[BigAl84]

I will miss being a fan of one of the VERY FEW bands from the 70's or even the 80's that still had all of their original members in one equation or another. I came aboard in '97 and there was no comparison when hearing the Billy Burnette era material. Even as a young kid at the time, I could tell the difference. Nothing agains Vito and Burnette, but trying to play Buckingham's guitar parts just didn't work, it's just not the same sound or tone that made '75 era Fleetwood Mac what it was.

There was something special about their ability to come together and still play despite all the odds that were against them. All of the Stevie and Lindsey shipping aside, I still think there was always a sense of the music and respect for one another prevailing above all else.

Perhaps it's due to becoming a fan during the "reunion" themed time (1997) but the magic of that reunion stayed lit well, well after that tour had come and gone. I'm going all out Anthony Bourdain here...but folks who became fans due to The Dance, I think their fandom came with an additional framework that I can't quite come to describe. Perhaps it's because many of us heard the 97 material and worked our way backwards through the material and history. There was a 4 year stretch between the end of the dance tour and that first gig together minus Christine in 2001. A lot of folks thought they were done, that was it. It made the years working up to the release of Say You Will super exciting because it was a gift nobody thought would happen again.

I guess that's what I'll miss - somehow the band that tried to keep it together since 1997 and the thought that the dark days were long behind them.