Originally Posted by RudieCantFail
Song by song thoughts of the SF show. Edited a little to reduce the profanity. I was planning to record this review, but I don't know when I would have time for it.
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Don’t Look Down - A gem from 1992’s Out of the Cradle. The guitar intro is just delightful and further demonstrates his mastery of the fingerpicking style. I did not mind the piped vocals, but at some parts of the show, I was like why? I’m happy that he’s open about it with another backing band member helping out with that. I will get his name eventually.
Go Insane - in it’s full band version. Wicked awesome! I like it a lot better than his acoustic version, but I understand where he’s coming from when he does it that way. But the full band is a bop.
Lindsey speaks:
Warner Bros after many years got the bright idea of releasing a ‘best of’ his solo work. More than 30 years of work all in one thing.
He acknowledged when some dude said, “we love you, Lindsey.”
Surrender the Rain - I thought that the way that this was played was kind of like a love song. I know that lyrically, it’s not the case. It has never been played live before until this tour. It does show his age unfortunately but it’s not the worst of course. Any songs from Out of the Cradle are welcome. I did not like the ‘enhanced’ lead vocal. I know he does not sing that high anymore, and it just was weird. I mean, I would be surprised that at the end it was him doing that lead vocal, but it sounds artificial.
Not Too Late - I’m not a big fan of this song, but I do like the live version better than the studio version. The studio version has too much of his processing that was typical of the Under the Skin era. I would rather hear his aged voice 9 times out of 10 on anything.
Doing What I Can - I accept this in place of Countdown. Gosh darn. It is hot, when he sings the chorus. He does that little vibrato or shaking of his voice. I’m more impressed that he could do the chorus. And dang, that guitar solo at the end.
Trouble - Better than the Kimmel performance. I don’t think Lindsey nowadays plays that well in front of a studio TV audience. The piped-in vocals are okay. They sound like Lindsey and it’s great as a backing vocal.
I Must Go - Thank god, another gem from Go Insane. I don’t like the piped-in vocals at first in the chorus, but you get used to them.
Street of Dreams - I took no video of this song. I was trying to be respectful towards his brother and his whole family. I know the song is personal to him. It’s about the death of his dad. It’s powerful when he goes into that part directly about his father because he sings with such intensity and sorrowful anger.
Lindsey acknowledged his niece, sister in law, Jeff (His brother) and wife and friends. He said that things go in circles and he joked that it’s his brother’s fault that Lindsey was standing there. Jeff looked so proud of his brother.
I apparently was sitting next to his brother and family. I know how sad it sounds that I know what his brother looks like, but he made an appearance on Lindsey’s Behind the Music episode. And they look like each other. Jeff was very happy to be there. He was cheering very hard and he was like the only one standing up for Holiday Road.
Shut Us Down - I like the live version better than the studio because once again, I don’t like the voice processing on some of the songs of the Under the Skin album. Another display of his f---in’ awesome fingerpicking abilities.
Never Going Back Again - This song makes a lot of sense in spite of all the BS that has happened in this year. Like, yeah, it’s about their break-up originally, but if you kind of think about it in the recent context, it’s just like yeah. He’s been down one time (the break-up), two times (departure/firing in 1987), three times (firing in 201. At least that’s how I interpret it. Yeah, Lindsey, don’t go back again.
Big Love - Another signature fingerpicking display of awesomeness. It’s the first time that I’ve seen it live in person. I do like the end of the song with all those grunts. It’s intense.
In Our Own Time - Seeds We Sow, represent! At least he picked the best song from that album, although I do personally have “One Take” and the Rolling Stone cover version of “She Smiled Sweetly as my favorites. It’s amazing how instrumentally, he can get it very close to the studio version, which is spectacular in its own right.
Slow Dancing - I did not recognize this song right away, tbh. Maybe it’s a key change or it seems like that it’s played faster or something. Heck, it’s the live debut of the song. Regardless, I’m glad he brought this song along in the tour. I secretly like the song, since it is a sexy song. Listen to the lyrics. You’ll see what I mean. And then watch the music video. The guitar outro, dang! That alone is worth it for this song.
Soul Drifter - Once again, better than what was shown on Kimmel. I don’t mind the piped-in vocals because they at least sound like Lindsey from when it was recorded back then.
Holiday Road - Hell yeah! I don’t mind the piped-in vocals, since the song is just so fun! Except at the end where him and the band are barking like dogs. Like, what the hell, Lindsey. You’re weird and eccentric. I get it.
Tusk - Something went wrong during this song. When Lindsey finished the first verses, they had to stop the song. The horns, according to Brett Tuggle, weren’t working right on the computer. They had too much tequila and it was drunk. His words, not mine. Also, shout out to Jimmy Paxson for keeping the drums or rather, the cymbals, going when that exchange happened. It was ----ing bonkers when it worked right. He did hiccup in his retry. It was adorable. Yes, I know that I have problems. I did not record the glitch out of respect for Lindsey and his family.
I’m So Afraid - Okay, the earlier songs established him as an acoustic fingerpicking god. He’s a ----in’ electric guitar fingerpicking god! I mean, if you didn’t figure that out in the earlier electric songs with solos in between the lyrics… I’m kidding. This song does not get old for me.
Go Your Own Way - This is the right way of doing the song, not getting the New Zealander from Crowded House to do it. It’s Lindsey’s heartbreak and anger, not Neil Finn’s. He did not let the audience strum his guitar for the solo at the end. Security was pretty tight at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater. No video or pictures allowed, but I don’t listen and I had center seats. What could they do to me? What did Edwin Starr sing that was popularized in the 1998 film, Rush Hour, “Absolutely Nothing, say it again. Hah!”
Encore
His brother, Jeff, was like the only one putting the flashlight from his phone on. So I did it too because I’m lame and desperate. Then, I thought and joked to my mother that 98% of these people probably were not able to turn on the flashlight on their phones because the demographic was literally the AARP convention.
Band Intros - Lindsey thanked the audience, said, “it was a few little glitches, but that’s rock and roll.”
Turn It On - I love this song. It’s uplifting. “You can heal someone’s soul, you don’t even know why.” These Out of the Cradle songs are just relevant, due to the things that have been happening to him. Like, Stevie Nicks kicking him to the curb and having a big hand in firing him out of Fleetwood Mac. I mean, Out of the Cradle was heavily influenced by his 1987 departure/firing.
Down on Rodeo - I love this song too! The Under the Skin exudes softness and reflection in general. It’s a song that I’ve always wanted to hear live in person.
Treason - What a fitting end. If I wasn’t such an emotionally distant person, I would probably have cried. The chorus says it all: “Deep down there is freedom. Deep down there will be a reason. At the end of the season. We will rise from this treason.” Yes, Lindsey, we will rise from this treason. I wish nothing but luck for the success of Lindsey Buckingham’s solo tour.
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