Sounds like we were at the same show! Great America has been run by Marriott, Paramount, and Six Flags at various times. I grew up down the road, so it was always our place of choice to get a roller-coaster fix.
I'd known about the lineup in advance because of the various FM newsgroups, etc. that had started up at the time (the Internet was a fairly new thing in the mid-90s), but had no idea what they sounded like because YouTube was still a gleam in someone's eye. Like you said, strange environment for them, but they sounded good.
That lineup was always an interesting one to me in the grand scheme of FM. On one hand, Mick and John were doing what they always did -- find new singers, songwriters, and guitarists to fill out their front line, ease them in slowly by having them cover older songs (witness that Bob Welch, LB, and Billy have all covered Oh Well), then let the band's style evolve from there. That approach led them from the PG years to the BN years in the first place. But obviously it was much harder to pull off once the BN lineup attained mega-stardom...and we had The Dance two years later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PenguinHead
I'm a roller-coaster fanatic, so I traveled to a lot of amusement parks. I saw Fleetwood Mac, with REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar, in California at an amusement park I can't recall at the moment....possibly Six Flags.
It was an astonishing surprise, since I was just there to ride the rides and no idea they were going to be there. I was aware there was a drastic lineup change in the band, but I was still excited to see them. Still, it was somewhat sad to see them on a package tour at an amusement park. Most of the general public associate with Christine, Stevie and Lindsey as the face of Fleetwood Mac. So many audience members were likely unaware that they would see none of them on stage.
It was a disconcerting situation for various reasons. This legendary band was seemingly stripped of its identity and high status, and laid bear in the light of day. Since this was essentially a side show within an amusement park, it wasn't a normal fan-based audience. I saw a lot of confused faces, and probably one of the lowest attendance record in their history.
They are all fine musicians, so the performance was good. Beka's a great singer, but seeing her singing Gold Dust Woman was like watching a great cover band. And having Dave Mason in the mix made the situation even more bizarre. I give Mick credit for keeping the institution of Fleetwood Mac alive. This was a strange link in the chain. But I was very concerned about the fate of the band.
I like the Time album. Christine's songs are up to her normal standard, and there are other good songs on it. In hindsight, the Fleetwood Mac brand was kept on life-support until it found it's pulse again. It's sad consider that since then, the only album they have made that consists of entirely new material is Say You Will. A new album is long overdue.
|