The Ledge - Los Angeles Staples Center 7/3/2013

Another GREAT show. The musical highlights were all the same to me and I didn't notice any hitches, so I don't have anything to add to that.

When Stevie speaks she says "Welcome to the City of Angels" and points out that this is the second time they have been in Los Angeles. They were at the Hollywood Bowl a few weeks ago, but she says at 50 shows in, it seems like they've been everywhere. "Let's get this party started!"

I initially thought her voice sounded a little hoarse, but maybe not, because as we got further into the show, I didn't notice any problem.

At the end of Dreams, she holds the last note for a long time know-ow-owwww.

Lindsey addresses the crowd and says it's been 3 years since they were all together (four now Lindsey), but it's good to be back in Los Angeles so soon. After all of this time, there are a few chapters left in the book of Fleetwood Mac.

When he introduces Sad Angel, he still calls it an "EP." You're right Elle that that makes searching very difficult for people who don't already know exactly what they are looking for.

I notice that when he's playing near the center of the stage, when he wants to back up, he looks behind him first. He doesn't usually do this. I wonder is he checking so that he doesn't bump into Stevie, since he's closer to her than usual or is he just doing it to see where the cords are. He should install a rearview mirror.

As he introduces Not That Funny, he laughs at the applause Tusk gets and people must have had Tusk albums at the stage, because he points downward and says that he sees that they have some Tusk fans in the audience.

Sara when I look up at the monitor I notice that it is showing Mick's drum set, but an image of Stevie's head is superimposed over it, as she sings.

When Stevie gets to the "I'll be there" part, as Lindsey approaches, her arms are open and he could just walk right into them, but doesn't. She wags her finger at him, as he backs away.

When she comes over to his mic and he creeps up behind her, the audience screams. They scream almost as much when he does that, as when they hug.

He says that Big Love is a transition song. Written in 1987 for an album called Tango in the Night. Wow. He not only knows the year it was written, but he even has an album title? That's remarkable. I wasn't even aware he realized that Fleetwood Mac had ever released an album called TITN. I mean, I knew he had a recollection of several songs on it, but had no idea he knew its name. Hmmm.

Yes, he dangles one hand and pokes at it, before beginning to play.

Landslide: Stevie says they usually dedicate Landslide to people that they love, but tonight she wants to hurry through it before Lindsey comes up and says shorten it. Lindsey (apparently) doesn't hear her, so she pulls him forward with a hand behind his neck and whispers to him that she is hurrying up or else he'll tell her to shorten the dedication. He whispers back, "I wasn't going to say anything." She tells the audience that he can't hear. She said she has ears and he doesn't, so they are on kind of different planes. Lindsey then begins making wacky faces to illustrate the fact that, "I can't hear ANYTHING."

Lindsey is never wearing an earpiece, so how come he can hear her during the Without You intro, but not during Landslide when he's closer to her? I don't understand?

Stevie dedicates Landslide to Nigel from So You Think You Can Dance and to her clothes designer of 36 years, Margi Kent. This is for you Margi Kent, wherever you are, you tiny person. [Look Margi, keep a low profile, because you have been designing for her for 36 years, but you have only been creative about it for about 20 years, so I wouldn't jump up and take a bow, if I were you.] Stevie says that having a voice is one thing, but Margi's designs are a big part of her success.

Stevie also wants to dedicate the song to her brother Chris and to all of her family and to all of Lindsey's family.

They do the pinkie clasp near the end of the song. After it closes, she says that she forgot to say that the song is also for Rodney [I think. I'm not sure what the name of the person was].

The Without You Intro: She says that 3 months ago the intro was 3 minutes long and now it's 9 minutes long, which is twice as long as the song [killing me with your math skillz, Stevie]. She says it's only natural that she explains something for that long beccause she did go to school for 5 years to be a teacher (???). [Stevie, are you counting high school too? You didn't take 5 years of college courses and if you did and this is all you have to show for it, I wouldn't brag. I'd keep it to myself].

She talks about how great San Francisco was in the seventies with Janis Joplin and all. She wrote a poem about herself and Lindsey. They came to Los Angeles and cut Buckingham Nicks in 3 months. They made a demo from her poem and probably made a lot of other ones too and put it on a casette. They had tiny houses filled with casettes. The casette was probably on the floor and it was stolen and they lost it and their friends found it on Youtube in 2010 and she asked Lindsey if he remembered it and he said, "Yes, Stevie, yes I do."

Stevie looks over at Lindsey and remarks, "He looks bored, but he's enjoying this. He told me so."

Lindsey is just standing there. He's not talking to audience members below. So, Mick reminded her to tell the audience that he was attracted to their sound on the demo and 3 weeks into the tour, Lindsey said, "That's not what Mick was attracted to. What Mick was attracted to was _____" Now, the audience starts to chuckle here. For those of them that have seen the Youtube videos like we have, they laugh because she's about to go into her "lead guitarist" line. However, for the uninitiated, I think they are laughing because they believe she is implying that Mick was really attracted to HER. Which is accurate. It's an inference I think the audience is getting that those familiar with the script may not be.

Mick and Lindsey sort of gesture and guffaw together.

She goes on to the "hippy girlfriend" part.

So, she says at this point she always throws it over to Lindsey, "even though he doesn't ever really want it."

Lindsey says, "Oh are you throwing it over to me, now? You don't always throw it over to me."

She kind of covers her head. He begins, "Well . . . " and says he had only met Mick once before when Mick called him and said, "Lindsey?"

"Yes, Mick." He told Mick that if they wanted him they would have to take his girlfriend. "That's what I call loyalty" and then he adds, "clearly it worked out."

She thanks him for saying he wouldn't join the band "if you don't take my girlfriend" and says that it's been a crazy ride with these mad dogs and Englishmen [I like that description]. She says the song they are about to perform is in its original state so we can hear who they were before this all happened.

As the song ends, Lindsey walks over to Mick and they finish it head to head, smiling.

Gypsy: I notice she does a do-doood-do-do to mimic the guitar line.

GDW: At the end, she stumbles across the stage, past Lindsey's mic and back to her own, sometimes convulsing, as if being electrocuted (shock therapy)! Her hair falling across her face, "you can't make me, take me, shake me. You can't do it now. You can't do it. You can't fix me. You wish you could, but you can't do it . . . nowwww." And the last word is just a whisper.

I'm So Afraid: If I'm an officer on the Titanic and there's only one lifeboat left and I had the choice of either putting (a) him or (b) the other 15 of them, in it . . .well, just don't anyone ever ask me to make that choice. Don't ask, don't tell.

Stand Back The way he goes hurriedly to his mic and starts positioning it I begin wondering, "What? Are you singing back up on this song now? What's your deal?" I guess he just wanted it to be ready for GYOW.

Go Your Own Way: At the end of the song, as he jumps off of the drum kit and starts circling and she follows, I love how he suddenly turns on her, making it a chase. She points a finger at him smiling. He points back.

He kisses her hand as they return for the encore.

World Turning: After the drum solo is over, I love the way John, Stevie and Lindsey all head back to their positions with determination and alacrity. It reminds me of the line "marching off to war" in Sad Angel. They're on a mission.

As Mick stands to make the introductions, he says he better speak before his fingers drop off. He said it took him 10 days to 2 weeks to realize that Lindsey never leaves the stage, "if but for 30 seconds" He also might add that LB is "one hell of a guitar player." He's ok in a pinch, I guess, if Clapton turned you down.

He says that for the boys, never a night on this planet goes by without them thanking their angel, their poet, Miss Stevie Nicks. Someone in the audience extends a bouquet of flowers to Stevie and she takes them.

Mick introduces John as his partner in crime and his dearest friend.

It could be my imagination, but after Don't Stop it seems to me that Lindsey is very careful to make sure that when he leaves the stage, he has tucked his guitar safely behind the speaker and away from prying fan hands.

Say Goodbye: Lindsey says that when they started out, they needed their illusions in order to dream. But later you need to let them go in order to grow. I think this is a very beautiful sentiment. He has been perfecting this speech and I like where it has ended up, since I last heard him.

Lindsey tells the audience that Los Angeles is his and Stevie's home town and the place where it all came together. He's glad to be back.

For her dreamcatcher speech, Stevie says she usually never says the same thing twice, but she has been doing so, though not using the exact same words. She just wants us to know that songwriting is rife with struggle and hurt, but they throw the songs out at us and we struggle [yep, whatsamatterbaby was nothing, if not a struggle] and throw them back and we've been doing it for 35 years. She mentions Rhiannon, NGBA & GYOW. In London, I'm sure she'll go out of her way to mention a Christine song in this speech.

Mick closes the show, "We have had a ballllllll." He says that he, Stevie and Lindsey never like to say goodbye to the audience, they'd rather end by saying be good to yourselves and be good to each other. "The Mac is back." Instead of drawing it out like he usually does, he makes "back" short and sweet. Then, the night is over.

Can't believe this leg of the tour is almost complete. Everything is ahead for the overseas fans, but I'm starting to feel quite the let down over here. It's been a great ride. Michele