Fleetwood Mac is easily one of the most rock ’n’ roll bands in rock ’n’ roll.

From the cocaine binges to the in-fighting to the affairs to the cults (founding member Jeremy Spencer left to join one in 1971) to the extravagant contracts (Nicks and McVie reportedly wanted their hotel rooms freshly painted in specific colours before they arrived), the band has the kind of history rock biographers dream of.

Dishy drama aside, Fleetwood Mac is also responsible for one of the best-selling albums of all time — 1977’s landmark Rumours — and a catalogue of enduring classics. And then, of course, Fleetwood Mac also has Stevie Nicks — that quintessential blonde California girl in her shawls and fringes, who inspired a thousand imitators with both her songwriting prowess and her iconic image.

It’s easy to get romantic about Fleetwood Mac, whose current (and aptly titled) On with the Show tour rolled into the MTS Centre on Monday night, the band’s second show in Winnipeg in less than two years. As Jada Yuan wrote in a Vulture profile of Nicks, “you don’t come to one of their shows just for the music; you come to watch them masochistically stare down their past before a live audience.” The history onstage is palpable.

And with Christine McVie back in the band rounding out the most famous Mac lineup of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Nicks, Monday night’s show felt even more significant.

After opening with “The Chain” — which boasted a blistering Buckingham solo; the man is ageless — Christine was given a warm welcome back when she took over the mic for “You Make Loving Fun.” “Welcome Winnipeg! And welcome back Chris!” Nicks shouted before launching into “Dreams.”

As one would expect, the sprawling two-and-a-half-hour show was mostly a greatest hits package; if you came to hear Rumours in nearly its entirety, you were rewarded — the band played everything but “Oh Daddy” and “I Don’t Want to Know.”

Much-loved McVie songs — such as “Everywhere,” “Say You Love Me” and “Over My Head” — are also obviously back in rotation this time out, which was another treat; it’s been 16 years since we’ve heard Christine’s fine-wine pipes live. (She quit the band in ’98, apparently due to a crippling fear of flying.) And she delivered; her presence made the performances feel more “complete,” to borrow a word from Mick Fleetwood.

She might not be able to reach the heights she used to, but Nicks’ voice has also gotten deeper and richer with age, as evidenced on “Rhiannon,” a purring “Sisters of the Moon” and, later on in the night, show-stopping performances of “Landslide” and the ever-haunting “Gold Dust Woman.” The latter, in particular, will go down as one of the year’s best concert moments. She sent shivers down this reviewer’s spine.

If Stevie Nicks, twirling in her shawls and her ribbon-festooned tambourine, is a rock ’n’ roll goddess, then Buckingham is a bona fide guitar god. “I Know I’m Not Wrong” — with the guitarist turning in a positively punk rock performance — was an early set highlight, as was the driving “Tusk.” An arresting solo-acoustic reading of “Big Love” — from 1987’s Tango in the Night — was a stunning reminder of what an agile guitarist he is. It’s a bit of a shame that he wasn’t given more room to stretch out on more extended jams; the solo on “I’m So Afraid” was a scorcher.

The energy barely waned over the course of what was a marathon show, but it never felt like it. A boisterous Little Lies had the folks in the first few rows on the floor dancing their hearts out. Main set closer “Go Your Own Way” — with Nicks in her top hat — was similarly resplendent.

The band returned for a sizzling four-song encore that included “World Turning” (which, like last time, featured a pummelling Fleetwood drum solo), a bouncy “Don’t Stop,” “Silver Springs” — written for Lindsey, according to Mac lore — and, fittingly, closed with a spare, stripped-down version Christine McVie’s lovely “Songbird.”

Maybe Buckingham was right when he said this was the start of a new chapter for Fleetwood Mac earlier in the night. This isn’t a mere nostalgia act. This is a band renewed.

CONCERT REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac’s terrific live show more than just Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
Nov. 10, 2014
MTS Centre
Attendance: Not available
4.5 stars out of 5

Jen Zoratti / Winnipeg Free Press / Tuesday, November 11, 2014

The chain has kept them together, after all these years. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Fleetwood Mac – the classic 1970s lineup of five – thrilled many baby boomers on a date night yesterday, as the band’s On With The Show tour triumphantly landed at the MTS Centre for a 2½-hour concert.

The mischievous 6’6” drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and his band co-founder, bassist John McVie (hence the Mac’s name), Lindsey Buckingham (guitars and vocals) and Stevie Nicks (vocals), who both joined back in ’75, and the returning songbird, Christine McVie (keyboards and vocals): five distinct personalities who have somehow stayed together and made it work, going on almost four decades. Buckingham came back after quitting for several years in the late ‘80s, but last night belonged without question to Christine McVie, who is touring for the first time in 16 years after a hiatus brought on by her fear of flying.

Fleetwood Mac opened with “The Chain” from Rumours (1977), silencing any doubts they’re still a ferocious rock band. The follow-up song was Christine McVie’s “You Make Loving Fun,” which got a roar of approval from the audience to welcome her back. “Thank you for giving me a second chance; you don’t often get that,” she said before “Everywhere” from 1987’s Tango in the Night. Still sounds great, by the way.

Many came to see Stevie Nicks, whose sexy, raspy voice on “Dreams,” followed shortly by “Rhiannon,” doesn’t quite soar as it once did, but has gained a smoky quality that she makes work. Nicks can still twirl the heck out of a shawl and, at times, when she was dancing she looked eerily like her 20-something self, shimmying under her black top hat.

Buckingham led the band in an explosive “Tusk”, the title track from their 1979 double LP, which sounded surprisingly current and vital, then a heavy version of “Sisters of the Moon” from the same album – a damn cool song that Nicks really sold on vocals.

Mid-way through their set, the Mac stripped it down for a few self-indulgent acoustic numbers that slowed things down a bit too much. Nicks took the stage for a truly gorgeous “Landslide”…she is “getting older too,” but the gypsy hasn’t lost any of her mystery, nor magic. There were a few other, shall we say, less-than-exhilarating parts of the show. The worst offender was Buckingham, whose solos – one in particular that seemed to go on forever (another beer, anyone?) – were clearly appreciated most by the notoriously egotistical guitarist himself. But still, seeing him sing “Go Your Own Way,” the mother of all bitter break-up songs, with Nicks some 37 years after their split is still a blast.

Fleetwood left his gigantic drum kit in the back of the stage for a smaller one up front. Watching him play in person, you can see he’s a fluid, effortlessly powerful drummer. His trademark fills put the punctuations on his status as one of rock’s greatest drummers. Later for the encore, his extended drum solo within “World Turning” from Fleetwood Mac (1975) was both awe-inspiring and hilarious, as only Fleetwood himself can be.

Meanwhile, apart from a couple of short bass breaks, John McVie hung back near the drums and made almost no impression on stage. He could have been mistaken for a session player, which is probably just as he likes it.

Nigel Moore / Metro Winnipeg / Tuesday, November 11, 2014