The Hollywood Bowl May 25
 

Looking forward to reviews and videos.

@lesley_land now
So #FleetwoodMac @ the Bowl was incredible. Best mo was Lindsey Buckingham addressing the crowd with 'you guys smell like you're having fun'

“California! The Hollywood Bowl, just like I pictured it,” Stevie Nicks greeted the crowd just before Dreams.

She said they'd been on the road for five weeks and expressed how glad she was to be back home.

It was about 60 degrees outside and Stevie put on a velvet scarf tied in a bow to shield her throat after Dreams.

As Lindsey introduced Sad Angel he said they're still not sure how they're going to put all of their new music together.

For the intro into the Tusk songs, I think it's charming the way Lindsey gets so much pleasure out of the crowd's acknowledgment of the album. He says Fleetwood Mac has occasionally had to subvert the old "rule of thumb" or axiom that if something works run it into the ground and then move on and they did so most notably with an album called, Tusk, then he beams as the crowd claps and whistles in response to the word. It may not have been what WB wanted, but Lindsey says time has revealed not only the content and quality of the album, but the reasons why it was done.

It's funny, as much as we've talked about it, I'm still a little surprised every time they start the music for SOTM. I have to get my bearings because I'm not used to having it in the setlist. But it's pleasant to have my expectations shaken. After it's over Stevie says it's an old song that they haven't done since [meaningful pause] "1981." Close but no cigar. Still, we fans have made inroads. She's heard us and listened. We can get her to say 1982 before this year is over.

It was before Big Love that Lindsey says "it smells like you guys are having a pretty good time. Yeah," in response to the marijuana fumes wafting towards him. He spoke of his need to defend against love being no more than an echo now that's he's been lucky enough to marry and have a family. He says that kids are a big responsibility, but one of the greatest gifts you can have. He dedicated the song to his lovely wife Kristen and his children Will, Lee Lee and Stella.

The tapestry that drops down from the ceiling for Big Love isn't used tonight, presumably because of the Bowl's layout.

When Stevie comes out for Without Love she says, "this is my moment!" I suppose that it's because Lindsey's family is present that she sanitizes things a bit, so that you might imagine that she and Lindsey were just chums. She doesn't mention how it's the nicest song she ever wrote about them or that she did it when they were so in love. She doesn't recall their great romance or say what a "loyal boyfriend" he was to insist that she join the band too. She refers to herself as the girl, rather than the "girlfriend."

This disappoints me, because I was thinking with that assembly, it'd be a great time to graphically explain, "Yep, in 1970 Lindsey and I were insatiable lovers hitting it on the regular," but nooooo. . .

She does say that even though they struggled and times were difficult, they were also wonderful. It was the best rock and roll life. She says, that after they put her poem to music, by making a wonderful demo, what probably happened is that someone, a sneak, sneak, sneak, came in and took the casette from their home and then copied it and brought it back and they never knew it was gone. But that's how the song was lost and they would never have found it, if a friend didn't hear it on Youtube. Huh? Ok. I understand that someone stole her demo and copied it without permission, but she is saying that they brought the original back. So, she still has it, right? She never even knew it was gone, according to her. It wasn't "lost". She just forgot about it.

Anyway, they found it and she says that Mick admits to her that what attracted him to Lindsey was that he needed a guitarist. He wasn't looking for a girl singer. Mick is sitting on the floor with them and he stands up and slinks away in shame as Stevie says this. Stevie says that she likes to use this part of the show to thank Lindsey and Mick and John McVie who agreed to it too (Wow, John you finally got included in this story, buddy). She thanks them all for saying, "ok you can bring the girl." Lindsey responds "I think we did all right."

She says they are doing the song exactly as they did it then and it's one of the tracks on their little EP.

For Gypsy they don’t use the backscreen to play the video with the two little girls on the beach. There is a narrow arch over the stage and you can see a ribbon of the video up there. At the end, Stevie moves to her right and spins. More slowly now than then, but we recognize her recreation of that iconic close to the Gypsy video.

My thoughts are wry during NGBA. I think Lindsey thinks his "ooooh yeahs" are sexy. I close my eyes and try to escape to my safe place.

When Stevie comes out for Landslide she says that there's been "a complete wardrobe change" because of the really cold weather. But she didn't get a chance to finish the switch. She only had time to put on one glove. "Lindsey, your song should have been longer." She shows him she's only wearing one glove and he looks bemused. She reaches out and grabs his collar, trying to protect his chest from the elements. He wards her off as if to say that he is fine. She says, "He never gets cold."

She wants to dedicate Landslide to 2 special people. Dave Stewart who made the time they spent together in 2010 the best year of her life and David Grohl who convinced her and Stewart to actually finish IYD. Without his prodding, she thinks she and Stewart would have just played around and never completed their production. To David Stewart she says, "thank you for making witches dance."

At the end of the song, when Lindsey takes her hand he moves the fingers back and forth first, as if he is examining the glove. Then he kisses it. Their fingers intertwine and he waves at her as he pulls away and returns to his side of the stage.

For GDW as they get to the "did she make you cry, make you break down, shatter your illusions of love" Lindsey stamps his feet as he barks out his background vocal and she faces him with her hands in the halt position. He helps her act out the fire and passion passages in the song here, as in Silver Springs later, by giving her emotion to play off of.

At the end she rips open her shawl dramatically. "You wish you could save me, but you can't save me."

As I listen to Mick sputtering during World Turning I wonder exactly what kind of accent is he trying to achieve? It's rather calypso, I think.

When Lindsey introduces him, I understand that I misunderstood in San Jose. Lindsey didn't say that Mick had a "resounding wand." He said, "The one --and only and there is only one -- Mick Fleetwood."

When Mick gets to Brett he says, he "has a massive hammond organ, no doubt." Brett gestures to play up the double entendre and Mick says, "Steady."

Mick says he just realized that Lindsey, "this young man" never leaves the stage all night. "Not once." Well, it's true, but that's been going on for years. How is it Mick never noticed? Mick, if Lindsey wanted to step offstage, get a hamburger and slip into an Armani suit between numbers, exactly when would he make the getaway? Songbird's gone. Are there any other songs in your set that don't require a guitarist? The only time Mick leaves the stage is when Lindsey is playing solo. During Mick's drum solo, Lindsey is sitting there right within Mick's line of sight. So, if Lindsey did make a habit of running offstage, when would it happen?

Mick says that the three guys think of Stevie every night as "our lady, our poet. Ms. Stevie Nicks. Oh Yeah." Then, he pretends to arrange his hair and gives another high pitched, "oh yeah."

He introduces John as "always on my right hand side. Always on my right hand side." Calls him the backbone of the band, as usual.

For Say Goodbye Lindsey reflects on being back in this place. It's their home. He and Stevie came down . . . when was it? 1972? [Stevie, who is so good with dates, doesn't respond], "Something like that." He talks about the song being written 10 years ago when all of their illusions are gone, but says sometimes you have to let go of those illusions to jump forward.

After the band hugs and bows, Lindsey leaves the stage after shaking a few hands in the front row. Stevie gives her dream catcher speech. As songwriters, when they give to us and we give it back, then what they are able to create is really "all your fault," she says.

Mick ends the night by summarizing what he said he heard Stevie and Lindsey express: how lucky they are to be doing something that they love to do.

And I guess I'm lucky to still be able to see them do it!

Michele

Excellent review Michele!

I wonder if Stevie knows that virtually every WY intro has been thrown "out there" on You Tube where the wife & kids could get the unedited version in all it's mushy glory? Just the fact they recorded that particular song & released it is sort of a in your face gesture anyway. Watering down a song intro is supposed to soothe that? I don't think so. Jmo.

Lol at the Landslide antics. That reminds me if the SYW Today show rehearsal. Although, I think he was plenty cold then.

Ha. Excellent review as always. You didn't say anything about your camera and its flash. The best parts of the review were your sense of humor and my favorite line of yours I highlighted.

Thanks for the awesome review, yet again, Michele. Really enjoyed reading it and felt almost as if I was there. Hope you had a good time.

How was the music/how did they play/sound quality/crowd??

Sad Angel by ednla




Not That Funny by ednla




Tusk by ednla

Don't Stop by ednla




Landslide by ednla




Go Your Own Way by ednla

My impression of the music hasn't changed since opening night. For Ohio, I went through each song and its performance. And I have no new insights. So, I'll just let someone with fresh ears describe that.

They played fine. The sound quality was good. I was standing in a position where the bass throbbed through my whole body. The crowd was receptive. The place was full and there were people outside as well, sitting on the lawn listening to the music through speakers. The paying crowd stayed right through Say Goodbye, although with Bowl parking the way it is, it is hard to leave early anyway. So, I'm not sure that this is a sign of dedication.

Michele

I'm totally loving the first 45 seconds of Lindsey's GYOW guitar intro.

I did make some videos like Elle suggested. I will try to post one later, though it wasn't very good. I had the same problem. Whether my flash was on or off or whether I was using that "Night" mode, their faces were flooded out. All you could see was brightness, instead of their features.

Speaking of that, at the end of the show, I'm not sure if it was GYOW or something, Lindsey bent down and when he was getting up he covered his face so that the bright spotlight wouldn't hit hit him in the orbs. Well, how does he think we felt, when it bored straight into our faces for extended periods? Blinded for life.

But it was actually a nice picture to have captured, Lindsey masking his face. Like the Lone Ranger or The Phantom of the Opera, shunning exposure.

Michele

Photo taken by SapphireSister
 

Rhiannon by Kelli Falkengren




Gold Dust Woman by Lauren B




Gypsy (snippet) by Lauren B

Oh, I meant to say that after Gypsy, Mick is sitting on the floor with them, so as Stevie is bowing, Lindsey went over, leaned down and rested his arm on Mick's shoulder as they stood outside of the spotlight. Pretty sweet.

Michele

Tusk by yamamojnn




Landslide(most of dedication included) by allsaintsday72




Gold Dust Woman (snippet) by Julie Wiskerchen[tell the audience singers to STFU, you're recording]

loved the review and all the special LA show specific tidbits Michele - thanks so much!! :xoxo:

yes, he definitely enjoys it. in DC, someone held up Tusk album when he started that speech and he loved that. people hold up BN and Tusk albums at LB solo shows all the time, but i guess it's not that much of a regular occurrence at FM shows. so he really loved that and incorporated it in his speech. he said something like "hey, and there it is!" and then he mumbled jokingly "we prearranged this" to the rest of the audience, but he was definitely beaming.

Lindsey changed his Big Love speech and i missed it????? what?!?!? but that speech has been set in stone for years now, it was the only one he never changed since what? 2009? ;) regardless of whether he's touring solo, with the band, without the band, just having q&as (see 92Y as a reference = same speech), with or without FM!!??

i guess in 2006 and 2008 he talked about finally finding love and having a family before BL, so it makes sense this would be the song he dedicated to his wife and kids. sweet! :xoxo: i wish i could hear that change in BL speech and whole dedication, hopefully the video will pop us soon! :nod:

makes sense now, we saw that BL didn't have tapestry in tweetpics and were wondering what happened there, whether pics were just left-right switched or was it because of the stage layout / bowl.

:laugh::laugh:
another speech i hope surfaces on youtube soon!

heard he did that (mini edge walk :D) in Vancouver too, but not in Tacoma (well maybe in Vancouver that was especially so he can say hi to some people he knew and didn't see for a while). happy to hear he did it in LA too. :nod: :thumbsup: :xoxo:

before the show - http://instagram.com/p/Zwa0uQQe_F/

Big Love by Stephen Silvagni




Never Going Back Again by Stephen Silvagni




Silver Springs(snippet) by Stephlite

Silver Springs & Say Goodbye (Complete Songs including SG speech) by allsaintsday72

Elle, to me he didn't so much change it as add elements that he used to use in the past. He's dedicated it to them before that way and he's talking about it being an echo of its former meaning before too. He still had the "looking out for love" and defending against love in it this time.

I haven't heard him say that kids are a big responsibility, but one of the greatest gifts before though. I just didn't write that part, because we all knew it already.

Michele

Oh, for Landslide, Stevie also said when she was sitting on the floor in Colorado, she never dreamed she was writing something that would mean so much to the world and to Fleetwood Mac.

There is one time when she exits the stage where she exits from Lindsey's side instead of her own. She started to walk backstage by going behind the drum kit and Karen came out and grabbed her hand and led her to the exit by the side. Karen usually would just meet her at the stage entrance with a little flash light so that Stevie can see.

When Mick leaves the stage at the end, there is someone waiting with a cloak to throw over his large shoulders.

Michele

Thanks for sharing so many details. I noticed the cloak in Cbus and forgot about it until now. Recently I read, probably here, Mick saying he is always cold and he has heaters around his kit...unusual for a drummer (he said).

Peter Fonda tweeted

Https://mobile.twitter.com/iamfonda


Lindsey was better than ever, Stevie was gr8 and the founders John and Mick were outrageous and perfect and more. The show was so good WOW

These are little snippets of the ends of songs, the hug clips. One is sideways and I don't know how to rotate it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17777208@N05/8846558049/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17777208@N05/8846801807/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17777208@N05/8847349076/

In my mental collection of fan quotes in reviews, currently #1 spot.


Peter Fonda tweets-when someone says "Stevie, as in Wonder" PF says no, LindsAy Buckingham & Stevie Nicks...study up!"

smdh :laugh:

This is the band at the close of Say Goodbye.

http://vimeo.com/67024760

Silver Springs by HarlJHogg




(End of Eyes of the World) Gold Dust Woman by dewalt10




(Stevie's welcome speech) Dreams (snippet) by roxyb30

Second Hand News(snippet)(Bowl Highlight) by Amy Louff




Big Love by bigbang68




Landslide by bigbang68

Never Going Back Again by bigbang68




The Chain by creepingelm



Landslide(very good sound) by 654321mlh

Don't Stop byHarlJHogg




Never Going Back Again by guavasnout




Dreams by creepingelm

Thanks for posting these vids! That SS was awesome! SO glad she's doing the animated "never get away, never get away, never get away" at the end again. This version may override my previous fav from the SYW tour.

Los Angeles Times [click for photos]
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,1865349.story

Review: Fleetwood Mac lights a fire at Hollywood Bowl

By Mikael Wood May 26, 2013, 3:19 p.m.

Only a band as famously twisted as Fleetwood Mac would follow an exhortation to “get this party started” with a song as bleakly imagined as “Dreams.” That’s the indelible 1977 smash in which Stevie Nicks warns a capricious lover about hearing “the sound of your loneliness like a heartbeat,” and Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl, Fleetwood Mac performed it near the beginning of a sold-out concert that Nicks said represented the group’s happy homecoming after several weeks spent on the road.


The long-running pop-rock outfit, which formed as a London blues band in 1967 but didn’t attain superstardom until it later relocated to L.A. and hired Nicks and singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, is halfway through a three-month North American tour; it’s to play Anaheim’s Honda Center on Tuesday, then circle back to Staples Center on July 3.

Yet if Saturday’s show was intended to start a party, as Nicks declared, Fleetwood Mac hardly had good times on its mind. Rounded out by drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie (along with five auxiliary musicians), the group sounded sharper and more aggressive -- simply louder too -- than it had in years as it tore through old songs such as “Gold Dust Woman” and “The Chain,” in which Buckingham growled, “Damn your love / Damn your lies,” over grinding electric guitar.

As with “Dreams,” both tunes came from the band’s blockbuster album “Rumours,” which famously caught the romantic turmoil then raging among various members of the group (including McVie’s ex-wife Christine, who quit in 1998). At the Bowl, though, Fleetwood Mac stripped the songs of the soft-rock sheen that helped drive “Rumours” to sales of nearly 20 million copies; it was exposing the desperation that simmers beneath the catchy choruses.

In “Second Hand News,” Buckingham strummed his guitar so hard that he had trouble restraining himself to the song’s already-brisk tempo. And though Nicks, who turned 65 on Sunday, has lost some of her high notes to age, she used her imperious drone to accentuate the drama in “Silver Springs.”

The 2½-hour set roamed beyond “Rumours” to Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled 1975 album (its first with Buckingham and Nicks) for “Landslide” and “Rhiannon”; to early-’80s hits such as “Gypsy” and Nicks’ solo “Stand Back”; and to “Tusk,” the willfully experimental “Rumours” follow-up that Buckingham admitted must have confounded executives at the band’s record label.

For “Not That Funny,” he bore down on his guitar, cranking out crunchy punk chords; later, Nicks roughed up her delivery in “Sisters of the Moon,” which she said the band hadn’t played onstage since 1981.

Fleetwood Mac also did two cuts from a new EP it released last month, the group’s first studio output since “Say You Will” in 2003. “Sad Angel” was a crisp power-pop tune with echoes of 1987’s “Tango in the Night,” while Nicks described the strummy “Without You” as a recently rediscovered remnant from her and Buckingham’s days as a duo. Both were received with surprising enthusiasm by the audience -- more warmly, for sure, than the Rolling Stones’ new songs were last week at Staples Center.

Before “Sad Angel,” Buckingham said that Fleetwood Mac had more fresh material but that the band wasn’t sure how to release it.

Despite its rawness, the music wasn’t uninterested in arena-rock grandeur. To introduce “Gold Dust Woman,” Fleetwood banged an enormous gong, and the drummer took a lengthy, parody-skirting solo in “World Turning.” Nicks too was taking advantage of the Bowl’s large stage, twirling with her trademark scarves in a beautiful and vicious rendition of “Sara.”

Occasionally, the show could’ve done with more polish, as in a dirge-like “I’m So Afraid” and “Dreams,” where Nicks’ and Buckingham’s harmony vocals felt unhinged in the wrong way. (They recovered in time for the pinpoint precision of “Never Going Back Again.”)

But for the most part, the live-wire intensity -- and often the outright crankiness -- Fleetwood Mac mustered enabled the band to add new meaning to songs that might have seemed to have told their stories already. “You should see me now,” Nicks sang in a line she appended to “Gold Dust Woman,” and for a night at least that was within reach.

^I don't agree with the term "vicious rendition of Sara".

There's loss and lushness, but really no anger in that song and no pounding beat. I don't know where "vicious" comes from.

Michele

Leavenworth Times, May 26, 2013 by Garon Cockrell
http://www.leavenworthtimes.com/arti...LOGS/305269990

Concert Review: Fleetwood Mac LIVE @ The Hollywood Bowl May 25, 2013

Last night at the world famous Hollywood Bowl in Southern California the classic line-up of Fleetwood Mac took the stage for a night of hits, deep album cuts and even a couple of new songs.

At this stage in their career the band could almost be named like a "law firm" of "Buckingham, Nicks, McVie & Fleetwood" because this current entity is equal in every way. Mick and John hold down the rhythm section like 2 guys who have been playing together for almost 50 years (because they have been!) while Stevie and Lindsey bring the songs, harmonies and guitar playing.

And while we're on the subject of guitar playing... Lindsey Buckingham is without a doubt the most underrated guitar player of all-time!! His picking style is like no one else I have ever seen or heard. Whether he's playing his acoustic guitar with angelic precision on songs like "Never Going Back Again" and "Landslide" or rocking a demon on "Big Love" and "I'm So Afraid" Buckingham puts every ounce of his being into his performance and is truly the guiding force behind this great band.

Stevie Nicks was in great voice. The cold night air may have made the twirling front woman a little chilly but had absolutely no effect on her performance. Highlights included "Sara," "Gypsy" and "Silver Springs."

Credit should also be given to the additional four touring band members: guitarist Neale Heywood, keyboardist Brett Tuggle and Stevie's longtime backing vocalists Lori Perry Nicks and Sharon Celani. Their contribution to the live show helped enrich the band's performance and fill the gap left by the now retired Christine McVie.

It should be noted that it has now been 15 years since Christine McVie retired from the band.

Since then the group has forged ahead with 1 new studio album, "Say You Will," and 1 brand new "EP" and the current tour is their 3rd as a quartet. McVie's harmonies and lead vocals on songs such as "Over My Head," "You Make Loving Fun" and " Say You Love Me" are missed, but the band continues to please fans with their LIVE performances and, as indicated last night by Mr. Buckingham, has no intention of stopping anytime soon.

I'm already looking ahead to 2017 when the band will most likely tour for the 40th anniversary of their multiplatinum "Rumours" album and maybe - just maybe - Christine will join them too.

Drumroll please... 9 out of 10 drumsticks!!!

I was thinking the exact same thing. Another confusing sentence for me:
Despite its rawness, the music wasn’t uninterested in arena-rock grandeur.
The music wasn't uninterested??? WTF does that mean?

There goes that music putting on airs of grandeur again, when it knows good and well it's from the poor side of the tracks.

Michele

Hilarious commentary on us Fleetwood Mac fans by two young 20 somethings.
Comments are from 38 seconds to 2:58.

Silver Springs was awesome!!! Thanks :)

Sister's of the Moon
 

by creepingelm

Almost the entire song. Stevie changes many of the words. Just what is she saying?