Las Vegas (Monte Carlo) preview article
 

Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie reunite


By Matt Jacob
July 14, 2017


Most of us believe there are four key components to a successful rock band: guitarist, bassist, drummer, lead singer. Not true. Oh, sure, those four elements—particularly in the hands of gifted musicians—can carry a band a long way. Even as far as One Hit Wonder Land. Maybe even a little beyond.

But a successful rock band? That requires an essential fifth ingredient—and we’re not talking about a keyboardist. No, this particular ingredient is much more organic, and highly combustible: drama. And, preferably, a lot of it. Because if the history of rock ’n’ roll has taught us anything, it’s that with great drama comes great success.

Few musicians know this better than Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie. As members of Fleetwood Mac, they were front and center for both tremendous success and DEFCON 5-level drama, which included—among other things—affairs (and breakups) between band members. But while Buckingham and McVie were very much entangled in the … let’s call it interoffice romantic shenanigans, they were never entangled with one another. As McVie recently put it to Rolling Stone, “We are free of baggage.”

Which is why the duo decided to enter a Los Angeles studio—the same studio where some of Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits were laid down—and create new music for the first time in 30 years. The result is the recently released, 10-song duets album simply titled Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie, which also includes contributions from fellow Fleetwood Mac alums Mick Fleetwood on drums and John McVie (Christine’s ex) on bass.

Both Buckingham, 67, and McVie, 74, enjoyed the collaboration so much that they decided to support their album with a summer tour. No, the tour doesn’t feature any of their Fleetwood Mac partners, but Buckingham/McVie still offers fans an opportunity to see rock royalty—rock royalty with bloodlines that trace all the way back to … Walt Disney.

It’s true. At least in a six-degrees-of-Kevin Bacon sort of way:

1. Buckingham and McVie obviously partnered with legendary siren Stevie Nicks in Fleetwood Mac (well, Buckingham partnered with Nicks in more ways than one, hence the high drama).

2. Nicks has collaborated in studio and onstage with Tom Petty, who in addition to having many hits with the Heartbreakers was a founding member of the Traveling Wilburys.

3. The Wilburys were a supergroup that also featured Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Roy Orbison.

4. Orbison, of course, wrote and recorded (in just 40 minutes, no less) “Oh, Pretty Woman,” the 1964 hit that Van Halen covered nearly two decades later, first releasing it as a single and later including it on their cover-heavy album, Diver Down.

5. Diver Down also featured a cover of “Happy Trails,” originally recorded by Roy Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, who were longtime friends of Gene Autry.

6. In addition to his many recording and acting accomplishments, Autry owned the Los Angeles Angels baseball club from its inception in 1961 until the mid-1990s, when he sold the team to the Walt Disney Company … which, alas, was founded by Walt Disney.

So there you have it: A Buckingham/McVie concert—it’s like a trip to Disneyland … minus the drama!

Park Theater at Monte Carlo, 8 p.m. July 22, starting at $41.28 plus tax and fee. 844.600.7275

https://lasvegasweekly.com/ae/music/...e-mcvie-talks/

THE WEEKLY INTERVIEW: CHRISTINE MCVIE TALKS FLEETWOOD MAC RETURN AND BUCKINGHAM DUETS ALBUM
Image Buckingham and McVie team up at Park Theater on July 22. Photo: John Russo / Courtesy

Annie ZaleskiThu, Jul 20, 2017 (midnight)

Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie did something surprising this year: The Fleetwood Mac members released a duets album, Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie.

The Weekly connected with McVie in early June, a week before the album hit stores, to chat about revisiting old stomping grounds, rekindling creative connections and just how this record came to exist.

Obviously, you’ve made so many records with Lindsey Buckingham over the years. What was distinctive about the process of making this one? It happened sort of accidentally, but in quite an organic way. I’d sent Lindsey a couple of tracks that I’d written in my plinky-plonky way, with a piano, a drum machine and a voice. He sent them to his studio and did a bit of embellishment and arranged them and played them to me. He said, “Why don’t we go in and have some fun and just see if we can reconnect?” And of course, we did—instantaneously.

It was quite miraculous how that first week proved to us that this might be easier than we could have ever thought. When John [McVie] and Mick [Fleetwood] were in town, we asked them if they’d come and play with us. We did six or so new tracks, four of mine and two of Lindsey’s. We took the songs strung together and listened to them, and I thought, “We’ve nearly got a record here if we want it.”

We shelved them and started rehearsing for the Mac tour. Finished that—that was about two years—and then revisited those six songs and decided it would be quite fun to make a duets album.

What makes the two of you click so well as songwriters and musicians? Sometimes we don’t even need to say anything, he and I. We could just look at each other a certain way or nod, and somehow we could anticipate what we’re both gonna play, or react to the other person’s part.

It’s intangible. I don’t think we actually sat down together and co-wrote any of these tracks. We did, but not necessarily in the same room. There were bits from pieces of Lindsey’s takes of guitar ideas that he gave to me. I took them home and wrote melody and lyrics on them. And sometimes vice versa. It wasn’t like Elton John and Bernie Taupin at all. It was quite disorganized, really. We just had a ball.

What were your inspirations for the song “Carnival Begin”? It was a song I’d written about rejoining Fleetwood Mac. The words apply to exactly that journey, coming out of 16 years of retirement and back into the world of excessive rock ’n’ roll, fame, sparkly things. I just wanted to embrace that whole scene onstage, but with them. Because they’re all also such dear, dear old friends. They’re like brothers and sisters.

I saw you guys a couple times after you rejoined, and you looked like you were really having a blast onstage. We’re, to some degree, celebrating life. The fact that we’re all still alive. There have been no replacements. Even when I was gone, I wasn’t replaced. There was this reverent space where the keyboards used to be.

I also saw a Fleetwood Mac show when you weren’t with them, and though the playing was still wonderful, there was a difference. I think we all just compliment each other, because we’re such different writers. My contribution is the romance and the warmth. The love songs. Lindsey has his particular style of playing and writing, Stevie has hers. And then you combine all three voices when you start putting in harmonies and that incredibly powerful rhythm section. It’s a winner all the way around. People just love it. So do we.

“Game of Pretend” on the record is also one of yours. What was the inspiration behind that song? That’s about my therapist. He brought me out of the darkness into the light, from being quite chronically isolated—with a few more problems, to boot—to me starting to ask myself questions: “What do I want to do with my life? You’ve got to get to flying again.”

I’d been with him for two years and then he’d just become a great, dear, personal friend. It started off as a thank you to him. And then, as is wont with me, I sort of morphed it into a kind of love song. The choruses are sort of about him. It was a thanks to him for bringing me back into the world of the living.

You did some of the record at the LA studio the Village, where you’ve worked before. We recorded Tusk there, and Lindsey and I did our entire record there. We loved it. The sound in the room was unbelievable. We remembered it from back then, how great the sound was. And it just hasn’t changed a bit.

How did Mick and John help shape the sound of the new record? They have a specific style, and it’s very hard to define what that is. It’s all to do with where you place the beat, I’ve been told. It sounds like something you wouldn’t get in any other band, really. Having them on this record was magic. We’re so lucky we got them. But the band we have now is really amazing, too.

What will the shows on this tour be like? The purpose of going out to do this tour is to perform a lot of the new material, but we’re also going to do some old stuff. We’ll be playing a few well-known hits and a few lesser-known ones by Fleetwood Mac. I’m doing a song called “Wish You Were Here,” which is off the Mirage album.

We don’t want to start with the band slamming straight in, so Lindsey and I are going to sit down together and start the set with just he and I playing about four songs. And then the band comes in, and we start to rock ’n’ roll.

Lindsey Buckingham & Christina McVie with The Wallflowers. July 22, 8 p.m., $41-$146. Park Theater, 844-600-7275.

Amazing show tonight. It was full house and the crowd was wild! :]:]

So much love and respect between Christine and Lindsey. And Christine is so beautiful! My Goodness, her eyes!

Lindsey talked about Christine's return to the band and how one day she decided she needed to pursue her creative side again, and of course he was more than happy to contribute to her songs. He emphasized the importance of continuing with the creative process when you're an artist. ;)

There was so much humbleness in his speech! :nod:

I have some videos I'll share later.

Christine's dancing number while Lindsey plays and sings his songs is fantastic! :blob1:

Thanks for the mini-review
Did you travel all the way from Argentina for the show?

Haha, I promise I'll be adding some more details as soon as I get more sleep. I'm on a bus on my way back to LA watching the sunrise over the mountains. Really beautiful. :nod:

Yes, I planned my holidays around FM/BuckVie. I was lucky enough to get Vegas, Phoenix and the Classic East all in the same week. Plus Queen. The things I do for my bands! :laugh:

But so far it was so worth it! The show exceeded my expectations. As many had commented here, they're 70 years old, and they party as if they were in their thirties.

Just remembering what a warm welcome Trouble and SUD had. Probably more than some of the new songs.

So glad you enjoyed it so much.:woohoo:

For me it's weird...my BuckVie show meant more to me than any FM show ever has. My favorite parts of my favorite band, doing something very special. Steering away from playing the same old stuff. Truly a night I'll never forget.

Thanks! :wavey::xoxo:

I know what you mean, and that's exactly what Lindsey was trying to communicate last night, I think. And that's why he looked so happy. Even though they have known each other and worked together for 40 years, this is a new experience for them and probably they never thought they were gonna enjoy it so much.

I'm happy for them because they looked truly happy. I guess no more ghosts running around Lindsey's head. No more voices haunting him.

button-lip so great that you had such fantastic time!


here, since there are always questions about whether Richard attends FM-related shows in Vegas - he was at the show, and then they all hung out later, playing guitar and singing -

Got to hang with Lindsey Buckingham & Christine Mcvie, and Neale Haywood & keith wren & Richard Dashut and it was so much fun we snuck shots of grey goose and acted like dorks I picked up the acoustic and played "don't let me down" with them and we sang! #lindseybuckingham #keithwrenmusic

A post shared by Ryan Whyte Maloney (@ryanwhytemaloney) on Jul 23, 2017 at 1:18am PDT

ane there's Richard!

At The spark@Theater watching Fleetwood Mac chillin with Richard Dashut "Producer Fleetwood Mac Rumors album" w @birdmanwren thank you Keith #richarddashut

A post shared by Ryan Whyte Maloney (@ryanwhytemaloney) on Jul 22, 2017 at 9:08pm PDT

Lindsey did it good tonight. pic.twitter.com/h5v4v0SgN3

— Ron Emery (@RonEappleseed) July 23, 2017

So Afraid -

#buckinghammcvie #imsoafraid #vegas

A post shared by Angela (@angelakay713) on Jul 22, 2017 at 10:20pm PDT

Everywhere -

#buckinghammcvie #everywhere #vegas

A post shared by Angela (@angelakay713) on Jul 22, 2017 at 10:36pm PDT

Game of Pretend -

#buckinghammcvie #gameofpretend #vegas

A post shared by Angela (@angelakay713) on Jul 22, 2017 at 10:49pm PDT

Tusk -

#buckinghammcvie #tusk #vegas

A post shared by Angela (@angelakay713) on Jul 22, 2017 at 10:02pm PDT

Hold Me -

#buckinghammcvie #holdme #vegas

A post shared by Angela (@angelakay713) on Jul 22, 2017 at 9:51pm PDT

Trouble (:p :p) -

#buckinghammcvie #trouble #vegas

A post shared by Angela (@angelakay713) on Jul 22, 2017 at 9:14pm PDT

Go Your Own Way -

Another weekend spent amongst my hero's ���� Tonight I saw Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie (aka the other half of Fleetwood Mac) live in Vegas and it was incredible �������� sometimes I can't believe how magical this life can be �� #lindseybuckingham #fleetwoodmac #buckinghammcvie

A post shared by F A Y E L A U R A (@fayesampson) on Jul 22, 2017 at 11:52pm PDT

Sorry for the delay in review. When I landed in Vegas, the airport had a huge BuckVie AD, as you entered baggage claim. That was very very cool!!

The House was full and it was a great show!! People were dancing up front which was sort of funny and nice to see. They were groovin.

Christine was in better voice than LB for this show. I think she is getting stronger and stronger. Hold Me was fantastic, as was Wish You Were Here. The new songs sound great! Crowd was singing new stuff! Lindsey's tone was good, he just wasn't in tune when he was harmonizing. It was driving me crazy. It might be payback for Christine's flubs early on.

She does play more keys than I originally thought. I could hear things that I couldn't hear on the youtube. She even plays some keys on Trouble.

It's amazing to see the difference of two people that really DO truly respect each other and don't have to fake it. Lindsey is so happy to have her on stage with him you can almost feel his emotions.

Overall, it stacks up against the very many FMac/solo shows. This set list is a nice balance for the die hard and the hit fans. However, the imbalance of LB to CM in the acoustic part of the set is very odd.


The best solo show I've ever been to was the 1984 Christine McVie show in Cleveland. They rocked the house! That show still stands number one to the many solo shows I've seen over the years. Great thing about these solo shows including the many Stevie shows I've seen. THEY'RE CHEAPER!

One last thing. I couldn't get over just how beautiful Christine McVie is. I haven't been that close in a long time. She was stunning.

She has that regal, tall, slender look about her. I can see why Lindsey is so happy to work with her. She has this light just radiating out of her. It was really something to see.

Same here. Since Saturday I have been talking everywhere about her eyes. They're so bright and so beautiful! :nod:

They seem so happy working together. They were looking at each other for reassurance the whole time. I hope this never ends. :D

Me too. I've never seen them look so happy. I hope this leads to another project and/or another tour. We don't need no OGB! :woohoo:

Shhh! OGBh has her friends Don and Joe, who have endlessly talked **** about her in the past, but it doesn't seem to matter, not to her or to her fans. We all sing Happy Birthday and it's all forgotten.

They're like robots: if OGB adores Don and Joe, we adore them too. If OGB trashes Lindsey, we trash him too. :shrug:

well it's nice to see that at least Christine changes up her stage outfit from show to show :laugh:

I felt the same at Seattle-- that Lindsey's harmonizing with Chris was rather rough at times but that she sounded quite good. However his voice seemed quite strong and in tune when he was signing solo especially during the opening acoustic songs....:shrug:

So glad they are getting good crowds (in terms of numbers) and also energetic crowds.

Did people run to the front of the stage during any of these shows??

Not on my side. But some did on the other LB side. Security was tight near me.

Well, I run to the front of the stage but security guy told me I couldn't be there. I told him that on the other side they were on the stage but I had to get back to my place. By that time I had already moved to first row, so I stayed there.

I'm so happy for you!! Vegas, Phoenix and Classic East---good for you :)

Was a great show!! Loved the folks dancing.. they were so pumped up...

Christine was glowing.. :)

"Don't say that you love me! Just tell me that you want me!" 🎼😝 #buckinghammcvie part three was the best yet!

A post shared by Lauren Kunin (@laurenlovesyou2) on Jul 24, 2017 at 3:48pm PDT

^^^^ See what I mean... it wasn't just Christine's physical beauty... they were really giving love to the fans.. and to each other... They were both glowing..

It's hard to explain.. but you had to be there.. It's that magic

That guy in first row in front of Lindsey wasn't dancing. He was doing aerobics. :laugh: Lindsey was laughing!

Thanks! I already changed my Phoenix ticket to first row. Let see if security let me stay at the front of the stage tomorrow. :xoxo:

You are so right about that!! lololol

That was me dancing in the first row center!

There were lots of people dancing in front row center. I don't know which one were you, but it was a great show and folks were certainly enjoying it! :]:]

I wish they could add more dates... :(

I was the aerobic one. ... And there were only two of us dancing front center: Me and the girl who stole my extra stubhub seat. ... everyone else was telling us to sit down :lol:

Unless the aerobics guy was the guy on the faaaaar right who kept raising his arms in the air without really moving.

You were first row center and you still didn't come here to give us a review? You had the best view of the show in this whole forum, so tell us how it was. :blob1: :blob2:

How can you tell people to sit down in a concert? :shrug:

I didn't review cuz I was in Vegas until Wed night. It was the start of my vacation, not the end. Today I'm back at work, hence on the Ledge :lol:

Well... I wish more people had gotten up and danced. I kept dancing in front of the girl to my left who was sitting and her more butch friend was like: "stop dancing in front of my friend" while the more demure girl mouthed: "It's ok..." And I wanted to tell them: "Stand up with me!" There were a few people behind me and the girl who stole my extra seat: they kept yelling at her to sit down (maybe they knew her and were just kidding her), and she turned to me at one point between songs and said STERNLY: "DO NOT SIT DOWN!" Fortunately, I'm a really good dancer.

Anyway, as for the concert: I disagree with some of the comments about vocals: Lindsey dominated. The note he holds on "Never Going Back Again" with his hand in the air like a baton was ... breathtaking. Christine, on the other hand, seemed unsure and Lindsey overwhelmed her in the harmonies entirely ON HER SONGS. Her best vocal was the gorgeous "Wish You Were."

ALL of the new songs played superbly live. I think it was during "Feel About You" that we first started dancing, but I wanted to during "Sleeping Around the Corner." I'm just old and fat now and more shy. But once my larcenous seatmate forced me to stand up and dance... I wouldn't stop...

My favorite of the new songs live was "Lay Down for Free" ... it was so anthemic--I wore my vocal chords out on that one. I think at this point Lindsey started really eye-"handshaking" the girl who stole my seat (maybe it started earlier); I just remembered him really being like shaking his head "no no" "I don't lay down for free" while giving her kissy faces.

Since I didn't go to any of the Mac shows in the last tour, it was great to hear "Everywhere" and "Little Lies" live. It was weird that Lindsey seemed the lead singer on "Little Lies." After it was over, I reflexively called out: "Yeah! Lindseeeey!" and then I was like "oh shoot" and turned and yelled out: "Yeah! Christine" (I was located right between Christine and Lindsey).

The acoustic portion was a superb opening, in my opinion. "Shut Us Down" proves that it holds up as a modern classic. Lindsey is so cute with his one-handed playing at the end, always toying with the audience.

Lindsey was a chatterbox. Christine let him. Lindsey and Christine both looked GREAT. Lindsey sounded great. Christine didn't, but it's OK. When she hit sweet spots in her weathered voice, it was ethereal.

I think(?) the cutest interaction was during Go Your Own Way when Linds sings the "shacking up, packing up" line because Christine was like: "Who? me!? No!" LOL

At the final bow and exit, I think Lindsey registered my gesture that we wanted a second album. Here's hoping.

ETA: I forgot about "YMLF". I love watching Lindsey play guitar on that song; he really gets into it. And I think that's the song Christine kinda gestured towards the audience (me???) as if I made loving fun.

There was much activity on Lindsey's side. I will never understand people who go to a concert and doesn't want to stand up and dance. You're in a concert! You're supposed to be dancing and singing!
Fortunately, on Phoenix people were dancing and singing since "Sleeping around the corner". I was practically the whole concert rocking. :laugh:



I was also shocked to hear Lindsey dominating Feel About You. I practically couldn't hear Christine when she was singing with Lindsey. It was weird.


Haha! Lindsey will never change! :D He is adorable on stage with Christine!


I also love SUD! He's in control of the audience and Christine let him. She knows how to make him happy. :nod:

I think they both sound and look great! Christine is improving. :nod:

I know who you're talking about. No, I guess it was you. :laugh::laugh:

You're really good raising your legs while dancing. :laugh::woohoo:

You mean you had an extra ticket and she sat on that seat? Why didn't you post it here? I'd have bought it. :nod: And we could have done aerobics together. :xoxo:

I was on Christine's side, near jbrownsjr. :]

did he dominate on the chorus, or throughout the verses too??

coz she was totally audible and more on the lead in the verses in Seattle for sure

Troughout the verses. When he started singing, I was like: "wth?! shouldn't Christine be singing?". It was weird because you're used to hear the song sang by Christine. Maybe she was having some voice problems. It was the same in Phoenix. :shrug:

Little Lies was completely dominated by Lindsey.

I thought there must be something wrong with her microphone or the sound mix was lopsided(?). She also seemed low-volume when they were her songs vs. Lindsey's.

Finally, forgot to mention, I HATE the pre-recorded backing track--especially for vocals.

sadly Christine's voice has deteriorated since even the last tour. Not that's it's her fault she is 74 for goodness sakes. Good for her for getting out there. I think the next tour should be the last for sure. I think however they can still sound good in the studio and those two should for sure do one more album together. No need to tour.

I did post it somewhere on the Ledge but got no response.

Saw Christine & Lindsey the other night in Las Vegas. Thought I would share a moment with Chris. Will be keeping in closer touch with both. pic.twitter.com/EAl3eC5Bjj

— Richard Dashut (@RichardDashut) August 3, 2017