Last Tuesday, Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis hosted legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac for the 12th show of their tour – another sold out show.
The band, back to the original five with the return of Christine McVie after 16 years, reminded the sold out crowd why they were such big fans of the band for such a long time.
The nearly three-hour-long concert was filled with hits from the past as well as hits of the future.
As the lights went out the shouts and applause began. Chimes were heard and then the foot drum played by Mick Fleetwood slowly began to play. Everyone knew what was coming when Lindsey Buckingham started on the guitar, we all knew what song it was, “The Chain,” a hit from their album Rumours.
They followed with several more hits back to back all evening.
Age has nothing on this band as these “youngsters at heart” thrilled the crowd and sounded incredible. They sang, danced, jumped, and moved around the stage as if time had stood still for the past 40 years.
I have been at concerts of artists in their 20s on up and this concert was one of the best, if not at the top.
Stevie Nicks, 66 and Christine McVie, 71, can still belt it out like no one else with their amazing vocal talents.
From Mick Fleetwood’s entertaining antics on the drums during “World Turning” to John McVie’s steadiness on the bass to Lindsey Buckingham’s unbelievable abilities on the guitar all across the stage, the band put on a show to remember.
When you have a record in your quiver like Rumours, one of the best-selling albums of all time with 45 million copies sold, you can kick off a concert like Fleetwood Mac did Saturday in its second sold-out stop at TD Garden this month. Especially if you have Christine McVie back after a 16-year retirement to join Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham in restoring all three of the lead singers from that 1977 classic.
Hence came the “Keep us together” chorus of opener “The Chain,” one of four straight jukebox-worthy tunes from Rumours, followed by Nicks’ signature 1975 smash “Rhiannon.” Yet beyond the nostalgic joy of having all three voices harmonize those vintage hits, Buckingham then announced a new “profound and prolific chapter” for the band, an allusion to songs reportedly in the works for a comeback album.
But no new songs, solo songs or pre-Buckingham/Nicks songs showed up in Fleetwood Mac’s two-and-a-half hour set, which actually grew stronger as it branched deeper into this quintet’s musical personalities (lengthy banter aside). Pianist McVie, the eldest band member at 71, beamed positivity into edge-of-sappy pop like “Say You Love Me” and “Over My Head.” Nicks tempered her witchy mystique for earthy, resonant delivery even in mid-set “Sisters of the Moon” and “Seven Wonders,” which she admitted wouldn’t have been done if not for its inclusion in the TV series “American Horror Story.” Buckingham hit virtuoso extremes from solo acoustic selections to his stinging, finger-picked guitar climax to “I’m So Afraid” while stoking the rock edge of “Go Your Own Way” with tribal drummer Mick Fleetwood, who fueled the energy of “World Turning” despite his overdone solo bash. Only bassist John McVie, recovering from cancer surgery, played the silent partner.
They all looked good and sounded spot-on musically and vocally, so did they really need three female backup singers, an extra guitarist and an extra keyboardist? “Tusk” was powerful before pre-recorded horns synced to video of the USC Trojan Marching Band that graced the album. Band members seemed in fine spirits as well, complimenting each other left and right, apparently quite sincere and happy about it all. Granted, they’re boosting a lucrative brand, starting with pricey sold-out concert tickets. And they must be in better mental and physical shape than in the cocaine-fueled days that Rumours was made, when relationships (between Buckingham and Nicks as well as the divorcing McVies) were in tatters.
Mac fans (especially many who never caught this full classic lineup) would do well to jump on this bandwagon — if they can afford a ticket, and perhaps before any new songs arrive for better or worse (Saturday’s main misstep was 1987’s glossy “Little Lies,” set to video of made-up young eyes and lips). Beyond a date this Saturday in Hartford, Conn., the band just added shows into the new year, including the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. on Jan. 28 and Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun on Feb. 7.
It’s in times like these we take great comfort in our great escapes.
Our Friday night football, the emotions pouring off the field and captivating Canadians tuning in from coast-to-coast.
Our Saturday night hockey, with it’s stunning show of solidarity in a citywide singalong of O Canada.
And on Sunday, it was time to rock.
It was time for Ottawa to feel good again in the places where we all come together, where we put our arm around the loved one next to us and soak up the good vibrations, and it was an old favourite in Fleetwood Mac providing the soundtrack for this night’s singalong.
For a band with such a acrimonious past, their music is a unifying force, and a sold-out Canadian Tire Centre provided the perfect retreat as the unmistakable swagger of The Chain’s opening guitar riff washed over the crowd of 18,500.
The band played a similar role of healer on their last major tour, in 2013, where a sold-out Boston concert was one of that city’s first major events following the Boston marathon bombing.
Fleetwood Mac performs at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014. (Photo: Matthew Usherwood / Ottawa Sun)
Stopping in Ottawa a week later in April, 2013, fans celebrated as the band marked 35 years since their landmark Rumours album, but the party’s invitation list was finally intact for Sunday’s return engagement, with Christine McVie rejoining the fold and completing the supergroup’s classic lineup.
“Two blondes are better than one,” quipped Stevie Nicks, who joked about being left lonely as the only blonde on stage “for all these years” since McVie’s departure in 1998.
The band seemed to appreciate McVie’s presence as much as McVie appreciated being back in the limelight.
She earned a rousing applause for her first venture into the spotlight, seated at the keys for her You Make Loving Fun, Everywhere, and Say You Love Me, reminding fans what an integral contribution she made to the band’s phenomenal rule over the charts, and to their undeniable onstage chemistry.
McVie thanked the fans for such a warm welcome back, and turned her thanks to her old bandmates “for giving me a second chance at doing this all over again.”
Nicks’ best-known showpieces, Dreams and Rhiannon, were played with the same majesty captured on the mega-selling records of the Mac’s mid-70s heyday, and while she no longer reaches for the higher registers that lent such an eerie allure to the songs’ hooks, her husky alto still held the same power and poise.
Lindsey Buckingham — who gave his third Ottawa concert in two years following 2012’s solo gig at Folkfest and last year’s CTC tour stop — seemed genuine when he said he was “thrilled” to be back.
“Fleetwood Mac is a band that has somehow managed to evolve, to grow through the good times and the bad,” he said.
“That’s part of what makes us what we are, and at this particular moment, with the return of beautiful Christine, we begin a new chapter a very prolific, poetic, profound chapter in the history of this band.”
Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham performs at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014. (Photo: Matthew Usherwood / Ottawa Sun)
The ageless frontman whooped it up on Second Hand News, and put his entire essence into a rousing solo rendition of Big Love, which he introduced as a “contemplation on alienation” when it was written for 1987’s Tango in the Night — which saw Buckingham abruptly quit the group on the verge of a world tour — now saying the song had taken on a different meaning as “a meditation on the power and importance of change.”
It was the same sentiment found in the lines of Landslide, with Nicks delivering a starkly beautiful rendering, Buckingham’s acoustic providing the only accessory her voice would need, and all voices intertwining beautifully on Never Going Back Again, Little Lies and the impassioned Go Your Own Way.
There may be power in change, but there’s also comfort in knowing that sometimes, they stay the same.
Twitter: @OttSunHelmer
Aedan Helmer / Ottawa Sun / Sunday, October 26, 2014
Fleetwood Mac returned to Canada on Sunday night, performing their 15th show of the tour in the city of Ottawa.
Because Stevie didn’t know anyone in the city, she dedicated “Landslide” to the “universal consciousness of Ottawa.” She also told the crowd how appreciative the band was of Canada and their support. “We do so well in Canada. I don’t know, I think we should, like, move to Canada. For all you fantastic Ottawans, this is ‘Landslide.”
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Set List
1. The Chain
13. Landslide
2. You Make Loving Fun
14. Never Going Back Again
3. Dreams
15. Over My Head
4. Second Hand News
16. Gypsy
5. Rhiannon
17. Little Lies
6. Everywhere
18. Gold Dust Woman
7. I Know I’m Not Wrong
19. I’m So Afraid
8. Tusk
20. Go Your Own Way
9. Sisters of the Moon
21. World Turning (encore 1)
10. Say You Love Me
22. Don’t Stop
11. Seven Wonders
23. Silver Springs
12. Big Love
24. Songbird (encore 2)
Videos
Special thanks to belladonnadream, Kerry O’Gorman, Sevenwonders81, and Simon Venekeo for sharing these videos. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
The Chain – partial (courtesy of belladonnadream)
You Make Loving Fun (courtesy of belladonnadream)
Dreams (courtesy of Simon Venekeo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DVRte44w18
Dreams (courtesy of Sevenwonders81)
Dreams (courtesy of Tom Kelly)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_-cGwCMXlI
Rhiannon (courtesy of Simon Venekeo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXuvCDF6OO4
Everywhere (courtesy of belladonnadream)
Tusk (courtesy of belladonnadream)
Seven Wonders (courtesy of Simon Venekeo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEnbkpi-js0
Landslide (courtesy of belladonnadream)
Over My Head (courtesy of Sevenwonders81)
Gypsy (courtesy of Sevenwonders81)
Little Lies (courtesy of Sevenwonders81)
Little Lies (courtesy of Simon Venekeo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD1P77roefU
Gold Dust Woman (courtesy of Sevenwonders81)
Go Your Own Way (courtesy of Simon Venekeo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6DKecTVWsc
Don’t Stop (courtesy of Kerry O’Gorman)
Silver Springs (courtesy of Simon Venekeo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V_6heiZng0
On Saturday night, Fleetwood Mac performed their 14th show of the tour, playing a second show at TD Garden in Boston.
Stevie dedicated “Landslide” to Vincent, a soldier from Boston who was severely injured in the line of military duty. Over the years, as Vincent slowly and miraculously recovered, Stevie got to know Vincent’s family, with whom she formed a special bond. Stevie also dedicated “Landslide” to Vincent at last year’s show in Boston.
“So Vincent, for everything that you have done and what you gave up for all of us, I’d like to dedicate this song to you one more time. Hopefully, I’ll go and dedicate it to you for another 25 years… So this is ‘Landslide,’ and it’s for Vincent.”
Set List
1. The Chain
13. Landslide
2. You Make Loving Fun
14. Never Going Back Again
3. Dreams
15. Over My Head
4. Second Hand News
16. Gypsy
5. Rhiannon
17. Little Lies
6. Everywhere
18. Gold Dust Woman
7. I Know I’m Not Wrong
19. I’m So Afraid
8. Tusk
20. Go Your Own Way
9. Sisters of the Moon
21. World Turning (encore 1)
10. Say You Love Me
22. Don’t Stop
11. Seven Wonders
23. Silver Springs
12. Big Love
24. Songbird (encore 2)
Videos
Special thanks to Tad Clarke, DGB519, Michelle Duffy, marinistic, SKMDC777, and stebek1 for sharing these videos!
You Make Loving Fun (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5rvjl39DOo
Dreams (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Oh3YFgy4tw
Second Hand News (courtesy of marinistic)
Rhiannon (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AjW54quTv8
Everywhere (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKO3IhsFSGM
Say You Love Me (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYDRed3NB5Y
Landslide (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clyx1gKkJHQ
Never Going Back Again (courtesy of SKMDC777)
Over My Head (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQHh7wJxyIY
Gypsy (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahxqwymdi7o
Little Lies (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HkWM7Tl9YY
Little Lies (courtesy of marinistic)
Go Your Own Way (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g36SHmw213w
Go Your Own Way (courtesy of Michelle Duffy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1ZqT1CS6QA
World Turning (courtesy of marinistic)
Don’t Stop (courtesy of DGB519)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvt5zZ1tzYA
Fleetwood Mac performed their 13th show of the tour at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on Wednesday night.
Stevie dedicated “Landslide” to Kid Rock, who was at the show and surprised Stevie when he unexpectedly walked onstage during the song to give her a big hug (see video below).
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Set List
1. The Chain
13. Landslide
2. You Make Loving Fun
14. Never Going Back Again
3. Dreams
15. Over My Head
4. Second Hand News
16. Gypsy
5. Rhiannon
17. Little Lies
6. Everywhere
18. Gold Dust Woman
7. I Know I’m Not Wrong
19. I’m So Afraid
8. Tusk
20. Go Your Own Way
9. Sisters of the Moon
21. World Turning (encore 1)
10. Say You Love Me
22. Don’t Stop
11. Seven Wonders
23. Silver Springs
12. Big Love
24. Songbird (encore 2)
Videos
Special thanks to Paul Barker, gingerpix1971, Allison Harrington, Huntington15, Kari Kokx, Mary LiGreci, MrRMark1, Tim Plymale, and Thad67 for sharing your concert experience. Your generosity and selflessness are greatly appreciated!
The Chain (courtesy of Thad67)
Dreams (courtesy of Huntingtonm15)
Second Hand News (courtesy of Tim Plymale)
Rhiannon (courtesy of Mary LiGreci)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UpQemIU_JU
Everywhere (courtesy of Thad67)
I Know I’m Not Wrong (courtesy of thad67)
Tusk (courtesy of thad67)
Say You Love Me (courtesy of thad67)
Seven Wonders (courtesy of thad67)
Landslide – Kid Rock appearance (courtesy of Paul Barker)
Landslide (courtesy of Huntingtonm15)
Never Going Back Again (courtesy of thad67)
Over My Head (courtesy of thad67)
Gypsy (courtesy of Thad67)
Gypsy (courtesy of MrRMark1)
Little Lies (courtesy of Thad67)
Gold Dust Woman (courtesy of Thad67)
Go Your Own Way (courtesy of MrRMark1)
Band Introductions / Don’t Stop (courtesy of Kari Kokx)
Watch as Fleetwood Mac tells Access Hollywood about the story and the message of their 2014 world tour. Plus, what’s it like to have Christine McVie back with the group after a 16 year absence? And, why do they think fans have responded so well to them for so many years?
In sports, one player, no matter how transcendent, can’t single-handedly win a title: Just ask LeBron James. On the crowded classic-rock-nostalgia circuit, even two towering superstars might not cut it: Ask Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
So please welcome back Fleetwood Mac’s not-so-secret weapon, Christine McVie. As evidenced by last night’s transformative show in Nationwide Arena, her adoring fans missed her, but not half as much as the rest of her band.
Sure, the ’70s-chart-smashing pop juggernaut could subsist on the arena-touring circuit for decades hence off the poisonous fruit of the infamously doomed Buckingham-Nicks romance alone, but what fun is that?
McVie, a far sweeter and gentler singer and songwriter, had quit the band in 1998 (she hated flying) and vowed never to return. Thank God she relented this year. The crowd’s huge swell of adoration was palpable from the first few notes of “You Make Loving Fun.” Exquisitely mushy cloudbursts like “Everywhere” and “Say You Love Me” — a typical line of hers is “I’m over my head / But it sure feels nice” — were crucial counterpoints to Nicks’ siren songs and Buckingham’s wiry, pantherlike aggressiveness.
A shadowy back line of five singers and multi-instrumentalists quietly added any muscle the core quintet, rounded out by rock-solid bassist John McVie and incurably hammy drummer Mick Fleetwood, had lost over the years. (Nice gong, Mick.)
Nicks in particular deftly dodged the high notes on “Dreams” and “Rhiannon,” though her cuddly-goth charisma helped close the deficit: Nobody on Earth gets more applause just for twirling in a circle.
Still, “Landslide,” her colossally gentle acoustic duet with Buckingham, can always induce open weeping, and her entrancing “Gypsy” may be the band’s single most rapturous pure-pop moment. (The lost high notes on that one particularly hurt last night, though she did twirl a lot.)
Buckingham, meanwhile, is the mad virtuoso: His howling, classical-guitar-shredding, one-man version of “Big Love” (off 1987’s crazy-underrated Tango in the Night) is an awesome, terrifying thing, and his prowling, snarling, opera-length solo on the uncharacteristically heavy deep cut I’m So Afraid nearly knocked the audience unconscious.
Ultimately, though, it was Christine’s night: The show peaked with the Tango-era soft-rock classic “Little Lies” — featuring the night’s best harmonies by a long shot — and she closed out with the delicately strident solo-piano gem “Songbird.” Her bandmates appeared to consider carrying her offstage like a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. It’s not a bad idea.
