Atlanta show
 

Concert review: Stevie Nicks enchants faithful fans at Atlanta show


As women rock stars go, there aren’t many cooler than Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde.

At 68 and 65, respectively, they look refreshed, focused and as if they want to keep making music for several more decades. They also sound robust, with any previously ragged edges to their voices smoothed by care.

This “24 Karat Gold” tour, which packed three-quarters of Philips Arena Sunday night, is Nicks’ solo ride, her (clearly joyful) diversion after spending three years on the road within the confines and endless compromises of Fleetwood Mac.

But by slotting Hynde and The Pretenders for an hour-long opening set, Nicks is also giving fans a whopping injection of female-fueled musical power.

The ageless Hynde, in tight jeans and lightened hair, stalked the stage while speak-singing the new “Alone,” the title track of The Pretenders’ recently-released 10th studio album.

Only drummer Martin Chambers remains with Hynde from the original lineup and he provided plenty of heft from behind his Plexiglas cage as he pumped through “Back on the Chain Gang” and the joyful rockabilly bounce of “Don’t Get Me Wrong.”

But Hynde appeared to enjoy playing off younger players James Walbourne on guitar and Nick Wilkinson on bass – all the while looking as if she could eat them alive.

She strapped on a guitar to toss out the dirty chords that signal “Message of Love” and stripped to a black Elvis T-shirt to unveil the sumptuous opening riff of “Chain Gang.” Her powerful voice rang clearly on the lighters-up power ballad “I’ll Stand By You” and she nimbly snatched a harmonica from her back pocket for the signature break in “Middle of the Road.”

With a pack of solid new tunes to sell – the new melodic rocker “Holy Commotion!” is making noise on the international charts – Hynde re-affirmed that she will never, ever go quietly.

About 30 minutes after The Pretenders’ rollicking set, an amber hue bathed the stage and the goddess Stevie arrived, clad in her uniform of black – jagged-edged dress, vest, boots – and ready to shake her fringe-adorned tambourine to “Gold and Braid.”

She immediately set the tone for what would be a two-hour-plus romp through her lengthy solo catalog – even digging out the Buckingham/Nicks classic “Crying in the Night” for the hardcore fans – by telling the fawning crowd that she realized after the Fleetwood Mac tour, “I have to do something different this time…If I can’t do what I want to do for a change, then why am I doing it?”

Plenty of hits salted the set – from the sublime “If Anyone Falls” with its romantic synthesizers to Nicks-penned Mac favorite “Dreams” (which, she reminded, was the band’s only No. 1 hit) to a disco-lighted “Stand Back.”

Hynde, who barely had time to towel off, returned for a fantastic duet with Nicks on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” The pair gave the song a twist, leaving guitarist – and longtime Nicks accomplice — Waddy Wachtel to handle most of Tom Petty’s verses in a he said/she said face off.

But this show was indeed a love letter to the faithful, to those who thrilled more to the opening notes of “Outside the Rain” than any classic rock nugget and who never thought they would hear the little-played title tracks of her beloved early-‘80s solo efforts, “Bella Donna” and “The Wild Heart” performed live.

Nicks, who was relentlessly warm, gracious and funny (“This is Music 101 and I’M the teacher!” she giggled), also proved an eager historian, sharing stories with fans about the origins of many of her deepest cuts, such as the rootsy poem-turned-hopeful-anthem “New Orleans,” which Nicks wrote for the city in the throes of Hurricane Katrina.

She and her six-piece band and two backup singers – forever friend Sharon Celani and ‘80s powerhouse vocalist Marilyn Martin – performed on a stage framed by lighted panels meant to look like pieces of a photo frame, a video screen behind them showing a combination of ethereal images and vintage Nicks photos.

As she sang, her unmistakable voice galloping through “Starshine” — a song recorded with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – and soaring on the piano ballad “Moonlight (A Vampire’s Dream),” Nicks subconsciously whipped the sides of her dress or tangled her hands in the mass of ribbons wrapped around her mic stand.

She indeed twirled a bit during “Stand Back” and, as smoke curled across the screen and the telltale cowbell echoed through the arena, worked into a hair-whipping frenzy at the peak of the always-dramatic “Gold Dust Woman.”

Nicks’ well-documented history with Prince was illustrated during a charging rendition of “Edge of Seventeen,” with Wachtel adding even more razor-like riffing at the start of the song. White lights snapped and images of doves flashed across the screen with photos of Prince stamped behind them – nothing else needed to be said about his influence.

Nicks addressed fans several times with genuine warmth, and also wanted to leave them with some hope and what seemed like a bit of motherly wisdom.

“In this crazy world that we live in right now, just remember, when you get crazy, turn on the radio, play some music,” she said before her encore.

Lesson learned.



http://music.blog.ajc.com/2016/11/07...-atlanta-show/

There are some pretty photos in the original article, I didnt post them because they're huge but go see them.

Stevie was so ridiculously happy, so many fun and touching moments:

http://i.imgur.com/zezI19L.gifhttp://i.imgur.com/ZZ0H47X.gifhttp://i.imgur.com/YOhfalf.gif

http://i.imgur.com/DHbQB5p.gifhttp://i.imgur.com/rIYn6Ff.gifhttp://i.imgur.com/PetznVi.gif

http://i.imgur.com/P6CcS7W.jpg

“If my mom was standing here, she would say ’that was a very good choice of fabric, Stevie. Look how long it has lasted’.”

Mary Hannah, @maha7951

***

"My father once said to me, very cool, very calm and collected, “you know the most beautiful in the world come from Atlanta”, and I said “what about me and mom?"

***

“This is Music 101 and I’M the teacher!”

***

"You guys need music as much as I need to make music for you. I’m tired, but I’ll never be tired of this or of you."

Did Annabel Lee get dropped?

Yes, she seems reborn on this tour!

This is the setlist posted on setlist.com, it seems that either Annabel Lee or Enchanted have been dropped:

Gold and Braid
If Anyone Falls
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (with Chrissie Hynde)
Belle Fleur
Outside the Rain
Dreams
Wild Heart
Bella Donna
(Unknown)
New Orleans
Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)
Stand Back
Crying in the Night
If You Were My Love
Gold Dust Woman
Edge of Seventeen
Encore:
Rhiannon
Leather and Lace

Can anyone who was at the show confirm?

Annabel Lee was dropped. Enchanted was rocking! Truly amazing show. Stevie was in great voice, and the banter! I could listen to her talk all day.

Ugh. I so wanted to hear Annabel Lee live. It's one of my favs! Was it at least replaced with something else? I thought she wasn't going to talk much on this tour...LOL

Absolutely incredible. For the first time ever I have avoided any show-related threads so I would be surprised by the setlist, and boy I was!!! Realizing she was opening with Gold and Braid was totally surreal, I never thought I would hear that live. No Annabel Lee but since I didn't know the set I didn't know it was dropped, as it was I was astounded the show was a long as it was, she played about 2 hours and 20 minutes. She looked and sounded fabulous, was very chatty, funny, and cute.

I could have cried when she put on the blue Bella Donna shawl, another thing I never thought I would see. Hearing Wild Heart and Bella Donna was incredible of course, though I did think the way Wild Heart just ended was a little awkward, and she didn't do my favorite Bella Donna verse (and the woman may be awestruck....come in out of the darkness). I was just in total disbelief she was doing Crying in the Night, amazing how much it sounded like the original! And a great backstory about Buckingham Nicks, and the moment captured above where someone handed her the album.

One of the coolest moments was the gorgeous piano intro for Moonlight--- I actually thought It was going to be Rhiannon and I guess a lot of people did too because almost everyone was standing up. She comes out in the White fur thing (not crazy about it but so glad to see something different!) and starts Moonlight and everyone STAYS standing! I was amazed. The reception to the new/rare songs was great I thought, a lot of us stood the whole time, the only song I remember lots of people sitting for was If You Were My Love. The response to the rocky songs was great. Loved the effects for Stand Back and some great twirls even in those boots! To be honest I would rather her be more comfortable and loose on stage by wearing different shoes and bringing out the boots for some special songs, but it is pretty damn impressive she is wearing those things for the whole show. Her poor feet!

I had been hoping Gold Dust would be one of the songs she would give a rest, but I've got to say she KILLED it. This has definitely become her showcase song. Lots of intense vocals. The effect on the screen when she is doing her little convulsions at the end was really, really trippy and cool. I know Edge is a shortened version but in concert it works. It is weird she is not wearing any white, it looks like she only put on the white shawl for the first show in Phoenix. It is not much effort to throw a shawl on so I really don't get that. I did notice people holding their hands up and she looked at them like "not this time sorry!". I thought Rhiannon was great as an encore and loved the illustration. Leather and Lace was a sweet way to end the show.

As others have said the effects with the different lights and backgrounds added so much to the show. I loved seeing so many people with shawls and Stevie outfits, so much fun. I wore one too :-)

My companion and I both agreed this was a better show than the Mac show we saw in 2014. More energy and more fun. She really has given us EXACTLY what we have been asking for all these years and I REALLY did not think a show like this would ever happen. NO LANDSLIDE?! Incredible!!!!!! She pretty much said she was sick of singing the same songs over and over and over, and if she couldn't do what she wanted at this point in her career what was the point? YES!

I have completely fallen in love with Stevie all over again. My mom would have just loved the show. Thank you Stevie!

A little disappointed that Annabel Lee was dropped as that is my favorite song from In Your Dreams. However, I'm going to the Nashville show tonight and I'm extremely excited! Can't wait to see Stevie for the first time!!!

Sadly dropped, with no replacement. But the set is still truly incredible - and her energy only grew as the evening went on. I came in with high expectations, and was still totally overwhelmed.

The sheer joy she exudes is palpable - so different than the past two FM tours.

And the banter! She truly can't help herself, and I love it. She shared a story about nearly every song she sang. I love how she incorporates a personal story about whatever she's in at the beginning of her set. And so glad the Bella Donna shawl is back (with even more banter!).

She was incredible! It's so much fun to watch her perform solo because you can just see how much she loves what she is doing! We were on the floor in section 1 and it was just so surreal. I loved seeing The Pretenders live for the first time too.
The only thing that disappointed me was the dropping of Annabel Lee. I so wanted to hear that one live. She's definitely on fire and in great shape!

A bit disappointed that Annabel Lee was dropped so early in the tour and that it was not replaced.

I'll be in nashville tonight too. I cant say im sad about annabelle lee but its strange she didn't replace it with something else, i wonder why not. Maybe its to the point now where her voice is tiring out.

She admitted to being tired last night, but she still put on one hell of a show.
I can't imagine being 68 and rocking out like that for almost two hours. I'm in my 40's and I was exhausted! lol!

Thanks for your review StevieRocks, it was very nice!