Concert review | Stevie Nicks/Pretenders: Fans wait to hear old favorites held until late in show
About 20 minutes into her two hour-plus set last night in the Nationwide Arena, Stevie Nicks finally delivered one of her trademark spins. Remaining in place, she went once around, slowly. The packed house, especially the vocal diehard fans, went wild.
It seemed a long wait for those outside the cult of Stevie Nicks to get a little something that related to the gypsy-like, often self-obsessed Fleetwood Mac singer of lore. The current tour is not a review of her hits, with Mac and on her own, but a book and music tour without the publication of a book.
Some of the material came from her newest release, 2014's "24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault," a collection of unreleased compositions dating back to 1969. It dovetails, with the recent extended reissues of her first two solo albums, 1981's "Bella Donna" and 1983's "The Wild Heart."
Nicks has taken the opportunity to focus on a selection of her material deeper than just the hits and, more importantly, to tell the stories behind most of them.
It was, perhaps, too much information. While for a time at the beginning, the finely detailed chronology of songs such as "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" were interesting—who knew that she was such an admirer of Tom Petty that she sought out their producer, Jimmy Iovine for her first solo album, "Bella Donna." Or that "Stop Draggin'" was borrowed from Petty after Iovine didn't hear a hit on that collection?
That one and the Prince story that explained the inspiration for the 1983 dance hit "Stand Back," were keepers. Turns out Nicks heard "Little Red Corvette" on the radio, composed "Stand Back" based on it and eventually enlisted Prince's help finishing it.
Many of the other stories became tedious as the set wore on, at least to most, other than the fanatics.
Though a few songs such as "Gypsy," the newly recorded vintage composition "Starshine" and the raving dance number "Stand Back" not only fed the legend but provided memorable performances, it wasn't until "Gold Dust Woman," late in the show, that the Stevie Nicks we've come to expect came around. Building the mystery from the start, the singer ended fairly convulsing, as if possessed by the characters in the song.
The contrast between the storytelling and the Pretenders, who opened the evening, couldn't have been greater. Chrissie Hynde and her newest incarnation—which, after 37 years still includes founding drummer Martin Chambers—delivered a vibrant hour-long set that felt as comfortable as an old pair of shoes but didn't rely on nostalgia for its appeal.
Old faves including "Back On The Chain Gang," "Stop Your Sobbing," "Brass In Pocket," and the smoldering reggae-based "Private Life" proved that, at 65 Hynde can still deliver the goods with no-nonsense and fevered rock-and-roll.
http://www.dispatch.com/entertainmen...l-late-in-show