Denver, Newman Center

[michelej1]

From Hey Reverb [The site has pictures, click the link]

http://www.heyreverb.com/2011/09/15/...review-photos/

Lyndsey Buckingham @ the Newman Center
By Mike Long | September 15th, 2011 | 2 comments

Touring in support of his third solo album in five years, the excellent, self-released, “Seeds We Sow,” Lindsey Buckingham brought lush pop to the Newman Center at Denver University on Wednesday night.

The venue, a beautiful theater with stunning acoustics, was an ideal setting, particularly for Buckingham’s first section of the show. The first five songs were performed solo, voice and guitar only, each utilizing a different acoustic guitar. Buckingham’s stellar picking created a lot of sound over slower, dramatic interpretations of “Go Insane” and “Trouble,” two early ’80s solo tracks. Despite the lack of additional players, the acoustic set was anything but sparse; Buckingham’s voice was in fine form and his playing was riveting.



Buckingham then brought out a crack three piece backing band, including Denver native Brett Tuggle on bass and keyboards for the rest of the near two-hour, 20 song set. Expertly mixing a handful of Fleetwood Mac favorites with material from his past few solo albums, it wasn’t till “Second Hand News” that Buckingham allowed himself an extended electric guitar solo, and even that was nicely restrained. For a guitar geek hero, he’s clearly proficient, but his playing almost always remarkably stays within the confines of the song.



The middle section was mostly comprised of tracks from “Seeds We Sow.” The guitars, keys, lead and background vocals meshed perfectly on “End of Time.” For me, it even surpassed the one-two Mac punch of “I’m So Afraid” (blistering guitar on that) and “Go Your Own Way” that closed the regular set. The band nailed it again on “Treason,” from 2008’s “Gift of Screws,” the second song in a three-song encore.

 Buckingham talked between songs occasionally, discussing the genesis of a few songs and once, while contrasting the difference in writing and playing for the “Big Machine” (Fleetwood Mac) and writing and performing with his band (the Little Machine), someone yelled out “You ARE the machine,” which is absolutely true. When indie musicians cite Fleetwood Mac as an influence, more often than not they mean Buckingham’s influence on “the Fleetwood Mac sound.” 

Buckingham’s past few albums and his current band feature well–crafted baroque pop that people beyond the legions of Fleetwood Mac fans or the growing members of the cult of Lindsey Buckingham should hear.

[shackin'up]

Cool......

[elle]

pleasure to read all these great concert reviews so far!

[Betsy]

I had a great time at the Denver Concert. I met some “Ledgies” and am pleased to say that I have met some friends who will be friends for life.

RE: The Venue:
There was no “threatening” security. It was a beautiful theater with about 16-20 ushers dressed in uniform. The place looked very classy. The t-shirt guy was set up in the main area and had a wireless/cordless credit card machine, which broke about 20 minutes into sales and never worked for the rest of the night. It was cash only, I believe, no checks. Since the venue was a college campus, some people found an ATM machine and were passing the word.

All Ledgies had row 1 and I was representing the first balcony. I have attended 5 Lindsey concerts and have had front row in three of them. The last concert in 2008, I was very reckless in my behavior, buying 5 tickets, trying to get closer with each try. I decided to be responsible this time and choose a seat which fit my budget and enjoyed watching the floor attendees in their enthusiasm and excitement.

Not sitting down front, allowed me to see what sorts of people were attending and to visit with them. By this, I mean the 12 high school kids who sat in the same row as me. They had seen the GLEE Rumours episode and wanted to check out Mr. Buckingham and his music. Then there were the 6 dads who brought their sons, aged 7-10. But the majority of the crowd was aged 40-50-60 and were not only Fleetwood Mac fans, but Dead Heads, ZZTop, and a few bands, whose names I did not recognize.

Lindsey started performing right at 8:00 with no talking or introduction....he began singing and playing SHUT US DOWN. The one-handed playing at the end, brought applause and appreciation from the audience. The first song, and he got a 80% standing ovation. By this I mean, that much of the crowd was clapping and standing. He seemed touched and bowed a few times. Then when he sang his second song....the crowd did it again....another 80% standing ovation after GO INSANE. I was surprised if he wasn’t.

He explained that music for him began with a boy and his older brothers records. He tried to imitate what he heard and to learn to play the guitar with them. The guitar is very special to him and so he was re-creating and reflecting on his youth, by playing the first part of the concert with just his voice and his guitar.

There was playful bantering with the crowd...one guy yelled “BLUE LETTER” as Lindsey was tuning, Lindsey stopped, stepped up to the microphone and said “No.” and then stepped back and continued tuning. Everyone laughed.

There was a lot of shouts...”You are the best!” “You ARE the machine.” “Thanks for the new music.” “Keep playing” etc. etc. After another standing ovation, which had quieted down and then the clapping started again, Lindsey put his hand on his heart and stepped to the microphone and said...”I love you too.”

There was a nice atmosphere....he did three songs on the ovation....and with each one, people shouted MORE. When Lindsey announced, “This is the last one.” Someone yelled KEEP PLAYING...DON’T STOP. Lindsey said, “I can’t. It’s this high altitude.” And the guy replied, “Then stay awhile.” Everyone laughed, clapped and cheered.

After the final song, TREASON, Lindsey did not leave the stage. He waved, he bowed, and stayed on stage for about 4-5 minutes. I was surprised. I didn’t see things being offered for autographs, just the front row, telling him (I presume) thank you.

With this venue, one could not approach the stage....the front row got all the love.

The coolest thing, I observed was GYOW....EVERYONE was dancing and swaying and clapping and singing....the ushers included. In the one doorway, I saw two female ushers (one African American in her 50's and the other a White gray-haired lady) dancing with each other, bumping hips...in another doorway, the male usher was getting his groove on doing, some dance from the 1960's. It was hilarious, touching and such a pleasing atmosphere. Everyone was smiling. Mr. B. authored a classic with that song.

When the concert was over, the t-shirt vendor was inundated with sales, even though the credit card machine was still down.

It was raining heavily outside and on a whim, a group of us decided to drive to downtown Denver to the Ritz Carlton to see if anyone special was staying there. I think one of the best memories of the night, was seeing DavidMN, eat his Taco Bell in the bar of a 5 star hotel. Other Ledgies were camped out at the venue but alas, no sighting of Mr. B. and the band exiting. Our group left the Ritz at about 11:30. I had had, 3 cups of coffee to keep me fueled. I had gotten up at 4 that morning and did 4.5 miles at the gym and gone to work, so that I could leave work early. I was constantly thinking of Jackson Browne and “Running on Empty.”

Which reminds me of one final note. There was lots of filming of video and cell phone cameras and digital cameras being in use at the concert. I did not see any hassling by the ushers. There might have been more security down front, but the ushers left us “back of the bus” people alone.

I was reminded of a European concert, where Jackson Browne asked the attendees to put down their filming devices....in his words....”I want to sing to you, not Youtube.”

Before I forget, the wife of a Ledgie, gave Lindsey flowers in the middle of the concert...he was talking about life and circles etc. etc., stopped and said “What is this?” walked over and accepted the flowers. It was a very cool moment...wish I had a better word than “cool” to describe it.

I have seen some wonderful footage and photos from Ledgie photographers. My skills pale in comparison. But I include a photo of what I experienced.






"Gulliver" getting ready for more traveling....




Rose, Randy and me.... These are two of the kindest, friendliest, and most generous people, I have ever met. Their generosity and friendship, brings tears of gratitude to my eyes... P.S. the venue was HOT.... in the middle of the concert, I took off my sweater and put my hair in a ponytail. I think it was all the dancing in seats that fueled the heat. There definitely was a feeling of "love" for the man and his music that night.

[wondergirl9847]

Betsy, I love the pics...there's an energy to that one, especially with the lady putting her arms up. Very cool.

I'm picturing that moment when Lindsey walks up to the mic and says "No." regarding the Blue Letter request.

[Betsy]

Thanks Christy.

It is because of you, Lauren and Drummer Deanna, that I am a member of the Ledge....we were all together in November of 2006 when he played the Paramount in downtown Denver. You three got your photos taken with him.

Church-mouse-me, had to hurry up and get back to Franktown...afraid of the big, bad, Denver traffic ... and... the fact that they said they were locking the parking garage an hour after the concert. I could see me spending the night amongst the concrete stalls and waiting for the guy to open up in the morning.

We missed you! I did meet up with Lauren. Wednesday night made the 3rd concert I've attended with Lauren. She's a pro. She has a GREAT story about getting some LB attention at the SYW show at Fiddler's Green. I am so jealous!

[Betsy]

A shout out to ChiliD....Stars Are Crazy...sounded much better live. The guy next to me said it was his new favorite.

[bangdrum]

Does this mean he'll never do Blue Letter (not that we thought he would anyway ), or just that he won't do it as a fan request?

Sounds like a great show!

[Betsy]

One last comment --

The Denver show never appeared on LB's website....one lady mentioned that she thought the concert was cancelled but showed up at the theater, just in case and was glad she did.

But, then again...there have been many comments about how lacking that website is...

[michelej1]

Great review Betsy.

It sounds like a wonderful show. I'm really surprised that he stayed on the stage for 4-5 minutes at the end.

Funny comment about the altitude. He was joking, but I know he felt it.

Michele

[elle]

Originally Posted by Betsy

There was playful bantering with the crowd...one guy yelled “BLUE LETTER” as Lindsey was tuning, Lindsey stopped, stepped up to the microphone and said “No.” and then stepped back and continued tuning. Everyone laughed.

There was a lot of shouts...”You are the best!” “You ARE the machine.” “Thanks for the new music.” “Keep playing” etc. etc. After another standing ovation, which had quieted down and then the clapping started again, Lindsey put his hand on his heart and stepped to the microphone and said...”I love you too.”

There was a nice atmosphere....he did three songs on the ovation....and with each one, people shouted MORE. When Lindsey announced, “This is the last one.” Someone yelled KEEP PLAYING...DON’T STOP. Lindsey said, “I can’t. It’s this high altitude.” And the guy replied, “Then stay awhile.” Everyone laughed, clapped and cheered.

After the final song, TREASON, Lindsey did not leave the stage. He waved, he bowed, and stayed on stage for about 4-5 minutes. I was surprised. I didn’t see things being offered for autographs, just the front row, telling him (I presume) thank you.

...

The coolest thing, I observed was GYOW....EVERYONE was dancing and swaying and clapping and singing....the ushers included.

Betsy - thank you for writing this up - so good, almost feels like being there with you!! love that pic of the crowd at the end!

[elle]

wait a minute - Treason was the last song!?!?!? he didn't do SWS at the end?

[CADreaming]

Great review!! Thanks for sharing your experience. The Blue Letter request was too funny!

[Mac Attack]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to say that Lindsey still kicks a$$! This concert was soooo much fun. We had a great time meeting and hanging out with you Ledgies!
I took alot of pics but haven't had time to upload, will do soon.
A special shout out to Betsy for hauling our arses around. Thanks again, you are awesome. Gulliver David we hope you made it home OK.

We hope to see you guys soon.

Randy

[holidayroad]

Thanks for all the great details. Betsy!!! How long was the show??