camera angles of Fleetwood on the video boards to give off a psychedelic vibe. While Fleetwood did his thing and chanted to the crowd, who responded, “day-aye-aye-oh,” and such, the rest of the band rested, including guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, who laid down off to the side of the stage and chatted with fans.
That was the first song of the encore and Fleetwood hammered the skins like it was the first number of the night, much to the delight of the fans. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members concluded the show with popular hits “Don’t Stop” and “Silver Springs,” respectively.
Even with a wealth of hits, the band members were able to play most of their popular songs including “Chain”, which opened the night, “Rhiannon,” “Dreams,” “Tusk,” “Second Hand News,” “Landslide,” “Big Love” and, of course, “Go Your Own Way,” which ended the regular set. As expected, many in the crowd sang along and danced, and when the song ended and the band walked off the stage, many began to stomp and clap, ready for more.
There were some notable omissions such as “Think About Me,” “Seven Wonders” and “Song Bird,” but 22 songs in 2 1/2 hours is commendable and most, even die-hards, I’m sure, left happy.
There was no opener or intermission and not a great deal of conversation, but each member had the chance to grab the mic. All of the members welcomed Christine McVie back to the fray after an extended absence. Stevie Nicks offered a great nugget when she told the back story of the Velvet Underground mention in “Gypsy.”
In 1968, Nicks was playing in a band in the San Francisco area and saved as much money as she could to go shopping at the trendy Velvet Underground. Even with a hefty savings, she couldn’t afford anything in the store. She says she left the store that day determined to return and “buy anything she wanted” in the store.
She encouraged the crowd to find that “Velvet Underground moment” in their lives and don’t listen to naysayers as they strive to make their dreams come true.
Verizon Arena has seen its fair share of memorable moments since its opening in 1999. However, with a legendary band playing its best and a large, appreciative crowd cheering them on, it had to make this performance rank among some of the better ones in arena history.
Sydney Frames / Sync Weekly / Tuesday, April 21, 2015
