My 3 week adventure with Fleetwood Mac

[DavidMn]

Well, I made it home about an hour and a half ago, and it's almost hard to believe I was on the road with my favorite band for 3 straight weeks! Everything went really well, almost to a tee, so here's a day by day account of my own personal magical mystery tour.... all by bus no less


3-1, Pittsburgh, Mellon Arena: Of course as I mentioned awhile back I was able to snag front row seats for this show at the last minute which was fantastic! THe bus ride to Pittsburgh was a little dramatic though. Left Minneapolis at 1:30PM on Saturday the 28th scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh on 3-1 at 1230pm. One problem though. As the bus pulled into Toledo Ohio there was a problem with the brake lines freezing and we had to sit there at ths station while the driver pumped the brakes for about 45 minutes. At one point there was a serious chance that we were going to have to get another bus from Detroit which woldve taken 4 hours. I was not happy! However, the driver managed to get everything working and we limped into Cleveland where we changed to another bus, arriving in Pittsburgh at 130 one hour late. I immideately went over to the Westin hotel where some friends of mine were and as I found out the band was as well. To make a long story short I got to meet Mick and Lindsey and got pictures before I was summarily asked to leave the hotel by hotel security. I took no offense however as they dont know me and they were just doing their jobs. So onto the arena where I settled into my front row seat with great anticipation. The show I felt went of well, and there were n0o glitches really to speak of equipment wise. I got some excellent pictures, and I will work on getting them up as I can. After the show I had to get back to the bus station quickly as my bus left at 1230 am. The Mac was indeed back!!!

3-3, St Paul, Xcel Energy Center: I picked up my 2 friends and we made our way over to the arena at about 630. my one friend and I had upper level seats and no sooner did we sit down than an usher upgraded us to the lower level! Again the show went well, a little better than Pittsburgh I'd say. I think the band was definitely geting their sea legs under them.

3-5, Chicago, Allstate Arena: got into Chicago on the bus at 10:00 AM and went directly to my hotel to sleep. Made my way over to the arena at 6:30 running into my old friend Alicia once inside. I had cheap seats for this show, and I actually enjoyed that, just sitting up in the rafters taking it all in.


3-6, Chicago, Allstate Arena: this was the show where there was a little drama involving yours truly. I was again up in the cheap seats, and there were these 2 girls in front of me and everything was going well during the show until near the end of GYOW when the one girl started yelling at her friend. It got more heated in the break before World Turning, and I haf finally had enough after WT was over and this dumb bitch was still yelling at her friend while Mick was doing the intros. I got right in her face yelling LISTEN BITCH i DIDNT PAY TO HEAR YOUR SORRY ASS INTERRUPT MY SHOW. I SUGGEST YOU STFU OR ELSE YOURE GOING TO DEAL WITH ME. She promptly gave me the finger at which point I got security and he came and finally quited things down.


3-8, Detroit, The Palace: I had a day of rest thank god after taking the bus overnight from Chicago. But the weather was really crappy in Detroit that day, and I decided to walk the mile from my motel to the arena. Even though I had an umnbrella it wasnt a really good idea. The show itself was excellent! I really felt this was the best out of the 12 I saw. They were tight, more vocal with the audience, really hitting their stride.


3-10, Washington D.C, Verizon Center: Ever heard the expression "I'll sleep when I'm dead." Well, that phrase definitely applied to this show. I had taken the bus overnight from Detroit arriving into DC at 8am on the 10th. I had all day to kill so I wandered around until Torri arrived and we went to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe a couple blocks from the arena. I got a chance to meet Keith from here too which was nice.

3-11, Boston, TD Banknorth Garden: this was really tough because it was the second night in a row that I was overnight on the bus. I arrived at my motel in Boston at 1230pm and was able to get about 5 hours of sleep which I desperately needed after feeling pretty ragged from the previous 2 days of travel. I arrived at the garden at 7:30 meeting up with Pattie to say hello before I made my way to my seat. I was pretty tired for this show, and I was very grateful to be able to relax and not have to get up and get all crazy.


3-12, Day Off. This was the first day that I took the round trip from Boston to New York. I did it specifically on this day to eat at the famous Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn. It was truly the best steak Ive ever had. Then after it was on th bus back up to Boston, arriving at 1130 pm.


3-13, Uniondale, Nassau Colesium. No rest for the wicked baby!! I was up and out of my room for the trip down to NYC at 5am, arriving at the Port Authority terminal at 1100am. I had a ton of sightseeing to do. First I makde my way over to studio 54 for pictures, then over to the Carnegie Deli for lunch. After that it was onto Radio City Music Hall for pictures followed by Rockefeller Center. My friend is a big mafia buff so I then went over to Sparks Steakhouse where Big Paul Castellano, the head of the gambino family was gunned down back in 1985. After that it was over to the United Nations for more picutres, and finally to the top of the Empire State Building. Oh did I mention there was a show to go to as well? After coming down from the observation deck I hopped the Long Island Railroad out to Hempstead where a quick cab ride brought me to Nassau Colesium. The show went well, once again without really a hitch. The band seems to be really not making any mistakes hardly at all on this tour so far. After, it was back to the port authority for the bus ride back up to Boston arriving at my motel at 6:30 am.


3-14, Uncasville, Mohegan Sun Arena: This is where I REALLY was running myself ragged. I had to be up at 1130 am after arriving back from NYC at 630 that same morning. Of course I overslept my wake up call not waking up until 1205. I had to totally haul ass to barely make it to the 115 bus from Boston to Mohegan Sun. This was too much for my body to tazke and I got sick and threw up on the bus ride. Thankfully once I got to Mohegan my stomach calmed down a little and I was able to eat. Not that I was done depriving myself of sleep mind you. Nooooo far from it. After the show, I had to wait until 430am for the bus to Rochester via NYC. Now for me one of the things I like about taking the bus is you get to see a different side of people. Well, I got a little more than I bargained for. About 4am this 60-65ish REALLY drunk guy shows up to catch the bus standing behind me loudly bragging about ho hed won 500 dollars or something like that. He managed to hold his liquor well anough that the driver let him on the bus. I ended up sitting in the back because there are 3 seats together back there on buses and i thought I could get some sleep, thought being the operatvie word. About 5 minutes into the ride the guy makes his way back to the bathroom with his shirt off. He goes in the can to, you guessed it, puke his guts out. Now I'm sitting there trying to get precious little sleep and this "gentleman" decides to repeat this act 3 times before we arrived in NYC. Needless to say my stomach was very upset and I had to throw up in the bathroom at the bus terminal before boarding the bus to Rochester. I arrived there on the 15th at 430pm FINALLY getting mucch desperately needed sleep.


3-16, Rochester, Blue Cross Arena: This was a really good day. I met up with Torri again and we ate at a berbecue place right by the arena. I saw Brett and Neale outside having a smoke and the 3 of us chatted it up for about 10 minutes. They were both like "so hows our man Dave and the old bus tour going?" we all got a good laugh out of it and then they both said they had never seen anyone go to the lengths I had to come see these shows. That really meant alot to me. I dont do any of the traveling I do for recognition I do it because I love the music, and for them to respect me like that, that really meant alot. After chatting with them, I went over to the ticket office and promptly snagged another front row seat right in front of Stevie. I got some more great pictures at this show, and I will work on getting them up. I'm not that proficient with a digital camera so you all will have to forgive me on that point.


3-17, Toronto, Air Canada Centre: This was really exciting for me since it was my first time seeing Fleetwood Mac in another country. made my way on the bus over to the peace bridge in Buffalo and promptly ran into a phalanx of buses belonging to none other than Britney Spears entourage, as Ms Spears was playing Toronto for 2 nights after Fleetwood Mac. I have to say that waiting behind these guys in the immigration line was very interesting indeed. Got into Toronto at 6pm and to the show at 630. This show wasx somewhat less attended than the others, Id say about 10,000 and Lindsey had a slight technical glitch during the Chain, but other than that, everything went off well.


3-19, New York City, Madison Square Garden: I stayed in Albany for 2 days making my way back and forth to NYC. Got into NYC the morning of the show at 1000am and went over to Katz's Deli for lunch. Of course I sat in the "When Harry met Sally" chair. Then after that I walked down Mulberry street thru little Italy making my way over to Ground Zero. Very moving even though there was alot of work going on and the Freedom Tower is starting to take shape. After that I went over past he NYSE and took some pictures and then went on a ride on the Staten Island Ferry which I really enjoyed. Then after that went over to little Italy for dinner at one of the resturants there, and finally over to MSG for the show. This like I said was a big thrill for me since it was such a famous arena. My final show in this group was as good if not better that Detroit. The guys I really thought were tight this night.


So yesterday I got on the bus in Albany getting back to Minneapolis at 830. I have scarcely had a chance to digest what Ive seen over the last 3 weeks. I truly feel blessed to have been able to enjoy this band that has meant so much to me over the last 33 years of my life, it's hard to really put it into words. I hope I was able to paint a small picture of what the last 3 weeks of my life has been like.


I'll leave you all with a couple things:


The road warriors creed: ILL SLEEP WHEN IM DEAD


and finally, this story to be continued May 3 in Tulsa............

[Nico]

Thanks for sharing this David. Wow. Just...wow. You are too awesome and, honestly, they should be paying you for your dedication. You make them look good. Now go get some rest!!!

[StreetAngel86]

i love that u get cheap tickets and don't give a ****
you're just happy to hear them
that is awesome.

i'm totally exhausted reading this
i can do a lot on a little sleep but not on purpose
if i need to plan a state by state bus trip itinerary i'm coming to you.
seriously. you had it all down!

i'm so glad you had a great time
i havent seen 12 Mac and Stevie concerts COMBINED

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by StreetAngel86

i love that u get cheap tickets and don't give a ****
you're just happy to hear them
that is awesome.

i'm totally exhausted reading this
i can do a lot on a little sleep but not on purpose
if i need to plan a state by state bus trip itinerary i'm coming to you.
seriously. you had it all down!

i'm so glad you had a great time
i havent seen 12 Mac and Stevie concerts COMBINED

Yes, front row 2 times was more than enough for me.

[diane_k]

Maybe it's the chardonnay talking, but damn! You're almost putting more effort into this tour than they are!

Did you meet many ledgies on your adventure?

~DK

[LukeA]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Well, I made it home about an hour and a half ago, and it's almost hard to believe I was on the road with my favorite band for 3 straight weeks!

Welcome back! Sounds like you had a blast! That's great you were able to meet so many Ledgies along the way. Torri's great- we had dinner the night of the canceled Stevie Nicks show in St. Louis on the TISL tour. Saw her on the SYW tour too.

It looks like you weren't able to do much while in Boston, I guess? I know how much you love the city (I do too- had to ask!)

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by LukeA

Welcome back! Sounds like you had a blast! That's great you were able to meet so many Ledgies along the way. Torri's great- we had dinner the night of the canceled Stevie Nicks show in St. Louis on the TISL tour. Saw her on the SYW tour too.

It looks like you weren't able to do much while in Boston, I guess? I know how much you love the city (I do too- had to ask!)

What sucked about Boston was that the prevvious 2 nights I was on a bus so by the time I got to Boston the day of the show I HAD to get some sleep.



There's another thing I really want to address here. I was VERY suprised that after playing 6 shows in 8 nights, D.C-Toronto, that both Stevie and Lindsey's voices had suffered very little if any. I was worried about this especially concerning Stevie, but I paid very close attention to how their voices sounded, especially in Rochester and Toronto, and like I said I noticed no dropoff.

[carrie721]

Originally Posted by diane_k

Maybe it's the chardonnay talking, but damn!

just what the ledge needs. another white wine swilling lesbian.

[Steviefan49]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Well, I made it home about an hour and a half ago, and it's almost hard to believe I was on the road with my favorite band for 3 straight weeks! Everything went really well, almost to a tee, so here's a day by day account of my own personal magical mystery tour.... all by bus no less


3-1, Pittsburgh, Mellon Arena: Of course as I mentioned awhile back I was able to snag front row seats for this show at the last minute which was fantastic! THe bus ride to Pittsburgh was a little dramatic though. Left Minneapolis at 1:30PM on Saturday the 28th scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh on 3-1 at 1230pm. One problem though. As the bus pulled into Toledo Ohio there was a problem with the brake lines freezing and we had to sit there at ths station while the driver pumped the brakes for about 45 minutes. At one point there was a serious chance that we were going to have to get another bus from Detroit which woldve taken 4 hours. I was not happy! However, the driver managed to get everything working and we limped into Cleveland where we changed to another bus, arriving in Pittsburgh at 130 one hour late. I immideately went over to the Westin hotel where some friends of mine were and as I found out the band was as well. To make a long story short I got to meet Mick and Lindsey and got pictures before I was summarily asked to leave the hotel by hotel security. I took no offense however as they dont know me and they were just doing their jobs. So onto the arena where I settled into my front row seat with great anticipation. The show I felt went of well, and there were n0o glitches really to speak of equipment wise. I got some excellent pictures, and I will work on getting them up as I can. After the show I had to get back to the bus station quickly as my bus left at 1230 am. The Mac was indeed back!!!

3-3, St Paul, Xcel Energy Center: I picked up my 2 friends and we made our way over to the arena at about 630. my one friend and I had upper level seats and no sooner did we sit down than an usher upgraded us to the lower level! Again the show went well, a little better than Pittsburgh I'd say. I think the band was definitely geting their sea legs under them.

3-5, Chicago, Allstate Arena: got into Chicago on the bus at 10:00 AM and went directly to my hotel to sleep. Made my way over to the arena at 6:30 running into my old friend Alicia once inside. I had cheap seats for this show, and I actually enjoyed that, just sitting up in the rafters taking it all in.


3-6, Chicago, Allstate Arena: this was the show where there was a little drama involving yours truly. I was again up in the cheap seats, and there were these 2 girls in front of me and everything was going well during the show until near the end of GYOW when the one girl started yelling at her friend. It got more heated in the break before World Turning, and I haf finally had enough after WT was over and this dumb bitch was still yelling at her friend while Mick was doing the intros. I got right in her face yelling LISTEN BITCH i DIDNT PAY TO HEAR YOUR SORRY ASS INTERRUPT MY SHOW. I SUGGEST YOU STFU OR ELSE YOURE GOING TO DEAL WITH ME. She promptly gave me the finger at which point I got security and he came and finally quited things down.


3-8, Detroit, The Palace: I had a day of rest thank god after taking the bus overnight from Chicago. But the weather was really crappy in Detroit that day, and I decided to walk the mile from my motel to the arena. Even though I had an umnbrella it wasnt a really good idea. The show itself was excellent! I really felt this was the best out of the 12 I saw. They were tight, more vocal with the audience, really hitting their stride.


3-10, Washington D.C, Verizon Center: Ever heard the expression "I'll sleep when I'm dead." Well, that phrase definitely applied to this show. I had taken the bus overnight from Detroit arriving into DC at 8am on the 10th. I had all day to kill so I wandered around until Torri arrived and we went to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe a couple blocks from the arena. I got a chance to meet Keith from here too which was nice.

3-11, Boston, TD Banknorth Garden: this was really tough because it was the second night in a row that I was overnight on the bus. I arrived at my motel in Boston at 1230pm and was able to get about 5 hours of sleep which I desperately needed after feeling pretty ragged from the previous 2 days of travel. I arrived at the garden at 7:30 meeting up with Pattie to say hello before I made my way to my seat. I was pretty tired for this show, and I was very grateful to be able to relax and not have to get up and get all crazy.


3-12, Day Off. This was the first day that I took the round trip from Boston to New York. I did it specifically on this day to eat at the famous Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn. It was truly the best steak Ive ever had. Then after it was on th bus back up to Boston, arriving at 1130 pm.


3-13, Uniondale, Nassau Colesium. No rest for the wicked baby!! I was up and out of my room for the trip down to NYC at 5am, arriving at the Port Authority terminal at 1100am. I had a ton of sightseeing to do. First I makde my way over to studio 54 for pictures, then over to the Carnegie Deli for lunch. After that it was onto Radio City Music Hall for pictures followed by Rockefeller Center. My friend is a big mafia buff so I then went over to Sparks Steakhouse where Big Paul Castellano, the head of the gambino family was gunned down back in 1985. After that it was over to the United Nations for more picutres, and finally to the top of the Empire State Building. Oh did I mention there was a show to go to as well? After coming down from the observation deck I hopped the Long Island Railroad out to Hempstead where a quick cab ride brought me to Nassau Colesium. The show went well, once again without really a hitch. The band seems to be really not making any mistakes hardly at all on this tour so far. After, it was back to the port authority for the bus ride back up to Boston arriving at my motel at 6:30 am.


3-14, Uncasville, Mohegan Sun Arena: This is where I REALLY was running myself ragged. I had to be up at 1130 am after arriving back from NYC at 630 that same morning. Of course I overslept my wake up call not waking up until 1205. I had to totally haul ass to barely make it to the 115 bus from Boston to Mohegan Sun. This was too much for my body to tazke and I got sick and threw up on the bus ride. Thankfully once I got to Mohegan my stomach calmed down a little and I was able to eat. Not that I was done depriving myself of sleep mind you. Nooooo far from it. After the show, I had to wait until 430am for the bus to Rochester via NYC. Now for me one of the things I like about taking the bus is you get to see a different side of people. Well, I got a little more than I bargained for. About 4am this 60-65ish REALLY drunk guy shows up to catch the bus standing behind me loudly bragging about ho hed won 500 dollars or something like that. He managed to hold his liquor well anough that the driver let him on the bus. I ended up sitting in the back because there are 3 seats together back there on buses and i thought I could get some sleep, thought being the operatvie word. About 5 minutes into the ride the guy makes his way back to the bathroom with his shirt off. He goes in the can to, you guessed it, puke his guts out. Now I'm sitting there trying to get precious little sleep and this "gentleman" decides to repeat this act 3 times before we arrived in NYC. Needless to say my stomach was very upset and I had to throw up in the bathroom at the bus terminal before boarding the bus to Rochester. I arrived there on the 15th at 430pm FINALLY getting mucch desperately needed sleep.


3-16, Rochester, Blue Cross Arena: This was a really good day. I met up with Torri again and we ate at a berbecue place right by the arena. I saw Brett and Neale outside having a smoke and the 3 of us chatted it up for about 10 minutes. They were both like "so hows our man Dave and the old bus tour going?" we all got a good laugh out of it and then they both said they had never seen anyone go to the lengths I had to come see these shows. That really meant alot to me. I dont do any of the traveling I do for recognition I do it because I love the music, and for them to respect me like that, that really meant alot. After chatting with them, I went over to the ticket office and promptly snagged another front row seat right in front of Stevie. I got some more great pictures at this show, and I will work on getting them up. I'm not that proficient with a digital camera so you all will have to forgive me on that point.


3-17, Toronto, Air Canada Centre: This was really exciting for me since it was my first time seeing Fleetwood Mac in another country. made my way on the bus over to the peace bridge in Buffalo and promptly ran into a phalanx of buses belonging to none other than Britney Spears entourage, as Ms Spears was playing Toronto for 2 nights after Fleetwood Mac. I have to say that waiting behind these guys in the immigration line was very interesting indeed. Got into Toronto at 6pm and to the show at 630. This show wasx somewhat less attended than the others, Id say about 10,000 and Lindsey had a slight technical glitch during the Chain, but other than that, everything went off well.


3-19, New York City, Madison Square Garden: I stayed in Albany for 2 days making my way back and forth to NYC. Got into NYC the morning of the show at 1000am and went over to Katz's Deli for lunch. Of course I sat in the "When Harry met Sally" chair. Then after that I walked down Mulberry street thru little Italy making my way over to Ground Zero. Very moving even though there was alot of work going on and the Freedom Tower is starting to take shape. After that I went over past he NYSE and took some pictures and then went on a ride on the Staten Island Ferry which I really enjoyed. Then after that went over to little Italy for dinner at one of the resturants there, and finally over to MSG for the show. This like I said was a big thrill for me since it was such a famous arena. My final show in this group was as good if not better that Detroit. The guys I really thought were tight this night.


So yesterday I got on the bus in Albany getting back to Minneapolis at 830. I have scarcely had a chance to digest what Ive seen over the last 3 weeks. I truly feel blessed to have been able to enjoy this band that has meant so much to me over the last 33 years of my life, it's hard to really put it into words. I hope I was able to paint a small picture of what the last 3 weeks of my life has been like.


I'll leave you all with a couple things:


The road warriors creed: ILL SLEEP WHEN IM DEAD


and finally, this story to be continued May 3 in Tulsa............

Hey David..

WOW! That all blew me away just reading about all of your travelling! I'll miss you by one night, as I'll be at the Houston show on May 2nd.. Darn.. You sure you can't swing Texas? It sounds like you had quite the good time! And more to come!! Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!!

Hugs,

Arlene

[Steviefan49]

Originally Posted by carrie721

just what the ledge needs. another white wine swilling lesbian.

Hey Carrie..

But look at it this way, at least it didn't end up - spit out all over her keyboard.. LOLOLOL

[diane_k]

Originally Posted by carrie721

just what the ledge needs. another white wine swilling lesbian.

How big of a group are we talking here? Are there monthly meetings I can attend with all the hip lesbian Stevie fans and sip my vino?

~DK

[carrie721]

Originally Posted by Steviefan49

Hey Carrie..

But look at it this way, at least it didn't end up - spit out all over her keyboard.. LOLOLOL

are you saying that can happen to drinks other than diet coke and tea?

Originally Posted by diane_k

How big of a group are we talking here? Are there monthly meetings I can attend with all the hip lesbian Stevie fans and sip my vino?

~DK

i hold nightly meetings every night at my house.

[diane_k]

Originally Posted by carrie721

i hold nightly meetings every night at my house.

So...they're at night?

~DK

[carrie721]

Originally Posted by diane_k

So...they're at night?

~DK

yes.

[diane_k]

Originally Posted by carrie721

yes.

Alrighty! Off to the Buffalo I go! I assume that is where you are, even though the city of Buffalo appears in just about every state. You're an elusive one, Miss 721.

~DK