Vancouver, April 4, 2015

[michelej1]

[Excerpt from an article about what to do this weekend]

http://www.straight.com/blogra/42418...tion-april-3-5

The Georgia Straight by Steve Newton on April 2nd, 2015

"Every once in a while a low-budget indie fright flick comes along that makes everything on the major studios’ horror plate look like a pile of steaming crap," wrote one of the world's most esteemed and influential film critics in a recent review,"It Follows is that film, right now."

After getting the poo scared out of you by It Follows, a nice way to mellow out somewhat would be to see Fleetwood Mac at Rogers Arena on Saturday. I saw the band at the same venue just over two years ago, but this time it also includes Christine McVie, who returned last year to solidify the '70s lineup that tore up the charts with albums like 1977's monumental Rumours.

With McVie back, the current setlist has been altered to include songs she wrote and sang, like "Say You Love Me" and "Over My Head". So if you're the world's biggest Christine McVie fan you may wanna splurge and see the group on this tour, because—unlike the Stones—they won't be around forever. The band has been opening shows with one of my fave Mac tracks, "The Chain", a percussive showcase for legendary drummer Mick Fleetwood, who I interviewed back in 1997.

“I get to whack the hell outta my drums on that, that’s for sure,” Fleetwood told me back then. “That was basically a band effort in terms of there was a lot of jamming that went into the original track. We all sat round and Stevie put the words in, Lindsey was arranging it, and it was just one of those oddball things that was deemed ‘Let’s just make this a band song.’ It’s certainly very, very apropos in terms of the survival of Fleetwood Mac. You couldn’t write a more specific song in terms of this bunch.”

If you are going to the Fleetwood Mac show on Saturday, a pretty decent way to get lubed up for it—as long as you promise not to drive—is the first annual Beer League Bash that starts at 4 pm at the Britannia Ice Rink.

My final recommendation for the rock 'n' roll weekend is just to pop out to Zulu Records on 4th or Neptoon on Main, search around for some vintage Fleetwood Mac vinyl, and then spend Easter Friday to Easter Monday enveloped in the bluesy guitar genius of Peter Green.

I'm making that recommendation for the sole reason that it allows me an excuse to show this: [vintage FM clip]

[michelej1]

The Georgia Straight At Rogers Arena on Saturday, April 4

http://www.straight.com/music/424806...rums-vancouver

Fleetwood Mac brings crazy-ass fingerpicking and monster drums to Vancouver


by Steve Newton on April 5th, 2015 at 1:50 AM

Fleetwood Mac must really love Vancouver. The Anglo-American pop greats played Rogers Arena less than five months ago, on November 18, before returning for last night's gig at the same venue.

Apparently the feeling is mutual, because hordes of Vancouverites were willing to drop $199 (plus service charges and fees) for the best seats at the quintet's latest appearance. Who knew that Christine McVie had that much drawing power?

Last year saw the return of keyboardist-vocalist McVie to the concert stage, reuniting her with singer Stevie Nicks, guitarist-vocalist Lindsey Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood, and bassist/ex-hubby John McVie. That's the same lineup that ruled the charts and airwaves in the seventies during its Rumours-era heyday.

Getting McVie back in the group for its current On With the Show tour meant that it could perform more of the songs she wrote and sang, of course, and last night that resulted in tunes like "Over My Head" and "Say You Love Me" (from 1975's Fleetwood Mac) and "Little Lies" and "Everywhere" (from 1987's Tango in the Night) making the setlist.

McVie—the oldest member of the band at 71—sounded fine on those numbers, but it didn't hurt that she was supported by a trio of youthful backing vocalists. The group also benefited from an extra keyboardist and an extra guitarist. Hey, when you charge that much for tickets you can afford some hired hands.

And you can also invest a few bucks into getting one helluva drum sound. I don't think I've ever heard such a powerful bass-drum noise in a hockey rink as that booming out of Mick Fleetwood's kit. From the opening track, "The Chain", to the first encore, "World Turning", Fleetwood was a monster on the skins. His extended solo on the latter track turned out to be far more entertaining than what you'd expect from an old guy hollering and hitting things.

The show's visuals were most impressive too. The massive video screen behind the 10 performers kept your attention, whether displaying footage of the USC Trojans' marching band during "Tusk", a huge moon changing colours on "Sisters of the Moon", or a beautiful lady dancing underwater on "Gold Dust Woman".

The last time the band played Vancouver without Christine McVie, in May of 2013, the setlist included the Stevie Nicks solo hit "Stand Back", but this time around there were no selections from outside the Fleetwood Mac catalogue. And 14 of the 22 songs played were taken from the multiplatinum Fleetwood Mac and Rumours discs. There was none of that, "And here's a track from our latest album!" nonsense. Mac's latest album came out 12 years ago, anyway.

The biggest highlight of the night may have been Buckingham's solo performance of "Big Love", which showcased his crazy-ass fingerpicking style and ultra-expressive vocals. Mind you, he did reach similarly dramatic heights seven songs later on the heavy (by Mac standards) "I'm So Afraid", which saw him prowling the stage like a man possessed before unleashing a gonzo solo right out of the Ultimate Guitar Hero Playbook.

Dude earned his MVP Award right then, I reckon.

Photos: I realize this crappy iPhone shot doesn't fully capture Lindsey Buckingham's guitar prowess, but it's all I got.

[michelej1]

Review: Fleetwood Mac deliver 'Second Hand News' in Vancouver

By Robert Collins Published Sunday, April 5, 2015 11:24AM PDT

[click for pictures] CTV News Vancouver Sunday, April 5, 2015

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/review-fleetwoo...uver-1.2312728

Attending fans’ opinion of last night’s Fleetwood Mac concert at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena depended entirely on whether or not they were present at the same venue four and a half months ago, the last time the band graced the city.

For those for who last night was their first taste of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘On With The Show’ tour, their senses are still tingling from the experience today. The Kings and Queens of Soft Rock still reigned, cranking out two and a quarter hours of gems with energy and style.

The long absent Christine McVie, now firmly re-entrenched in the line up, gave the band the vocal ammunition to roll out classics like “You Make Loving Fun,” “Little Lies” and “Say You Love Me.” After a touch of trouble on certain high notes early on, she soon slotted into her musical groove, finishing the night strong with a honky tonk piano solo adding an extra sheen of fun to “Don’t Stop.”

In terms of vocals, Stevie Nicks was in richer form than on her previous visit to Vancouver, wisely navigating her way around the high notes during “Rhiannon,” “Landslide” and her opus, the lyrically merciless “Gold Dust Woman.”

Stealing the show throughout, Lindsey Buckingham was the undisputed star of the evening, his guitars taking centre stage through opener “The Chain,” the perfect power pop of “Second Hand News” and “I Know I’m Not Wrong,” and hosting finger picking acoustic wizardry on “Big Love” and “Never Going Back.”

Those who were lucky enough to be at Rogers Arena back in November probably have a different view of last night.

Because Fleetwood Mac, for all their song writing and technical excellence, delivered the exact same concert that they brought with them four-and-a-half short months ago. Same set list. Same pre-song stories. They were even wearing the same clothes.

The band has their reasons. At an arena level, lighting and video cues are not immediately changeable through the tap of a laptop.

And yet, with such a significant gap between Vancouver dates, musicians of their ability and back catalogue should be able to switch up their set list. It seems inconceivable that select changes couldn’t be made to prevent the same songs appearing in the same order, punctuated by the same scripted introductions and anecdotes the band have been relying on through the tour.

Read the review in the link in the first paragraph. Apart from an absent “Songbird” last night, nothing had changed.

This is no reflection on Fleetwood Mac’s unquestionably excellent music. But playing the same concert to (presumably) a significant percentage of repeat ticket buyers destroyed the illusion that band and audience was sharing a unique, never-to-be repeated moment. That’s what makes the rock concert such a special experience. Its magic is fleeting.

Even if a tour remains constant day after day, that time it visited your city was unforgettable. You had to be there to feel it.

By repeating themselves so thoroughly, what seemed like moments of in-the-moment passion were revealed to be merely an act. Like the magician explaining the slight of hand behind the tricks, you admire the skill, but the wonder is gone.

[elle]

^ nice one, especially the ending complaint about exact same setlist / banter:

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/review-fleetwoo...uver-1.2312728

By repeating themselves so thoroughly, what seemed like moments of in-the-moment passion were revealed to be merely an act. Like the magician explaining the slight of hand behind the tricks, you admire the skill, but the wonder is gone.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by elle

^ nice one, especially the ending complaint about exact same setlist / banter:

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/review-fleetwoo...uver-1.2312728

By repeating themselves so thoroughly, what seemed like moments of in-the-moment passion were revealed to be merely an act. Like the magician explaining the slight of hand behind the tricks, you admire the skill, but the wonder is gone.

yep. describes the whole show. Lindsey has described it using the same sort of language. He's been the only one honest enough to admit that yeah, it's all rehearsed.

[elle]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

yep. describes the whole show. Lindsey has described it using the same sort of language. He's been the only one honest enough to admit that yeah, it's all rehearsed.

despite that, he's happy enough not to touch the status quo, not to change or switch around any songs, and just take the easiest & laziest way forward.

all they need to do is rehearse 3 more songs, one from each songwriter, and change them up from time to time. if that's so hard, then there is something seriously wrong with the way this band operates.

(i know, duh )

[nicole21290]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

yep. describes the whole show. Lindsey has described it using the same sort of language. He's been the only one honest enough to admit that yeah, it's all rehearsed.

There was a fairly long section in a 2013 Stevie interview where they were at rehearsal and showed just that, that it's - to an extent - choreographed. It's not like it's meant to be a secret, lol. It's a SHOW.

-

At rehearsal, Nicks and Buckingham’s banter lit up with hard-won playfulness as they tried to work out their positioning on the stage. After ‘Landslide’… Lindsey remarked: “I feel weird standing behind her. I don’t want to stand too close.” Stevie fired back, teasingly: “I don’t know. I have stood next to you playing guitar for how many years?”

To perform Gypsy, Nicks suggested, “I’m just going to basically stand sideways because I know you can’t turn.”

Buckingham: You’re stalking me.

Nicks: I’m stalking you on this one.

Buckingham: All I can do is angle toward you. I gotta look at the neck.

Nicks: Just remember to look over at me every once in a while so I don’t look like an idiot.

Buckingham: I just need to eye the neck of the guitar and then look over at your neck. Go from neck to neck.

Nicks: My wrinkly neck.

Buckingham: Oh, stop it.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by nicole21290

There was a fairly long section in a 2013 Stevie interview where they were at rehearsal and showed just that, that it's - to an extent - choreographed. It's not like it's meant to be a secret, lol. It's a SHOW.

-

At rehearsal, Nicks and Buckingham’s banter lit up with hard-won playfulness as they tried to work out their positioning on the stage. After ‘Landslide’… Lindsey remarked: “I feel weird standing behind her. I don’t want to stand too close.” Stevie fired back, teasingly: “I don’t know. I have stood next to you playing guitar for how many years?”

To perform Gypsy, Nicks suggested, “I’m just going to basically stand sideways because I know you can’t turn.”

Buckingham: You’re stalking me.

Nicks: I’m stalking you on this one.

Buckingham: All I can do is angle toward you. I gotta look at the neck.

Nicks: Just remember to look over at me every once in a while so I don’t look like an idiot.

Buckingham: I just need to eye the neck of the guitar and then look over at your neck. Go from neck to neck.

Nicks: My wrinkly neck.

Buckingham: Oh, stop it.

yes, but that scenario was observed and reported by a reporter. In interviews you'd be hard pressed to find Stevie admitting that her interactions with Lindsey are totally scripted and rehearsed (by them) though all you have to do is see more than one show and there it is. She always maintains that they get to go onstage and relive their love affair for those two hours. He's the only one who's said, nope, just an act.

[nicole21290]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

yes, but that scenario was observed and reported by a reporter. In interviews you'd be hard pressed to find Stevie admitting that her interactions with Lindsey are totally scripted and rehearsed (by them) though all you have to do is see more than one show and there it is. She always maintains that they get to go onstage and relive their love affair for those two hours. He's the only one who's said, nope, just an act.

I don't understand WHY there'd need to be an admission? No one actually thinks they just happen to think to hold hands in Landslide, or come out on stage hand in hand, or just happen to face each other in Silver Springs. Of course those fundamental actions are planned. It's the changes and the evolution IN those actions which are interesting. There are plenty of things which have only been done once or twice, or which occur in the almost complete darkness, or which are fundamentally different than how they were in the first show.

A planned action doesn't negate emotion or 'feeling', and that's what Stevie discusses. For example, in her 2013 interviews, she was very keen to promote the idea of their actions before then being 'fake' and comparing them to 'now' when it was 'real'. I don't necessarily buy that line but the concept behind it is solid. It's to do with whether the actions are meaningless and rote, or whether they come from a place which is genuine. When they're happy and relaxed onstage they often relax those rehearsed steps and you get something a little bit more interesting like him pretending to bite her shoulder as she speaks, or him leading her into a short dance for an encore. Those are pretty clearly not rehearsed actions.

-

So has it been great? When the pair of you hold hands on-stage now what’s going on there exactly? The hand-holding on the 2009 tour seemed a bit hammy..

That’s interesting. My cousin John has known Lindsey and I since 1968. He told me, “When I saw you and Lindsey play with Fleetwood Mac in 2009, there was nothing between you. It was as if you were thinking, ‘What shall I get from room service tonight? Grilled cheese? Tomato soup?” Hammy wasn’t the word for Lindsey and I in 2009 – it was totally fake. But what you see on-stage now is not fake. It is loving, and it is as close to those two people who met as teenagers as you could hope for. Every night I tell the story of Without You, the poem that I wrote in 1972 before we made the Buckingham Nicks album. The story has become longer than the song, and I told Lindsey, “I’m sorry, I’m trying to shorten it.” He goes, “Don’t worry, Stevie – it’s charming.” Three years ago he would have been like, “Are you kidding? We could do The Green Manalishi in that time…”

[michelej1]

Lindsey would rather have the Green Manalishi than this Gypsy intro.

Michele

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

yes, but that scenario was observed and reported by a reporter.

Yes. Last tour, would Stevie like for someone who only saw the show once to go away with the impression that when she stopped as she was leaving the stage at the end of Sara and made contact with Lindsey that it was completely spontaneous? YES, she would. Michele

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by nicole21290

I don't understand WHY there'd need to be an admission? No one actually thinks they just happen to think to hold hands in Landslide, or come out on stage hand in hand, or just happen to face each other in Silver Springs. Of course those fundamental actions are planned. It's the changes and the evolution IN those actions which are interesting. There are plenty of things which have only been done once or twice, or which occur in the almost complete darkness, or which are fundamentally different than how they were in the first show.

A planned action doesn't negate emotion or 'feeling', and that's what Stevie discusses. For example, in her 2013 interviews, she was very keen to promote the idea of their actions before then being 'fake' and comparing them to 'now' when it was 'real'. I don't necessarily buy that line but the concept behind it is solid. It's to do with whether the actions are meaningless and rote, or whether they come from a place which is genuine. When they're happy and relaxed onstage they often relax those rehearsed steps and you get something a little bit more interesting like him pretending to bite her shoulder as she speaks, or him leading her into a short dance for an encore. Those are pretty clearly not rehearsed actions.

-

So has it been great? When the pair of you hold hands on-stage now what’s going on there exactly? The hand-holding on the 2009 tour seemed a bit hammy..

That’s interesting. My cousin John has known Lindsey and I since 1968. He told me, “When I saw you and Lindsey play with Fleetwood Mac in 2009, there was nothing between you. It was as if you were thinking, ‘What shall I get from room service tonight? Grilled cheese? Tomato soup?” Hammy wasn’t the word for Lindsey and I in 2009 – it was totally fake. But what you see on-stage now is not fake. It is loving, and it is as close to those two people who met as teenagers as you could hope for. Every night I tell the story of Without You, the poem that I wrote in 1972 before we made the Buckingham Nicks album. The story has become longer than the song, and I told Lindsey, “I’m sorry, I’m trying to shorten it.” He goes, “Don’t worry, Stevie – it’s charming.” Three years ago he would have been like, “Are you kidding? We could do The Green Manalishi in that time…”

I get your point and agree.... the behavior can be the same, but the intention behind it, or the feeling in the moment behind it, can be very different. Tonight I can hold your hand or hug you and it's only because it's in the script, and tomorrow I can do those same behaviors and feel warm and caring toward you.

Call me a cynic, (I prefer to think I'm just pragmatic) but I tend to think it's far more of the former than the latter. Still makes for a good show, and no I don't think they totally hate each other, but (and this is no offense to anyone else who feels differently at all) but I think things between Stevie and Lindsey are just very business-like most all of the time (onstage and off). If they weren't business partners I just don't think they would interact much at all. (yes, yes, she asked him to help when she got stuck on Soldier's Angel... because she wanted it on the album and her producer couldn't give her the result she wanted). I know you disagree, Nicole, and I totally respect that, but other than perhaps warm feelings they have for what *was* in the past, I see them both as being on such different pages in their lives personally and artistically that their FM interactions are mostly just business. Which for me is fine, but they seem to think it's not fine to acknowledge