St. Louis official review: SN has a magical coochie

[vivfox]

Sat Jun 14, 2008 at 11:30:08 AM

I'm just going to come right out and say it: Stevie Nicks must have a magical coochie. That's all I could think about last night while watching her perform at the new Chaifetz Arena. That isn't to discredit her ample musical talent, but her feminine gravitational pull is apparent, even in a large music venue. She's got that something. And whatever it is, it's magnetic and irresistible.

Over the years her lady parts have served her well: the source of most of her song writing material has come from her love affairs. Most of these episodes were well documented, even in the pre-paparazzi days of 1970s celebrity. Successful rock-and-rollers lined up around the block back in the day for a crack at Miss Nicks. She supposedly gave quite a few of them a spin, from Don Henley to Mick Fleetwood to Jimmy Iovine, and her long relationship with uber-sexy band mate Lindsey Buckingham was a main topic in Rumours, the classic Fleetwood Mac album.

Even now, at the age that most people retire, Nicks still knows how to work it. She's still all high-heeled platform boots, gothic Lolita dresses, long blond mane and sparking shawls. Her static, uncompromising image is shockingly stubborn. Imagine a '70s punk who still sports a mohawk as an old man on the golf course. Still, Nick's image doesn't feel contrived- it's just as if she found a good thing an stuck with it.

And the fans? They love it. When she opened with "Stand Back" one would have never known that the arena was only about half full, as every older lady in the place got up out of her seat and cheered while mentally reliving her glory days.

What followed was a string of hits (including "Dreams," "Rhiannon," "If Anyone Falls in Love," "Sorcerer," Gold Dust Woman" and "Landslide") and a couple of surprising covers (Bob Seger's "Face the Promise" and a torturous version of Dave Matthews Band's "Crash").

To her credit, Nicks basically excused these covers by explaining that she and her band need to do something fun every now and then. By "fun," I'm guessing she means "sing a song that I haven't already sang 873,421 times in my life." It's cool. She's forgiven for that. She is still under the gun, however, for one part in her stage show.

There was a huge video screen behind the stage that showed mostly innocuous, appropriate swirling art (a rain shot during "Dreams," a yellow haze during "Gold Dust Woman," etc.) but during "Rhiannon" it featured a pair of cheesy white unicorns frolicking in the freaking forest. I **** you not. It was distracting and I laughed for nearly the whole song with sympathetic embarrassment for everyone on that stage. Lest you think I am a cynical party-pooper, those unicorns garnered snickers from quite a few people near me and pretty much ruined the song for us all. Lose the unicorns, Stevie, that's pushing the "mystical" and "enchanting" thing just a little too far.

This was the first "rock concert" hosted at the Chaifetz, and aside from the poor attendance (due, no doubt, to the high ticket cost), the management can certainly call it a success. The place is much smaller than an average arena, creating a cozy feeling even at a big show. It's a clean white space accented with SLU blue, but it doesn't feel cold, just new. There were helpful ushers, food and drink and a kind employee even offered to escort me to my car. Yes, the parking situation is kind of wack, but you've dealt with worse. There's just nowhere to park that feels close. I paid $10 and went for the SLU garage. It was a bit of a hike from the garage to the arena, but it's nice scenery with small ponds, bridges and sports fields to watch along the way.

-- Jaime Lees


http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/ato...icks_at_th.php

[BombaySapphire3]

this has gotta to be one of the most hilarious reviews ever.

[stevierocks87]

What's up with the Rhiannon unicorns? Last I saw it was this haunting Rhiannon cartoon charactor being all spooky. It really added to the song...

Otherwise, hilarious review. Was this published in a newspaper? Cool paper.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by stevierocks87

What's up with the Rhiannon unicorns? Last I saw it was this haunting Rhiannon cartoon charactor being all spooky. It really added to the song...

She has both. I was just looking to see what I'd thought about the unicorns when I saw them and I found this from what I wrote in 2005: I'd also like to know exactly which of the drawings that play behind Rhiannon are Stevie's own. These images running behind the song are much more effective than the live action galloping unicorns. They are both eerie and quixotic. And the way they are displayed on the screen, sometimes turned sideways, they sometimes call death to mind, nicely expressing the witch's fatal attraction.

[jkmaletic]

I laughed my ass off at those unicorns when I saw them during one of the Vegas shows. It was a little over the top, especially at the end when they run off in the distance as Stevie sings, "don't leve me, nooowww.....".

[SmileAtYou]

Originally Posted by vivfox

torturous version of Dave Matthews Band's "Crash"

I was at this show, and let me just say, this version of "Crash" was not torturous AT ALL! Especially compared to other versions of Stevie singing this song, the performance at St. Louis was GREAT!

Here is a clip I took of the beginning of the song:


She talked a little about the song before she performed it, and I really felt that she made it her own. Stevie's voice sounded just fabulous. This song seems to fit with the rest of her catalogue of material, since it conjures words like "you've got your chain", "tied up and twisted the way I like to be" and "a boy's dream"

I loved how when she introduced the song she said, "Through the Eyes of a Girl!"

And I got a kick out of it when, at the end, she added the lyrics: "You're so dirty", which she sang several times. Too bad I didn't catch it on the video I took! Maybe some other fan will get it on tape.

I just always enjoy it when my favorite artist sings a song by one of my other favorite bands

Originally Posted by michelej1

She has both. ... I'd also like to know exactly which of the drawings that play behind Rhiannon are Stevie's own.

Many of the images at St. Louis were artwork by Sulamith Wulfing. You can see them in the video I took of Rhiannon


And lastly, I don't appreciate someone referencing Stevie's "coochie". That's just inappropriate

[petep9000]

COO-CHIE

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by SmileAtYou

And lastly, I don't appreciate someone referencing Stevie's "coochie". That's just inappropriate

really? the review actually gave me a glimmer of hope that there might be some magic left in that ol' coochie yet!

[Karlie]

Pahaha, that's one of the funniest reviews I've ever read. Though for some reason, the word "coochie" has always annoyed me.

Also, what's up with the unicorns? Do they have any special meaning or does Stevie just think unicorns are awesome?