Concert review: Fleetwood Mac at Tampa Bay Times Forum
2:29 p.m. EDT, June 6, 2013
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/enter...post?track=rss
There are a few Fleetwood Mac biographies already out there, but at least one member of the beloved 1970s hit-making band believes that the story isn’t over yet.
“You would think that there would be nothing left to discover,” singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham said of Fleetwood Mac’s long history early in the band’s generous concert on Friday for a packed house at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. “But it seems there are a few chapters left in the book of Fleetwood Mac.”
Musically, it’s obvious that Buckingham, singer Stevie Nicks, bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood aren’t ready to turn the final page.
In a hit-laden two hours and 40 minutes, they offered signature songs with drop-the-needle-on-the-record precision, showcased promising new songs and, most impressively, embraced music and audience with more emotion than one would think possible after almost four decades.
It’s a chatty bunch.
Nicks, in particular, was prone to rambling (if endearing) recollections about bygone days. She introduced the obligatory “Landslide” with a lengthy dedication to two “strong” women in her life: One was a high school classmate who now lives in Tampa; the other, a woman who ran the hotel where Nicks stayed this past fall in the Florida Keys.
When she had finished, she turned and shared a laugh with Buckingham, standing next to her waiting to start the song with his acoustic guitar: “He just said to me, ‘You’re done, right?’”
Buckingham was equally talkative, reflecting on the music business, the band’s “Tusk” album and how his feelings about songs such as “Big Love” have changed over the years.
That song offered one of the many opportunities for Buckingham to display his unique guitar technique, a combination of power and finesse that peaked in the explosive extended guitar solo of “I’m So Afraid.”
Vocally, Buckingham and Nicks harmonized with unconscious ease on “The Chain,” “Rhiannon,” “Never Going Back Again” and “Sara,” a song that concluded with the two singers in a long embrace.
Behind them, McVie provided an understated foundation and Fleetwood kicked off songs such as the opening “Second Hand News” with unmistakable rhythm figures.
In the end, after an encore that included “Don’t Stop” and “Silver Springs,” Fleetwood joined the procession of lingering band members to talk – yet again -- about their feelings for the music and fans.
With all those words, there’s obviously another chapter for Fleetwood Mac.