STEVIE NICKS INFO

Category: 2011-2012 Heart and Soul Tour

Last Night: Rod Stewart & Stevie Nicks at Toyota Center
‘Hot Legs’ singer and witchy woman co-headline last night of Heart & Soul Tour

Last Night: Rod Stewart & Stevie Nicks at Toyota Center
Photos by Jim Bricker
Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks Toyota Center August 9, 2012

(Jim Bricker)

I really wish that Rod Stewart is recording the past few years of tours he’s had under his belt, because he’s in essence setting the bar for how to grow old in rock and roll without looking like a granny doofus or a stuttering clown. At 67 years old, Stewart may look weathered and perma-tanned (he sleeps on the Sun?) but at least he’s still got the stones and humility to put on a capital-S show without a net, virtual or otherwise.

Plus, a 67-year-old who can expertly kick two dozen or so regulation-sized soccer balls into the crowd at a nearly sold-out arena show while singing “Hot Legs” without missing a beat is a hero in my book.

“No one is miming or playing to a tape, this is real,” said Stewart after ending a mid-show acoustic-slash-orchestral set with his band and members of a local string section from Houston. OK, there was a teleprompter somewhere in front of him, but I am starting to think that every major touring act over the age of 30 uses them now.

Co-headliner Stevie Nicks opened the show with Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” as pictures of rock icons of yore — that she probably partied “serious” with — flashed on a giant screen behind her and her band. It was cool to see guitarist Waddy Wachtel in action next to Nicks after years of reading his name in biographies and liner notes, too.

Nicks’ set was heavy on the solo big guns (“Stand Back”, “Edge of Seventeen”), her newish In your Dreams material, and the mammoths from her Fleetwood Mac catalog. She also has a cool little tent onstage that she changes into different goth gear every few songs too.

Houston’s August music calendar is getting another dose of Mac with Lindsey Buckingham playing Fitzgerald’s in a few days, and the band itself should be here in 2013.

The witchy woman told a great story about visiting injured troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, before introducing “Soldier’s Angel.” During the middle of her story — a moving one — someone on the floor of the arena bellowed “Boring!” which was pretty classy.

Thursday night was Nicks and Stewart’s last show on this tour together, but she promised more touring in the future. The duo makes for strange concert bedfellows, and they didn’t end up taking the stage together as they had on some previous dates.

She closed her portion of the show with a perfect version of “Landslide” with Wachtel. Give us them Mac dates already. Also, her “Landslide” means more at 64 years of age than it ever did when it was written, and she said as much onstage too.

Overall Stewart’s and Nicks’ shows were pretty heavy on the patriotic rah-rahs, but it was respectful and not intrusive. Who knew that Stewart was a military supporter?

“As a child of the post-WWII era I owe a debt to the ones that were lost,” he said before launching into “Sailing”. His generation of skinny Brit rockers — and rock and roll itself — very much owe their collective existences to the Allies. Stewart seems to be understanding that the older he gets.

No show with oldsters on the marquee would be complete without a few family photos, with Stewart showing off his toddler — born since his last Houston appearance in 2009 — and his older kids, including son Sean, who has been a tabloid mainstay in the past.

No doubt plenty of the parents and grandparents in the crowd knew what he meant by “my son who wasn’t found his direction yet” line. It was fun to see what Kimberly Stewart looks like now, since it’s been years (thankfully) since she was plastered — maybe literally — in every issue of Us partying with Paris Hilton in the mid-’00s.

He introduced “You Wear It Well” with a quick story about he and Ronnie Wood writing the cut while at Wood’s mother’s home. People rail on about a Faces reunion, but I just want to see Stewart team up with Jeff Beck again. Call me an elitist, but this is the Truth.

Stewart isn’t totally free of his iffy American Songbook stuff, but at least now some it has made a nice transition into his normal setlist back of tricks, and he can still make Tom Waits’ Rain Dogs cut “Downtown Train” into an R&B rave-up. As on previous tours, Stewart’s young band turns his more gaudy dance and New Wave-inflected singles like “Young Turks” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” into great crunchy nuggets.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Stewart showed off some pictures of himself in nurse and prostitute drag on the big screen behind him onstage. He makes a good lookin’ old French whore, and I know my old French whores.

(Jim Bricker)

Personal Bias: This video.

The Crowd: Older, more refined and wined than the Aerosmith crowd a few weeks back, which was more beer-y and acid-washed.

Overheard In the Crowd: “The wife said she might rush the stage. At our age, I don’t care. I will just be amazed she can still rush anything,” said a husband a row behind me.

Random Notebook Dump: To my recollection of the past six years covering shows, the only older pantheon artist I can remember that didn’t use a teleprompter on stage was Neil Diamond.

STEVIE NICKS SET LIST
1. Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin cover)
2. Enchanted
3. Secret Love
4. Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)
5. Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac)
6. Stand Back
7. Soldier’s Angel
8. Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac)
9. Leather and Lace (With Steve Real)
10. Edge of Seventeen
11. Landslide (Fleetwood Mac) (Encore)
ROD STEWART SET LIST
1. Love Train (The O’Jays cover)
2. Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)
3. Some Guys Have All the Luck (The Persuaders cover)
4. Havin’ a Party (Sam Cooke cover)
5. You Wear It Well
6. Rhythm of My Heart
7. Sailing
8. Young Turks
9. Forever Young (Bob Dylan cover)
10. Downtown Train (Tom Waits cover)
11. Have I Told You Lately (Van Morrison cover)
12. The First Cut is the Deepest (Cat Stevens cover)
13. Reason to Believe (Tim Hardin cover)
14. Rainy Night in Georgia (Tony Joe White cover)
15. Sweet Little Rock and Roller (Chuck Berry cover)
16. Proud Mary (Di Reed On Vocals, Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
17. You’re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)
18. Hot Legs
19. Maggie May
20. Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? (Encore)
Craig Hlavaty/ Houston Press / Friday, August 10, 2012
August 10, 2012
Rod Stewart animated, Stevie Nicks more subdued

Stevie Nicks performs at Consol Energy Center as part of the Heart & Soul Tour with Rod Stewart

There’s no question that Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart are legends in the music industry. One was a member of Fleetwood Mac, and was once called “The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll” by Rolling Stone Magazine — not an accolade to be taken lightly. The other is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, both domestically and in the U.K., where he’s spawned an obscene 31 Top Ten singles.

(Bill Wade)

It’s also pretty obvious that the masses understand what it is to have two Rock and Roll Hall of Famers touring together. Consol Energy Center was decidedly packed on Saturday night, from the folding chairs on the floor space far up into the nosebleeds. And despite what was likely a higher average age than most concerts at Consol, many came out in full dedication, sporting Stevie Nicks outfits or Rod Stewart hairdos.

(Bill Wade)

However, the concert — which never featured the two singing together — took some time to get going. Nicks was the first to don the stage to the tune of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” — a fun song, to be sure, but not necessarily well-suited for the rock singer. After playing through “Enchanted” and “Secret Love,” both of which seemed to be more suitable for her style, it was time for one of the big hits.

Described by Nicks as Fleetwood Mac’s only number 1 single, “Dreams” brought the crowd to its feet as soon as the song started. However, it was in this particular track that it became apparent how much her vocals have changed: She was unwilling to hit some of the high notes required of the track, and her approach to singing has taken on an undesirable evenness. Essentially, her voice is still there, but its scope has begun to diminish.

However, the dark and electric “Gold Dust Woman” was able to infuse her performance with more energy than previous tracks. The following “Stand Back” brought some welcome 80’s sound to a crowd eager for some dancing (even if it was often awkward).

Stevie Nicks then took a moment to explain the inspiration for the song “Soldier’s Angel:” a visit to a military hospital. However, the description left a sour taste — she seemed to emphasize her sacrifice of “7 or 8 hours” there more than the sacrifice of the young men putting their lives on the line.

But regardless, she finished her set with a trinity of blockbuster hits: Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon,” and her own “Leather and Lace” and “Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove).” By the time the last song played, the blatantly un-raucous crowd was singing and clapping along, and Nicks executed the songs with distinct accuracy. An encore of “Landslide” was clearly the highlight of her performance as it normally is, and the message was all the more powerful for a musician looking back on her career.

The curtain (which featured a technicolor steam engine) lifted for the ever-jacketed Rod Stewart about a half-hour later at 9, though he maintained that they would play for as long as they could. And, true to his word, his performance ended close to the 11 o’clock curfew.

(Bill Wade)

Starting with a cover of the O’Jays “Love Train,” Rod exuded his seasoned showmanship throughout the set. He continued with “Tonight’s the Night,” a song that would perfectly complement a suburban summer night. The swinging piano of “Having a Party” was countered by the slowness of the following “You Wear It Well.” And after the Vietnam War feel of “Rhythm of My Heart,” “Young Turks” did well to juxtapose increasing age with trying to maintain youthful fieriness. Rod then brought out the “Pittsburgh Strings” to perform a few more songs, including Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?” A rendition of “The First Cut Is the Deepest” employed the entire section, giving the song a depth of flavor.

(Bill Wade)

Rod ended his night with two of his biggest hits: “Hot Legs” (during which he punted soccer balls into the crowd) and the classic “Maggie Mae,” which the crowd began singing even before Rod himself. An encore of “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” finished his enthusiastic set.

For the night as a whole, Stevie Nicks’ more subdued style was countered by Rod Stewart’s always-animated performance- a well-executed one-two for the seasoned veterans.

(Bill Wade)

By Elliot Alpern / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette / Post-Gazette / July 31, 2012

July 31, 2012
MUSIC REVIEW: Two rock-radioers with their differences intact

The “Heart & Soul” tour, a pairing of Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks, is pure nostalgia, a valentine for the middle-aged and what they listened to from 1976 to 1978. Not a judgment, just a fact. But the really outmoded part about the concert is that the link between them is the radio.

Remember the radio? We submitted to it completely. It made the connections for us. Besides Los Angeles, teased blond hair and a tremendous talent for the exaggerated courtly stage bow, what Mr. Stewart and Ms. Nicks really have in common is that they are singer-songwriters, articulating consciousness through words and melody, and they are fundamentally different at that job.

Ms. Nicks, 62, who performed first at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, is the goddess of indirection. “Do you know what this is?” she sang in “Love Is.” “No I don’t/but whatever it is/it’s very powerful.” This could be her organizing principle. The referents of her lyrics flicker in and out; she suddenly omits the subject of a sentence, asks a rhetorical question or moves from first to third person without warning. Most pop songwriters don’t do this anymore. But Ms. Nicks is a woman who can put on a black shawl, raise her arms and spin, and the audience roars. Whatever that is, it’s very powerful.

Wednesday’s set was a tight group of greatest hits, so there was “Edge of Seventeen”: “Just like the white winged dove/sings a song, sounds like she’s singing.” And “Sorcerer”: “All around black ink darkness/and who found the lady from the mountains?” Who or what is like the dove? Who did find the lady? Essentially it’s you: the listener and her own experiences fill the gap between what is to be understood and what is not.

Ms. Nicks’s voice narrowed a long time ago, forcing her to write melodic detours away from the upper register, but her sound and phrasing remain the same. She drones and under-enunciates, the better to be misunderstood, and with several band members who have been a constant for decades — the guitarist Waddy Wachtel and the percussionist Lenny Castro — she fitted the songs to the audience’s memory.

People forget that Mr. Stewart, now 66, is a songwriter: he’s been privileging people’s material for so long and so effectively — not just the last decade of his Great American Songbook albums, but also his previous covers of the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Tim Hardin, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and others. Let’s treat it all as one project. He seems to.

As opposed to Ms. Nicks, there’s usually a straight-forward narrative in Mr. Stewart’s songs and the ones he chooses to cover; there’s also very little wondering or regret. As for love, he hungers, consumes, dispatches. Sometimes he fails: oh, well. (He’s good at cheery leave-takings: “Maggie Mae,” “Forever Young.”) He sees no crystal visions.

Mr. Stewart’s voice is pretty damaged, too, sometimes dropping beneath the line of audibility as his longer set wore on, swerving away from high notes and turning to a wheeze. But of course he’s had a rough voice forever, and the whole point of Rod Stewart is finessing a light engagement with one’s own material. In a succession of bright raw-silk jackets, he swiveled and high-stepped just enough to convey that he was having an all-right time, while his band and production provided the rest: a rugged rhythm section, tall female soloists in red dresses (on trumpet, tenor saxophone and fiddle), and a stage like an enormous mid-’60s television show set, clean and beautifully lit.

The stars performed two songs together, unexcitingly, during Mr. Stewart’s set — his “Young Turks,” her “Leather and Lace.” But whereas Ms. Nicks remained her own entity, Mr. Stewart traced his enthusiasms to and connections for what came before and around him. He sang songs by Sam Cooke and Chuck Berry and Hardin and Mr. Waits, and repped once again for the Celtic Football Club, as he’s been doing since the early ’70s. It’s unclear who’s heart and who’s soul. But it is clear who’s an idol and who’s a fan.

The “Heart & Soul” tour continues on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago and on Sunday at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit; rodstewart.com. This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.

Ben Ratliff / New York Times / Saturday, April 9, 2011

April 9, 2011
Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart Hit the Road for Blowout Arena Tour

By Patrick Doyle
Rolling Stone
February 17, 2011

ON THE ROAD
Inside the legendary singers’ first-ever union Plus: New LPs from both

ROD STEWART HADN’T seen Stevie Nicks since the mid-1980s, when both of them were recording in the same L.A. studio Until last month, that is, when the pair – who are gearing up for a 16-date co-headlining tour — were reunited to perform on Ellen. “I tiptoed up behind him and put my arms around his waist from the back,” says Nicks. Adds Stewart, “I’d know those hands anywhere.”

The pair have never worked together before, but they’ve crossed paths over the years. Nicks recalls attending a New Year’s party in the Seventies at Stewart’s L.A. home. Nicks remembers Stewart, afraid she was drunk and might damage his collection of Tiffany lamps, asking, “‘Can I have that glass of wine before you walk in?’ I was horrified.” Stewart says, “Oh, the bitch I am sometimes. I probably wanted more wine for myself.”

The idea for the shows (which kick off in March) came last year from Stewart’s daughters Ruby and Kimberly. “They love Stevie,” he says. “She’s just ultra-cool — she has a cult.” Nicks will open the three-plus-hour show with solo tunes and Fleetwood Mac classics, followed by a, Stewart set that will likely mix deep tracks and hits. They’re still working out the pacing, but there will be a portion of the shows where they sing together. “We won’t let people, down on that score,” Stewart says, adding he hopes to tackle Nicks and Don Henley’s 1981 duet, “Leather and Lace.” Nicks wants to join Stewart on “The First Cut Is the Deepest” and “Reason to Believe.” “That’d be a wonderful one,” Stewart says. “We’re both sort of sopranos, so it’ll sound great.”

Outside of the tour, Stewart is planning an LP with former bandmate Jeff Beck -their first full album together since they were in the Jeff Beck Group in the late Sixties. “Jeff and I had a lunch together just before Christmas,” he says. “He’s going to record some tracks with his band in February in San Francisco, and he’s going to send them over to me.” Adds Arnold Stiefel, Stewart’s manager, “They have some really clever things planned – it’s mindfucking stuff.” One proposed album title: Unfinished Business. Stewart is also in talks to extend his recent stand at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace to multiple residencies over the next two years, and he’s considering a stint at Carnegie Hall performing only American Songbook material. “I’m proud of those records,” he says.

Meanwhile, Nicks is readying her first studio album in a decade. In Your Dreams, due May 3rd, is co-produced by an old friend, Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart. Together, they wrote seven of the LP’s 13 tracks, including “Everybody Loves You,” inspired by their experiences of being in bands with lovers (Nicks with Lindsey Buckingham, Stewart with Annie Lennox). “We know what it’s like to be in love with the person and be in love with what the person does,” she says. “It’s different from just being in a band.”
Nicks praises the producer for adding a Sixties pop vibe. “I have never written a song with anybody sitting in the room, not even Lindsey,” she says. “I suddenly realized why John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote together. I haven’t had this much fun since Lindsey and I were working in the beginning.”

“Stevie is just ultra-cool,” Stewart says of his tour partner. “She has a cult.”

February 17, 2011
Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart discuss touring together for the first time

(Donald Kravitz/Getty(Nicks), Ethan Miller/Getty(Stewart)

Idea for the shows came from Stewart’s daughters. Plus: New LPs from both

By Patrick Doyle
Rolling Stone
February 2, 2011 5:35 PM ET

Rod Stewart hadn’t seen Stevie Nicks since the mid-1980s, when both of them were recording in the same L.A. studio. Until last month, that is, when the pair, who are gearing up for a 16-date co-headlining tour‚ were reunited to perform on Ellen. “I tiptoed up behind him and put my arms around his waist from the back,” Nicks tells Rolling Stone. Adds Stewart, “I’d know those hands anywhere.”

The pair have never worked together before, but they’ve crossed paths over the years. Nicks recalls attending a New Year’s party in the Seventies at Stewart’s L.A. home. Nicks remembers Stewart, afraid she was drunk and might damage his collection of Tiffany lamps, asking, “Can I have that glass of wine before you walk in?’ I was horrified.” Stewart says, “Oh, the bitch I am sometimes. I probably wanted more wine for myself.”

The idea for the shows (which kick off in March) came last year from Stewart’s daughters Ruby and Kimberly. “They love Stevie,” he says. “She’s just ultra-cool – she has a cult.” Nicks will open the three-plus-hour show with solo tunes and Fleetwood Mac classics, followed by a Stewart set that will likely mix deep tracks and hits.

They’re still working out the pacing, but there will be a portion of the shows where they sing together. “We won’t let people down on that score,” Stewart says, adding he hopes to tackle Nicks and Don Henley’s 1981 duet, “Leather and Lace.” Nicks wants to join Stewart on “The First Cut Is the Deepest” and “Reason to Believe.” “That’d be a wonderful one,” he says. “We’re both sort of sopranos, so it’ll sound great.”

At the Ellen rehearsal, Nicks spent two hours running through “Stand Back” with her band while Stewart showed up and banged out “Hot Legs” once. “He walks in, expects the band to be fantastic, and then it’s, ‘Let’s go and I’m out of here,’” says Nicks.

“In the Faces, we never rehearsed,” Stewart says. “I always like there to be the element of risk in any show. When things go wrong, I love it. We’ll have to meet in the middle.”

Outside of the tour, Stewart is planning an LP with former bandmate Jeff Beck‚ their first full album together since they were in the Jeff Beck Group in the late Sixties. One proposed album title: Unfinished Business. Stewart is also in talks to extend his recent stand at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace to multiple residencies over the next two years, and he’s considering a stint at Carnegie Hall performing only American Songbook material. “I’m proud of those records,” he says.

Photos: The Who, Jeff Beck, Debbie Harry and More From the Concert for Killing Cancer

Meanwhile, Nicks is readying her first studio album in a decade. In Your Dreams, due May 3rd, is co-produced by an old friend, Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart. Together, they wrote seven of the LP’s 13 tracks, including “Everybody Loves You,” inspired by their experiences of being in bands with lovers (Nicks with Lindsey Buckingham, Stewart with Annie Lennox). “We know what it’s like to be in love with the person and be in love with what the person does,” she says. “It’s different from just being in a band.”

Nicks praises the producer for adding a Sixties pop vibe. “I have never written a song with anybody sitting in the room, not even Lindsey,” she says. “I suddenly realized why John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote together. I haven’t had this much fun since Lindsey and I were working in the beginning.”

February 2, 2011
Rod Stewart/Stevie Nicks

By Ray Waddell
Billboard
Saturday, January 29, 2011

Hopes are high that the pairing of Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks for the Heart & Soul tour of North American arenas will strike the kind of boomer gold that led James Taylor and Carole King to a $62 million gross in 2010—the sixth-highest among all tours for the year, according to Billboard Boxscore. American Express presales are solid, according to Stewart agent Dennis Arfa at Artists Group International, but the true test comes when several public on-sales launch Jan. 23. The tour begins March 20 at the Bank Atlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Stewart is working his latest Great American Songbook release, while Nicks will release In Your Dreams on May 3, her first studio album since 2001.

Both veterans remain big draws. Last year, Stewart sold out eight shows in Las Vegas and every date on his 26-show European tour, grossing $31.2 million on ticket sales of 309,139, according to Boxscore. Meanwhile, Fleetwood Mac’s 67-date tour in 2009 grossed $74.1 million on attendance of 718,017, according to Boxscore.

January 29, 2011
Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks pair up for arena concert tour in March

By Zach Edwards
ConcertTour.org
January 13, 2011

Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart, two of the biggest superstars and members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, have announced they are joining forces. One of this year’s most anticipated events in rock music will be their “The Heart and Soul Tour.” Now the question is will there be a big enough stage to hold that much raw talent.

The tour will be uniting two of the most legendary forces in rock music for a run of North American arena concerts. Performances have been confirmed already for Los Angeles, Toronto New York and Phoenix among other cities. The shows will be featuring both artists who will perform rock-n-roll sets containing material from their impressive catalogs of musical hits. They will be backed by an amazing band along with an incredible stage production.

Stewart said we haven’t started rehearsals yet, but already I can tell you having Stevie on board will give our audiences a night of pure rock-n-roll. I am thinking already about which old favorites of mine I want to bring back. I think vocally, we both starting thinking about what songs may be well-suited and fun for singing a few duets together.

In Stewart’s five decade career he has sold approximately 250 million singles and albums combined. Stewart is one of the all-time most successful performers and wrapped up 2010 on top of the album as well as the touring charts, capped off by his first run of sold-out and critically acclaimed shows in Las Vegas at The Colosseum.

Stewart has received an impressive 16 Grammy nominations, including this year’s Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album nomination for his set Fly Me to the Moon… The Great American Songbook, Volume V. On February 1 The Best of… The Great American Songbook will be released.

Grammy Award winning artist Stevie Nicks has been dubbed “The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll” by Rolling Stone. Nicks is best known as a singer with the band Fleetwood Mac. She has also had an extensive solo career. Collectively she has sold more than 140 million albums and produced more than forty hits songs in the Top 50.

Nicks will be adding to her impressive totals no doubt with the release of In Your Dreams, her greatly anticipated new CD, which will be released on May 3, 2011. It will be the first album from Nicks with new material in ten years. The set was co-produced by Glen Ballard and Dave Stewart, formerly of the Eurythmics.

Starting on January 21, tour tickets will be going on sale.

January 13, 2011
Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart make big announcement on Ellen

Stevie and Rod announced their plans to tour together on the Ellen show.

January 13, 2011