I went to the Albany show, too! It was so wonderful...I'm so dissappointed that I only got tickets to one show (I want to go again!!!) I went with my roomate from college (we graduated several years ago, but the appreciation she gained for FM/Stevie during our years together has stuck with her since
). We even resolved our infamous Stevie Nicks/Pat Benetar conflict of 1998; after seeing Stevie live she conceeded that Stevie is, in fact, the all time queen of rock and roll.
Here's my little Albany review that I typed up Thursday morning but have had to wait to post because it'd been toooooo long and I had no clue what my username/password/even e-mail was back when I registered before. I had such a GREAT time!
*****
When I saw Fleetwood Mac perform at the Pepsi Arena as part of The Dance tour I believed that had been my final opportunity to see my favorite band live in concert. To have the chance to see them tour again was an unexpected surprise...and last night the Mac was as magical as they had been in 1997. So much has changed in my life in the years since The Dance tour. Finishing college and moving on into the real world had left me with less time (and finances!) to indulge my Mac/Stevie “obsession”; however, seeing them last night reminded me of all that had started my fandom in the first place.
I won’t give a play by play of the entire concert, as I’m sure others can do more justice to that than I can; for me, the evening went by as one big, wonderful blur. Needless to say the band was outstanding. Stevie and Lindsey’s voices sounded great, there were the ever-fabulous harmonies, Lindsey was a maniac on guitar, a very “full” and complete sound...they flat-out rocked. I also loved the video screen behind the band and thought the use of lighting complemented the performance perfectly. Unlike previous Mac and Stevie tours, I had not been online to check out fan reviews and set lists prior to the concert, so I was in for a few pleasant surprises. From the opening drumbeats to “The Chain” to the final notes of “Goodbye Baby” I was captivated. I love, love, LOVED the addition of “Beautiful Child” (!!!) and “Eyes of the World” to the set list and was beyond
relieved that “Silvers Springs” and “Stand Back” were again included this time around. Stevie’s “You remembered,” comment following the former was amusing...how could we forget? I also thoroughly enjoyed the new twists added to several songs this tour, such as Stevie’s harmonies on “Never Going Back Again.” Though I missed hearing some of Christine’s songs, I can never hear too much Stevie and thought she was great singing Christine’s parts for “World Turning” and “Don’t Stop” (done as the first encore). I was also really impressed by the “new stuff” the Mac performed, particularly “Peacekeeper” and “Say You Will” (both of which, in my opinion, sounded more complete than they had when the band was on The Tonight Show several weeks ago). My only disappointment with the new songs was that “Running Through the Garden” and “Destiny Rules,” two of my favorites from the album, were not included in the set as they apparently had been at the start of the tour. Of course, if it were up to me I’d have had FM playing their entire catalog... For me, the highlight of the show was probably “Landslide,” from hearing everyone singing along, to Stevie’s adorable smile after the “I’m getting older, too” line, to the huge ovation it received, “Landslide” was simply beautiful.
I attended the concert with my roommate from college, who was a first time Fleetwood Mac/Stevie concert attendee. After being exposed to Stevie and the Mac through our college years, I was finally able to get her to a concert! We had tickets to see Stevie during her Trouble in Shangri-La tour, but the show was scheduled for September 12, 2001 and canceled for obvious reasons. She told me it was well worth the wait, however, and she was totally impressed and enjoyed the show (almost!) as much as I did.
To me, Fleetwood Mac concerts seem to lack a little of the intimacy and warmth of Stevie’s solo shows; however, they make up for it with sheer intensity and that Stevie/Lindsey chemistry that is still fun to watch after all these years. To anyone on the fence about going to see the show...do it! It was phenomenal and I only wish I could go see them again!
*****