With the return of Christine McVie, band restores its “classic” lineup and plays their greatest hits to a sold-out Air Canada Centre.

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* * * (three stars out of five)

If Fleetwood Mac wants to take a victory lap, Fleetwood Mac can take a victory lap.

Another victory lap, I guess. They’re all kinda victory laps if you’ve got a reputation and platinum-plated catalogue of the sort Fleetwood Mac has.

Still, the last time the band passed through Toronto for an Air Canada Centre date in April of 2013, it looked surprisingly vital and revved-up for a pack of greying boomers that one might have been tempted to write off as a nostalgia act. For a band with nothing really left to prove, the Mac behaved like it still had something to prove.

For its current On with the Show tour, Fleetwood Mac has managed to restore itself to the “classic” lineup responsible for such landmark albums as Rumours, Tusk and Tango in the Night with the unexpected return of long-absent member Christine McVie to the fold for the first time since she quit the group — in large part due to a deathly fear of all the flying involved with touring the world in a rock ’n’ roll band — in 1998. This, of course, is a perfect excuse to stuff the set list with all the McVie songs that have been absent from Fleetwood Mac performances during the past 16 years, which made Saturday night’s sold-out performance at the Air Canada Centre a rather more straightforward, greatest-hits-oriented affair than the quintet’s last appearance in this town.

Not that that’s a bad thing. If Fleetwood Mac still wants to go out every night and play Rumours top to bottom, more power to it. A few other albums might have surpassed that megalithic 1977 pop smash in sales over the years since Michael Jackson’s Thriller usurped it as the biggest record of all time 30 years ago, but none of them — not Dark Side of the Moon, not Back in Black, not even Thriller itself — is as relentlessly pillaged, track for track (with the exception of maybe “Oh Daddy,” which I kinda feel sorry for), every single day, by classic-rock radio. Nowadays, though, the band no longer has to bound through “Don’t Stop” while politely ignoring the fact that the woman who wrote it isn’t there, and “You Make Loving Fun” and “Songbird” can resume their rightful, triumphant places in the set list.

McVie’s surprise return is, unfortunately, the sole real surprise the On with the Show production has to offer, at least as it was presented on Saturday night. Her presence onstage might herald a “beautiful, profound and poetic new chapter in the Fleetwood Mac story,” as guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Buckingham put it at one point — indeed, rumour has it he and McVie are already at work on new material — but at the moment it basically appears to be an excuse to take a fond stroll down memory lane.

Which is fine. It’s a nice stroll. McVie ditties like “Say You Love Me,” “Everywhere” and “Little Lies” are now back in circulation alongside such crowd-pleasing Stevie Nicks-sung staples as “Gold Dust Woman,” “Rhiannon,” “Gypsy” and the agelessly lovely “Landslide,” so Saturday’s two-and-a-half-hour show was a more relentless Fleetwood Mac hit parade than we’ve witnessed in years. There wasn’t a lot of room left to stretch out or get weird while dutifully covering all those bases, however. Oddball favourite Tusk got a passing glance in the form of the title track and Buckingham’s fiery “I Know I’m Not Wrong,” while the ace guitarist presided over a nimble-fingered acoustic deconstruction of “Big Love” and a slightly less successful, kinda-draggy remodelling of “Never Going Back Again” to shake off the usual a little bit. A few more drawn-out jams in the form of the late-set sprawler “I’m So Afraid” would have been welcome nonetheless, since it was those moments — the moments when Fleetwood Mac dug into its material enthusiastically and tore it up like a band doing more than just going through the expected motions — that made the group’s last ACC appearance so memorable. This time around, you tended to get exactly what you thought you were gonna get.

It kept the room in good spirits, anyway. And the band, still early into a 68-date tour that will extend well into 2015, seemed genuinely thrilled to be back in action with McVie at the keyboards. Drummer Mick Fleetwood looked positively gleeful, in fact, when he emerged onstage after the encore in a glittery red top hat to proclaim “The Mac is back!” If Fleetwood Mac is happy, we’re happy. These old dogs might have a few new tricks left in ‘em yet.

Ben Rayner / Toronto Star / Sunday October 19, 2014

Christine McVie back after 16 years but Fleetwood Mac is still the Stevie Nicks show

By the time Fleetwood Mac played “Rhiannon,” early on in their two and a half hour long revue at the Air Canada Centre, it was clear that despite the brouhaha over the return of long-time member Christine Mcvie after a 16-year hiatus, it’s still the Stevie Nicks show. Nicks oozes charisma; she can get a crowd excited by waving her arm or doing a little twirl. Every time she sang (and she was singing well) the packed house got out of their seats. No wonder so many fans arrived dressed like her.

Starting with “The Chain,” the Mac played through nearly every song from their bestselling hit-machine Rumours, pulling out “Silver Springs” in the encore with an abundance of ridiculous chime sounds (the band clearly love their synths – why, oh why, did they not bring along a live horn section?).

Not to be outdone by Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham prepared for solo turn “Big Love” by charging up his right hand like a robot before launching into the loudest, most ferocious classical playing imaginable (Buckingham, a ham, admirably never left the stage, though some of his other songs came across as overwrought).

He was at his best was when he loaned his guitar chops in service of Nicks’s vocals on “Landslide,” though everyone had their moments (including Mick Fleetwood’s indulgent drum solo in the encore).

The band say this is a new chapter that will last long and bear fruit, and they’ve got a new album on the way. Time will tell how long those chains will hold.

Sarah Greene / Now Toronto / Sunday, October 19, 2014

Edgy and energized are an understatement when it comes to describing the sold out audience before Fleetwood Mac made their blockbuster return to Philadelphia in what is known as their “classic configuration.” In every respect this was a classic live event.

Upon their entrance the roar was deafening, joyous and received by the band with a sort of joy usually seen in new acts when they hit their sweet spot. It must have been unworldly for Christine McVie to receive not just the adulation of the audience, but the true over the top joy of her band mates.

They led off with “The Chain,’ the crowd almost lost it and after the song Lindsey Buckingham had a smile you could see from the moon. He looked to his right and nodded to Christine. It was the beginning of a two and one half hour symphony of some of the best the world of music has to offer.

There were so many heart-felt highlights it is hard to render them down to a few, but for me when Lindsey said “ And now we have Christine back.” he didn’t say it he meant it. Nick Fleetwood’s face must have hurt from the wild smile he had the entire night. The thunderous reaction to Stevie Nicks when she twirled and the awe when the lights went out and came back on with McVie sitting at a Grand piano playing “Over My Head.” For me these were moments to remember.

Musically, the vocals don’t have the range they did 30 years ago, however, the character and grit in the voices more than compensated for a note forgotten. What makes any performance stand out is the chemistry amongst the performers along with the alchemy between the group and the audience. They truly turned the night into gold. Lindsey Buckingham stole the show this night with his energy and guitar solo during “I’m So Afraid. ” Couple with his gymnastic ballet, he was awe-inspiring with over 9 minutes of some of the finest finger work you will ever see and or hear.

The visuals really contributed to an amazing night. From the medieval motif shown during “Rhiannon” to the clip of the UCS band during “Tusk,” the colors and imagery were just top-notch.

Fleetwood Mac has already done it all. They have recorded 48 albums, released 76 singles, won Grammy Awards, and been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, yet they gave us everything they had for almost 3 hours. What they had was magic and they gave us a little of that magic.

Setlist

“The Chain”
“You Make Loving Fun”
“Dreams”
“Second Hand News”
“Rhiannon”
“Everywhere”
“I Know I’m Not Wrong”
“Tusk”
“Sisters Of The Moon”
“Seven Wonders”
“Big Love”
“Landslide”
“Never Going Back Again”
“Over My Head”
“Gypsy”
“Little Lies”
“Gold Dust Woman”
“I’m So Afraid”
“Go Your Own Way”
encore:
“World Turning”
“Don’t Stop”
“Silver Springs”
encore 2:
“Songbird”

I’m a romantic, so I see things through rosy glasses. If you have the chance to see Fleetwood Mac during this tour, do it! Nothing is forever and who knows if the “classic configuration” will come our way again!

Joe S. / iRadioPhilly / Saturday, October 18, 2014

After kicking off a two-and-half-hour tour de force of a concert aptly with “The Chain”’ a song about unbreakable bonds, Lindsey Buckingham beamed and looked to his right.

“And now the beautiful Christine is back,” the vocalist-guitarist said just before Fleetwood Mac delivered “You Make Loving Fun.”

The capacity crowd at the Wells Fargo Center Monday night roared as the band kicked into the tune’s opening notes. The classic configuration of Fleetwood Mac, which will return to the South Philly venue Oct. 29, was back performing in the area for the first time since it played what was known as the Tweeter Center in Camden in September of 1997.

Vocally McVie and her counterpart, the beguiling Stevie Nicks, have to dial it down. The former is 71 and the latter is 66. What they lack in range, they make up for in character.

Fleetwood Mac still has it. It’s just different than it was in ‘97 and especially than it was during the summer of ‘77 when the band’s breakthrough album, Rumours, was ubiquitous.

Fleetwood Mac wowed the enthusiastic crowd with cuts from the emotional Rumours, the second biggest selling album of all-time, and a plethora of other hits.

“Go Your Own Way,” “Rhiannon” and “Landslide” sated the boomers.

Buckingham, the young buck in the band at a mere 65, stole the show. The thin as a rail fingerpicker riveted the crowd with an emotional “Big Love.” His fiery solo and his electric play in general impressed.

“I think he’s been off stage for 30 seconds tonight,” drummer Mick Fleetwood declared.

That’s not much of an exaggeration as the rest of the veteran group took considerable time off during the marathon show. But Buckingham looked like an old school punk pogoing across the stage and grunting, groaning and screaming throughout the night.

McVie, who was MIA since ‘97 due to her fear of flying, was rough around the edges vocally but she’s been out of the game for nearly 20-years.

Nicks and her unique husky voice and subtle gestures made songs such as “Seven Wonders” and “Gold Dust Woman” haunting and compelling. Whenever Nicks would spin like she did a generation ago, fans shrieked.

Fleetwood made like it was 1977 with a wild drum solo.

But it was the hits and the charm of the band that made the night. Nicks, who has always been a great storyteller, often stopped to drop anecdotes. “In the beginning Lindsey and I lived in San Francisco and there was this amazing store (the Velvet Underground) which had incredible clothes and all of the rock and roll women with money shopped there like Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. I remember thinking that when I make it, I’ll shop at that store and I did. If you do believe in your dreams, they can come true.”

The wild success of Fleetwood Mac enables Nicks to shop anywhere and it also gave the band considerable creative freedom to craft some of the most enduring songs from a generation ago.

“We’ve started a new and poetic chapter with Christine,” Buckingham said. “It’ll bear much fruit.”

Ed Condran / The Morning Call / Thursday, October 16, 2014

Fleetwood Mac at Wells Fargo Center: What you missed, with photos and set list

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PHILADELPHIA — Fleetwood Mac returned to Philadelphia Wednesday night, touring together as a full band for the first time in 16 years.

Christine McVie re-joined band mates Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks for their On With The Show tour.

The crowd at the Wells Fargo Center was excited to hear the multi-Grammy Award®-winning band perform together once again, and while nearly everyone was standing as the band took the stage, Christine McVie received a special welcome from not only the concert-goers, but each band member throughout the night.

WHAT YOU MISSED

• Singer-songwriter and vocalist Christine McVie’s return to Fleetwood Mac after retiring from the band following The Dance tour in the late ’90s. The crowd gave her an overwhelming welcome when she performed the second song of the show, “You Make Loving Fun,” and despite a 15-year absence from the stage, her warm vocals really shined in “Little Lies.”
• The distinctive voice of Stevie Nicks isn’t what it used to be, but that’s not to say it’s a bad thing; it’s just different. At 66 years old, she stills delivers powerful performances in “Seven Wonders,” “Gold Dust Woman” and “Silver Springs.” The simplicity of “Landslide,” with Nicks joined onstage by guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, was almost haunting with her raspy voice.
• While it was definitely Christine McVie’s night, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham stole the show. His solos, “Big Love” and “Never Going Back Again,” were full of energy, and it was entrancing to watch his finger-picking throughout the night. But Buckingham seemed to mesmerize the crowd with his guitar solo in the 9-minute long “I’m So Afraid” and belted out the lyrics with such a strong voice you couldn’t help but stop and just take it all in.
• The band paid homage to McVie’s return by beginning the show with “The Chain,” a rousing song about unbreakable bonds that would’ve had the crowd quickly on their feet if they hadn’t been already.

NOTES AND MUSINGS

• Stevie Nicks definitely got into character during “Gold Dust Woman,” seemingly in a trance as she slowly danced across the stage. At the end of the song, she raised her arms like a bird spreading its wings, showing her silhouette through her shimmering gold shawl as the spotlight shone down on her at center-stage.
• While it would be nearly impossible to replicate the high-intensity, full-volumed “Tusk” without the benefit of the USC Marching Band playing alongside Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham led the group in a pretty energizing version of the song. The group wasn’t remiss about tipping their caps to the marching band however, as videos of the tuba-carrying and trumpet-toting collegiate band played on the large screen behind them.
• Drummer Mick Fleetwood couldn’t stop smiling all night long, and seemed as happy to be onstage as a kid in a candy store. He really impressed concert-goers as he performed the majority of his drum solo during “World Turning” with his eyes closed.
• The entire band put their all into “Go Your Own Way,” the last song before a duo of encores. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks really worked the stage, and the crowd absolutely loved it.

SET LIST

“The Chain”
“You Make Loving Fun”
“Dreams”
“Second Hand News”
“Rhiannon”
“Everywhere”
“I Know I’m Not Wrong”
“Tusk”
“Sisters of the Moon”
“Say You Love Me”
“Seven Wonders”
“Big Love” (Lindsey Buckingham acoustic solo)
“Landslide”
“Never Going Back Again” (Lindsey Buckingham acoustic solo)
“Over My Head”
“Gypsy”
“Little Lies”
“Gold Dust Woman”
“I’m So Afraid”
“Go Your Own Way”

Encore 1:
“World Turning” (Mick Fleetwood drum solo)
“Don’t Stop”
“Silver Springs”

Encore 2:
“Songbird”

NEXT LOCAL SHOWS

• Fleetwood Mac returns to the Wells Fargo Center in two weeks, on Wednesday, Oct. 29 for an 8 p.m. show. Limited tickets remain. For tickets, visit livenation.com.
• On Saturday, Jan. 24, the group performs at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale Monday, Oct. 20, at 10 a.m. For more information, visit livenation.com.

Lori M. Nichols may be reached at ln******@**************ia.com. Follow her on Twitter @photoglori. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.

Lori M. Nichols / South Jersey Times / Thursday, October 16, 2014

After not touring with Fleetwood Mac for 16 years, Christine McVie greets the Consol Energy Center crowd after their concert’s second song, “You Make Loving Fun,” which she wrote for the “Rumours” album.

“Sweet, wonderful you.”

They were the first three words we clearly heard from Christine McVie Tuesday night at Consol Energy Center, opening the second song, “You Make Loving Fun,” and it got the ecstatic greeting you would expect from the packed house.

It was the first time we’ve heard that voice here since September 1997 (at Star Lake), a year before Ms. McVie left the group after 27 years due to her fear of flying. Now, at last, she’s back on board and the band saluted that by hitting the stage with a rousing version of “The Chain,” a rocker about unbreakable bonds.

“Welcome, Pittsburgh!” Stevie Nicks shouted. “And welcome back, Chris! She hasn’t told us what she’s been doing the last 16 years, but I’m sure she will. … The story will come out at some point.”

Ms. McVie’s extended absence left Ms. Nicks alone with the boys — singer-guitarist/ex-flame Lindsey Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie (Ms. McVie’s ex) — and also left a number of the band’s classic hits out of the set list. Of course, with Fleetwood Mac, there were plenty left to fill a two-plus hour show, but it sure was nice to see the revival of “You Make Loving Fun,” “Say You Love Me,” “Over My Head” and others.

Ms. McVie, one of three Brits in the bunch, is known for her warm, smoky vocals, to go with the raspy, husky ones of Ms. Nicks. At 71 and 66, respectively, they don’t sound like they did on the records, which is to be expected, but there’s still so much beauty, melody and character in those voices.

Ms. Nicks’ “Rhiannon,” for instance, is rough around the edges, but more haunting than ever and, clad in black with her flowing shawl, she remains just as bewitching. “Dreams” was a gem, as was “Seven Wonders,” which she dedicated to a character in “American Horror Story.” She only got better as the show went on, soaring to the rafters on “Landslide,” “Gypsy” and “Gold Dust Woman,” a show-stopper with tortured wails and a witchy dance in sparkly golden shawl.

Ms. McVie hasn’t worked that vocal muscle as much over the years, and it showed, but her songs do call more for a simple purity of tone that she was able to muster. Three backup singers in the shadows added some extra heft to the harmonies. (There were also two backing musicians, and a percussionist hidden behind Mr. Fleetwood.)

Lindsey? My goodness. At 65, he’s still a kid, still the energy force in the band, with blazing chops and a voice that can cut through a fog. He ran wild on the percussive romp of “Tusk” (with the USC Marching Band on the screen) and was practically pogoing as he blew through “Second Hand News.” Once again, he sent them all off for “Big Love,” his passionate exercise in acoustic speed metal, did magical finger-picking on “Never Going Back Again” and all but ripped off the strings on the maniacal “I’m So Afraid” solo.

He introduced “I Know I’m Not Wrong” saying, “Fleetwood Mac is a group that continues to evolve, continues to prevail, through the adversity and the good times, especially now with the return of beautiful Christine. We have begun a beautiful new chapter in the history of Fleetwood Mac.”

For now, this chapter is infusing new energy into a bottomless catalog of classic songs, romantically entangled hits that truly hit home with adoring fans raised on ’70s radio.

As usual, they were generous with them, going well beyond the two-hour mark and powering the climax with the likes of a knock-out “Go Your Own Way,” a percussive “World Turning” with Mr. Fleetwood’s drum insanity and celebratory “Don’t Stop.”

And let’s hope they don’t, because these five amazing musicians, who somehow found each other across an ocean and a continent, still have the ability to take us to paradise.

Set List

1. The Chain
2. You Make Loving Fun
3. Dreams
4. Second Hand News
5. Rhiannon
6. Everywhere
7. I Know I’m Not Wrong
8. Tusk
9. Sisters of the Moon
10. Say You Love Me
11. Seven Wonders
12. Big Love (Lindsey solo, acoustic)
13. Landslide
14. Never Going Back Again (Lindsey solo, acoustic)
15. Over My Head
16. Gypsy
17. Little Lies
18. Gold Dust Woman
19. I’m So Afraid
20. Go Your Own Way
21. World Turning (Mick drum solo)
22. Don’t Stop
23. Silver Springs
24. Songbird

Scott Mervis: sm*****@**********te.com; 412-263-2576.

Scott Mervis / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette / Tuesday, October 15, 2014

A reunited Fleetwood Mac performed at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night

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Watching Fleetwood Mac on Tuesday night at Consol Energy Center felt like a high school reunion. Christine McVie — after a 16-year absence — rejoined her former bandmates, providing her unique voice to songs from the 1970s and ‘80s that she helped to define.

McVie joined Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and other band members for a 2 1⁄2-hour “One With the Show” tour stop. McVie, a British singer and songwriter, filled the void that had been left in Fleetwood Mac for the past decade and a half.

The audience gave McVie a warm ovation, and it got to hear some Fleetwood Mac hits the band just couldn’t do without her, like “Everywhere,” “Say You Love Me” and “You Make Loving Fun.” The added songs eliminated some of those Nicks’ solos that had filled much of the setlist on recent tours.

Both McVie and Nicks, 60-something blonde beauties, still look glamorous and sound great, and their voices have not changed much. Both still have that highly distinctive and opposing sound.

Nicks still does her trademark shtick, as she stretches out her arms and twirls during “Gypsy.” At other points in the show, she wore a black magic hat and a glittery gold shawl. Nicks thumped her tambourine, with streaming pieces of decorative fabric, as McVie shook her maracas and played the piano.

Nicks also let the crowd in on some background stories about the origins of the songs and Fleetwood Mac’s history.

With his guitar, Buckingham tore through songs like “Big Love” and “I’m So Afraid” with an in-your-face intensity that left him breathless, but energized the audience.

Kellie B. Gormly is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at kg*****@*****eb.com or 412-320-7824.

Kellie B. Gormly / Pittsburgh Tribune-Review / Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Prodigal band member Christine McVie returned to the fold after 16 years — but it seemed more like seconds once she joined her voice to those of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on Monday on the aptly named tour, ‘On With the Show.’

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The members of Fleetwood Mac weren’t kidding when, more than 40 years ago, they wrote the line, “You can never break the chain.”

As with the mafia or prison gangs, allegiance to almighty Mac cannot end by anything as flimsy as choice – even if significant portions of time suggest it can.

Proof arrived Monday at The Garden when prodigal member Christine McVie returned to the fold after a long stab at retirement. Sixteen years have elapsed since the group’s declared songbird departed their ranks. But it seemed more like seconds once McVie joined her voice to those of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on the aptly named tour, “On With the Show.”

Fittingly, the reconstituted Mac opened with “The Chain,” their 1977 ode to the promise and threat of eternal connection.

From there, the set worked in seven classic McVie songs, touchstones like “Say You Love Me” and “Over My Head” that had been banished from the band’s shows for far too long.

“We have our dream girl back,” Nicks said at one point.

Lindsey Buckingham flexed his guitar god muscles in ‘I’m So Afraid,’ and his quicksilver Spanish guitar fingerings in ‘Big Love.’
McVie’s presence restored more than just repertoire and sentimentality. Her nurturing alto added a third strand to the band’s trademark harmonic weave. Together, those voices form a signature as certain as the band’s soap opera dramas and unfailing tunemanship.

At 71, McVie’s vocals exuded the same warmth she first brought to the band 44 years ago, well before Nicks and Buckingham’s presence soared them to their commercial peak. McVie’s particular sense of melody, evident in songs from under-appreciated Mac albums like 1972’s “Bare Trees,” wound up presaging the pop formalism the band would idealize on 1977’s “Rumors.”

At The Garden, McVie lent the live band a more varied dynamic, in both sound and character. In the years of her absence, the live focus fell hard on the frisson between Nicks and Buckingham. Their complex relationship — culled from a vexing mix of their personal and professional lives — became the subtext, and sometimes the text, of the shows.

The addition of McVie’s songs gave the show a lighter layer, a sweet contrast to the darker warnings housed in the Nicks/Buckingham catalogue. That became evident with the set’s second song, “You Make Loving Fun.” It offered a creamy reprieve from the pieces surrounding it — the band’s declarative “The Chain” and Nicks’ wan “Dreams.”

Much of the subsequent selection repeated Mac standards — from “Rhiannon” and “Gypsy,” for Nicks, to “Second Hand News” and “Never Going Back Again,” for Buckingham.

‘We have our dream girl back,’ Stevie Nicks (pictured) said at one point of McVie’s return.
The show also featured reliable showcases, like Nicks’ masterpiece about aging, “Landslide,” and Buckingham’s flexing of his guitar god muscles in “I’m So Afraid,” or his quicksilver Spanish guitar fingerings in “Big Love.” But the night also featured rarities, like Nicks’ “Seven Wonders.”

It would have been nice if they had sifted back into their set “Oh Well,” a piece by former member Peter Green from 1969 that they only retired in the last decade. The gesture would have gone the extra mile in making their essential point about continuity and commitment. They came close, however, by giving McVie the last word.

Her signature piece from 1977, “Songbird,” closed the night with a wholly idealized view of love. Given the nuance and complexity of the music and backstory that preceded it, the band more than deserved a final moment of unguarded love.

email:jf*****@*********ws.com

Fleetwood Mac plays the Garden Tuesday.

SET LIST

1. The Chain
2. You Make Loving Fun
3. Dreams
4. Second Hand News
5. Rhiannon
6. Everywhere
7. I Know I’m Not Wrong
8. Tusk
9. Sisters of the Moon
10. Say You Love Me
11. Seven Wonders
12. Big Love
13. Landslide
14. Never Going Back Again
15. Over My Head
16. Gypsy
17. Little Lies
18. Gold Dust Woman
19. I’m So Afraid
20. Go Your Own Way
Encore 1:
1. World Turning
2. Don’t Stop
3. Silver Springs
Encore 2:
1. Songbird

New York Daily News / Tuesday, October 7, 2014

 

A band member returns to the fold, and camaraderie and nostalgia ensue

“Welcome back, Chris!” Stevie Nicks proclaimed soon after Fleetwood Mac started its set on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. “Where have you been?”

“Long story, Stevie,” said the laconic Christine McVie from behind her keyboards. In 1998, after 28 years with Fleetwood Mac, Ms. McVie retired from touring with the band.

But in January, as Ms. Nicks told it in a post-encore monologue, Ms. McVie phoned to ask, “How would you feel if I decided to come back to the band?” (She had already made a guest appearance in September 2013 at a Fleetwood Mac concert in London.) Ms. Nicks added that she advised Ms. McVie to get a trainer because Fleetwood Mac’s shows are so “physical”; its concert set runs 2 ½ hours. And while Ms. McVie’s voice, like the others in the band, has roughened over the decades, it’s still hearty.

With Ms. McVie, Fleetwood Mac has returned to the lineup that made it the world’s best-selling band 37 years ago when it released Rumours, an album of sparkling pop-rock songs about, mostly, crumbling relationships. Ms. McVie was the more levelheaded, kindly voice alongside the band’s other two songwriters: Ms. Nicks — sometimes dreamy, sometimes vindictive — and the guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, who tucked angry, wounded lyrics into virtuosic guitar parts.

Ms. McVie’s demure alto bound together the group’s vocal harmonies; her songs promised that loyal affection was still possible. The three singers and songwriters were backed by the band’s namesakes and tireless rhythm section, the drummer Mick Fleetwood and the bassist John McVie, Christine’s ex-husband since 1977.

Ms. McVie wrote the determinedly optimistic, forward-looking “Don’t Stop,” which insists “yesterday’s gone.” But to the delight of a nostalgic audience on Monday, the band drew its entire set from the five albums this lineup made together: Fleetwood Mac (1975), Rumours (1977), Tusk (1979), Mirage (1982) and Tango in the Night (1987). There was camaraderie onstage; when Ms. McVie sang “Say You Love Me,” Ms. Nicks was singing along without a microphone, like a fan who knew all the words.

Fleetwood Mac can’t duplicate its youthful sweetness. Ms. McVie’s voice has held its richness, but sometimes falters at high notes. Ms. Nicks’s huskiness has grown harsher, and in her glittery shawls she turns slowly now instead of twirling across the stage. But Fleetwood Mac still has the intricacy, elegance and underlying punch of its songs.

Mr. Buckingham is clearly the band’s leader now. The guitar parts that twinkle through Fleetwood Mac’s albums — patterns of picking and strumming that meld folk styles with classical guitar detail — come into the foreground onstage. He turned Ms. Nicks’s “Gold Dust Woman” into a darker incantation before taking a long, skirling, keening solo in his own “I’m So Afraid”; “Tusk” was a cry of despair, not a novelty.

But Ms. McVie was the band’s quieter center of attention, and she had the last word with her “Songbird.” Even though she played it largely alone on piano, with a modest guitar solo from Mr. Buckingham, it meant that Fleetwood Mac was complete again.

Fleetwood Mac performs at the Prudential Center on Saturday, 165 Mulberry Street, Newark; 800-745-3000, prucenter.com.

Jon Pareles / New York Times / Tuesday, October 7, 2014