Some Fleetwood Mac fans are worried the band may not be the same without Lindsey Buckingham. After seeing them in Detroit on, October 30, 2018, I'm here to tell you that those fans don't need to be worried, but at the same time, this show was missing that certain something, or, someone.
Fleetwood Mac: Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood along with newcomers Neil Finn (Crowded House) and Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers took the stage at Little Caesars Arena at 8:15 p.m. and performed 22 songs over 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Yes, it was a little weird not seeing Buckingham shredding his guitar all night and hearing his signature vocals. Finn's vocals were solid and sounded a lot like Buckingham's. His guitar playing along with Campbell's were both better than good. But, still, something was missing.
Bottom line, the chemistry and charisma of Buckingham just wasn't matched. Did it matter, though? The music was still fantastic and the band was terrific with Mick on drums, John on bass and Christine on keys along with two backup singers, another keyboardist and a second percussionist.
And then there's Stevie Nicks. She still has that hypnotic voice which mesmerizes you with every word. She stole the show with her vocals on songs like "Rhiannon," "Dreams," "Gypsy," "Landslide" and "Gold Dust Woman."
Yes, McVie performed a few of her big hits with "Little Lies," "You Make Loving Fun," "Say You Love Me" and "Everywhere." And while it's terrific hearing her smooth vocals on those great songs, there was nothing like hearing Nicks live. You just wanted to hear more of her.
One of the coolest moments of the concert featured Finn performing a stripped down version of his Crowded House hit "Don't Dream It's Over." He sounded great and watching Nicks perform it with him as a duet beginning in the middle of the song made it even greater.
Campbell took lead on one song, the Peter Green Fleetwood Mac song "Oh Well." It was short and sweet. However, the encore in which he and the band paid tribute to the late Tom Petty really brought down the house. Nicks belted out every high note with passion as photos were shown on the screen behind them of Nicks and Petty over the years along with Campbell and Petty. Truly an outstanding tribute from numerous living legends to another legend.
Summary: If you've seen Fleetwood Mac with the full lineup, this show will still be a very enjoyable night for you because of the outstanding band and vocals of Nicks. Finn and Campbell are great musicians and hold their own, but this show just didn't have that certain something Buckingham brings to the table. Those who have seen Buckingham with Fleetwood Mac know what I'm talking about. So, enjoy this show for it's great music, great musicians and Nicks amazing voice. Just know you are going to miss a little of that Buckingham magic.
THE SETLIST:
"The Chain"
"Little Lies"
"Dreams"
"Second Hand News"
"Say You Love Me"
"Black Magic Woman"
"Everywhere"
"Rhiannon"
"Tell Me All The Things You Do"
"World Turning"
"Gypsy"
"Isn't It Midnight"
"Oh Well"
"Don't Dream It's Over"
"Landslide"
"You Make Loving Fun"
"Monday Morning"
"Gold Dust Woman"
"Go Your Own Way"
Encore
21. "Free Fallin'"
22. "Don't Stop"
23. "All Over Again"
QUOTES:
Stevie Nicks: "Welcome. This is show No. 13. Closing in on Halloween. We are having a great time. We are really happy to share this as we are getting used to this and we are happy you are here to share it with us. Welcome Music City. Thank you."
Stevie Nicks: "This is a song ("Black Magic Woman") that was done by a really really big rock n' roll band. Even I thought they wrote it. They did not write it. Really John, Mick and Peter Green did. We decided to take it out of the trunk of old fantastic things and instead of looking at it through a man's eyes, look at it in this year of the woman, through the eyes of a woman."
Mike Campbell: "It's so great to see everybody here tonight. This is an old song, goes way back, it was written by Peter Green. It's called "Oh Well."
Mick Fleetwood: (introducing "Don't Dream It's Over") "There was a song many years ago that I heard. At that point, I had no knowledge of who had written it, who was singing it. I sort of heard the beginnings of the band that this gentleman was in and created. I had no idea all these many years later that song which had resonated with me in a moment in life when I truly needed to hear this song, having come full circle in the magical ether we all live in. It's my pleasure to not only introduce this lovely song, but the gentleman who wrote it. Mr. Neil Finn."
Stevie Nicks: We do this song just about every time I've been on stage since 1973 when this song was written. Tonight, I have to say, I looked for my friend Kick Rock, who's not here. I was devastated. He's somewhere off in Nashville. So, I would like to dedicate this song to Susan, who is a magical trip maker. It's called "Landslide."
Christine McVie: (introducing "All Over Again) "Stevie and I would like to do a duet. This is an older song which I had kind of forgotten about. My friend Stevie re-found it. It's about change. It's about surviving change. It's about the future. I hope this song celebrates all of that."
This article includes pictures of the merch if anybody is interested.
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