July 5, 2013 San Diego, Ca. Viejas Arena

[WildHearted]

That Without You intro was golden. Lindsey: "It didn't look good for you, did it?"

[Deeshere]

I think this is one of the best without you intro's I have seen all tour. Stevie and Lindsey are so happy and relaxed with each other and they really are great when they are spontaneous and playing off each other.

If I'm not mistaken I believe that when Lindsey walks back to Mick he says "she's happy" (while looking a Stevie) and Mick also agrees and says "she's happy" Which is GREAT because maybe Stevie will now agree to make a new Fleetwood Mac CD.

[jkmaletic]

Stand Back shot by me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TL5D...Nx8k9PVaza1VnA

[jkmaletic]

Thanks guys for all the kind words.

What a whirlwind day. I woke up with an unexplained stomach ache (which I guess was suppressed nervousness looking back) that finally left me around 2pm. We were to meet at the venue for the Meet and Greet no later than 5:30. We got there around 5. We had to wait until 5:40 or so until "Justin" came and got us and gave us our passes and explained the rules. While waiting we could hear "Second Hand News" being sound checked. We got inside and they led us down to the first few rows to gather to meet Mick. Mick came shortly thereafter and said a few things, then he led us up onstage. He talked about never being in this particular venue before, John McVie being thrifty, and a few other things. He then said we were going to take some pictures in front of the drum set. So we sort of formed a line and I told Kim (my now fiancee) that I wanted to go last. She asked why and I said so we could soak up being on stage as long as we could (which was really part of the truth). So she agreed. When it was approaching our turn I got in front of her and she said she wanted to go first and I said, no - I'd really like to. She was like, alright? So I began walking towards Mick, but then I told him, "one second please". I then turned to Kim, told her I'd been wanting to do this for over 20 years and that I couldn't think of a better place to do it." I then pulled the box with the ring in it out of my pocket, got on bended knee and asked, "Will you marry me, Kim?" Her face was a mix of shock, surprise, and happiness all at once. She kind of laughed and said "Yes!" Mick was surprised of course, as was everyone else. I remember him saying, "well this is special" and "this is a first!" Then his two guys Justin and Robert asked me to do it AGAIN so they could get better pictures and I was like, "Oh no- I have to act now!" So I did, and I just remember flashes going off. When I got up I was a little light-headed from the experience, like I just got off a roller coaster ride. Kim said she felt like she was gonna faint for a second. Mick was very, very gracious and hugged us both and said congratulations. He then said, "Now I KNOW you'll want this to be a group photo!" (versus individual shots) After the pictures I thanked Mick and told him Fleetwood Mac was my favorite band and this meant the world. Everyone clapped as we left the stage and went back down to the seating area.

[Samantha]

Originally Posted by jkmaletic

Thanks guys for all the kind words.

What a whirlwind day. I woke up with an unexplained stomach ache (which I guess was surpressed nervousness looking back) that finally left me around 2pm. We were to meet at the venue for the Meet and Greet no later than 5:30. We got there around 5. We had to wait until 5:40 or so until "Justin" came and got us and gave us our passes and explained the rules. While waiting we could hear "Second Hand News" being sound checked. We got inside and they led us down to the first few rows to gather to meet Mick. Mick came shortly thereafter and said a few things, then he led us up onstage. He talked about never being in this particular venue before, John McVie being thrifty, and a few other things. He then said we were going to take some pictures in front of the drum set. So we sort of formed a line and I told Kim (my now fiancee) that I wanted to go last. She asked why and I said so we could soak up being on stage as long as we could (which was really part of the truth). So she agreed. When it was approaching our turn I got in front of her and she said she wanted to go first and I said, no - I'd really like to. She was like, alright? So I began walking towards Mick, but then I told him, "one second please". I then turned to Kim, told her I'd been wanting to do this for over 20 years and that I couldn't think of a better place to do it." I then pulled the box with the ring in it out of my pocket, got on bended knee and asked, "Will you marry me, Kim?" Her face was a mix of shock, surprise, and happiness all at once. She kind of laughed and said "Yes!" Mick was surprised of course, as was everyone else. I remember him saying, "well this is special" and "this is a first!" Then his two guys Justin and Robert asked me to do it AGAIN so they could get better pictures and I was like, "Oh no- I have to act now!" So I did, and I just remember flashes going off. When I got up I was a little light-headed from the experience, like I just got off a roller coaster ride. Kim said she felt like she was gonna faint for a second. Mick was very, very gracious and hugged us both and said congratulations. He then said, "Now I KNOW you'll want this to be a group photo!" (versus individual shots) After the pictures I thanked Mick and told him Fleetwood Mac was my favorite band and this meant the world. Everyone clapped as we left the stage and went back down to the seating area.

That's awesome, congratulations to both of you!

[jkmaletic]

Continued...

So we sat back down and Mick started the Q&A part and signing things. We had him sign our passes and tickets. I asked him, "During Stevie's In Your Dreams documentary there was a scene (New Orleans) where she literally went over to your drum set and began banging on the stem of your cymbals (sp?) to show you how she wanted you to play that part. Does she always get that "Hands on" when you guys do songs together?" He immediately answered, "Only in front of a camera." then he kind of laughed and said, "Well, not necessarily, but she does know what she wants her songs to sound like." He later mentioned if Stevie thinks something sounded off as far as her own vocals go during the tour, she won't talk for 2 days to get her voice in better shape. (Must be hard for her, being the yak-attacker she is. Ha ha!) Someone asked if he had a favorite venue, and he said not really, but the shows that they have family attending are always special. Someone asked about Christine being involved in the London show and he said that was probably going to happen. It was a very laid-back and nice experience. Worth the money and I recommend anyone do it if they have the means.

[jkmaletic]

Oh- another note -
When I was on stage I noticed how short the height Stevie's mic was at. I mean, I know that she's small, but I remember thinking if I had to talk into her mic I'd have to bend down a good 4-5 inches.

As far as the show went, it was another great one. Stage was about the same height as the Anaheim show - 5 feet or so. Our seats were 4th row center, a little closer to Stevie's side. We had a great time. I know this will probably sound crazy, but at the beginning of the show Stevie looked at Kim and I and smiled like, there's those two again. I could be wrong, but people have asked me over and over if I think she recognizes us, and I used to deny it. Now I think there's probably some truth to that. Stevie dedicated Landslide to a few named friends and San Diego, which was nice. In the closing remarks she mentioned San Diego being the place she was when she realized they really were going to "make it".

The only slightly annoying thing I noticed at both this show and the Anaheim one was the bald security dude who obviously works for the band that scopes out cute, young chicks from different parts of the venue up to Lindsey's area down in front. I mean, good for them and all, they're obviously thrilled. But what's the reason for it? I told myself that it's (hopefully) just that Fleetwood Mac wants hot, younger people down in front to have a good time so they can go back and spread the word about what a great band they are.... I guess.

As far as this venue goes, it was ok. Negatives were the bathrooms were outside the venue and the climb up the stairs to exit is a little much. I didn't have a problem because I do stairs evey day as part of my work out. But it would definitley be challenging for those in poor shape.

So, I'm happy to be the first person to ever get engaged on a Fleetwood Mac stage, in front of the man himself. It couldn't have gone better.

Jamie

[jkmaletic]

The end part of "Sara"..

http://www.youtube.com/edit?ns=1&video_id=FsVSxh0c1zI

[vivfox]

Dreams by Richard Pecor




Stand Back by Richard Pecor




Eyes of the World by ceoBailey

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by jkmaletic

The only slightly annoying thing I noticed at both this show and the Anaheim one was the bald security dude who obviously works for the band that scopes out cute, young chicks from different parts of the venue up to Lindsey's area down in front. I mean, good for them and all, they're obviously thrilled. But what's the reason for it? I told myself that it's (hopefully) just that Fleetwood Mac wants hot, younger people down in front to have a good time so they can go back and spread the word about what a great band they are.... I guess.

Yeah, this happened in Atlanta and apparently a bunch of other shows too. I agree that it's really annoying. I don't know - I'm not really a fan of the whole "moving people up" thing in concerts, unless it's a situation where there are actually empty rows or something. But letting people come up to the stage from far back in the arena just because they're young & attractive is kind of gross. I mean, it's great for the people that get to go up and I'd never begrudge them of it because it's not their fault if they get asked (and who would turn it down?) but in general it kind of skeeves me out and I do have to wonder what the purpose of it is from the band/security perspective.

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

Yeah, this happened in Atlanta and apparently a bunch of other shows too. I agree that it's really annoying. I don't know - I'm not really a fan of the whole "moving people up" thing in concerts, unless it's a situation where there are actually empty rows or something. But letting people come up to the stage from far back in the arena just because they're young & attractive is kind of gross. I mean, it's great for the people that get to go up and I'd never begrudge them of it because it's not their fault if they get asked (and who would turn it down?) but in general it kind of skeeves me out and I do have to wonder what the purpose of it is from the band/security perspective.

I agree...it's kind of lame. This was my second show and we were super close...but to the side (which I prefer) and some woman behind me said they picked attractive people to do that. I thought whoever picked them had really, really bad taste as they were not very cute at all.

Great show though! I liked it better than the Hollywood Bowl.

[michelej1]

Fleetwood Mac goes back & forth

[Click for slideshow]
UT San Diego http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/...?#article-copy

Despite a few bumps, the veteran Anglo-American band played with purpose and passion Friday at SDSU, By George Varga1:56 p.m.July 6, 2013

Fleetwood Mac showed, and sometimes defied, its age during the legendary band’s generous Friday concert at San Diego State University’s Viejas Arena.

As a result, “Don’t Stop,” the group’s 1977 hit and second encore, took on new poignancy with its now-weathered refrain: Yesterday's gone. So did 1975’s rustic ballad, “Landslide,” whose wistful chorus – Children get older / I’m getting older, too – assumes a different resonance 38 years later.

Then again, for a band that was formed in London in 1967 and whose enduring core members first joined forces in Los Angeles in 1974, Fleetwood Mac’s longevity and renewed energy is worthy of celebration and reflection. Its 23-song SDSU show offered ample opportunity for both, with the band’s members (all now past 60) and their multigenerational audience forming an unusually large, boisterous mutual admiration society.

The evening began with an impressive salvo of “Second Hand News,” “The Chain” and “Dreams,” all from the band’s epic 1977 “Rumours,” one of rock’s most popular albums, then and now. The concert, a notable improvement over the band's mostly rote 2009 San Diego Sports Arena show, concluded with four encore selections. They included the bristling “World Turning,” the jaunty “Don’t Stop” (the only song by former singer and keyboardist Christine McVie, who quit the band in 1998), the country-tinged “Silver Springs” and the gentle acoustic ballad “Say Goodbye.”

In between came a mix of classics (“Rhiannon,” “Go Your Own Way”) and deep album cuts (“Eyes of the World,” "I'm So Afraid"), plus one new song (“Sad Angel,” excellent), and a recently unearthed older one (the Cat Stevens-flavored ballad “Without You,” so-so). Guitarist-singer Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks also did a few songs from their respective solo catalogs, a move that impeded the concert’s flow nearly as much as the four consecutive numbers from the band’s more experimental 1979 album, “Tusk.”

The absence of more new material did not appear to bother many in the enthusiastic SDSU audience. Nor did Buckingham seem concerned, as he noted in a U-T San Diego interview Thursday.

"Well, sure, of course you want to keep doing new material, if you can," he said in the interview. "But there is also, I would say, a point you get to where you do come to terms with the fact that you have this great body of work. And there's nothing wrong with going out and playing it. In a way, it can be a little freeing, because if you don’t feel you have to remake yourself every time (you tour), you can go put and deal with the (vintage) material in a slightly fresh way, every time.

"And that can be just as effective, once you come to terms with that, it kind of releases you and there's a point where you really need to come to that (realization). Because you have to understand that, probably, the audience is not really there to hear the new as much as to hear a reaffirmation of the body of work."

The underlying sentiments to parts of that body of work sometimes got jumbled during Friday's show. But that’s par for the course with this famously dysfunctional band, whose best songs from the mid-1970s were born from the crumbling love affairs between Nicks and Buckingham and between McVie and her-then husband, bassist John McVie.

Given this context, it kind of made sense that Nicks’ declaration early Friday night – “This party starts now!” – came just before “Dreams,” her wrenching 1977 song about the then-imploding relationship between her and Buckingham. The swirls and twirls that were once Nicks’ trademarks remain, but came only intermittently (and slower). During “Go Your Own Way” she playfully chased Buckingham, but not too fast, across part of the stage.

Nicks, 65, and Buckingham, 63, briefly held hands and embraced on stage several times. They also engaged in some between-songs banter that prompted Nicks to liken them to George Burns and Gracie Allen.

“Can’t we be someone younger?” Buckingham playfully responded.

Older and wiser, the two are keenly aware that their romance, while now decades in the past, still carries a special allure for fans. This holds especially true for those who might use “Rumours” as an emotional barometer of their own lives.

Bassist McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood, the band’s two remaining charter members still on board, were rock-solid throughout. The sound was enhanced by several instrumentalists and backing singers, including Lori Nicks (Stevie's sister), who gave added dimension to the music. Kudos, too, to the band's audio engineers, who achieved impressive warmth and a clear, crisp sound balance in the usually echo-heavy arena. (The secret, as in most sprawling venues of this size, is simple: The lower and more defined the volume, the less muddled the sound.)

Buckingham played guitar with finesse and ferocity. Refusing to rest on his laurels, he often sang with such passion that it almost seemed as if his career prospects depended on it. The 1975 song "I'm So Afraid" featured his most extended solo of the night, and he made every note count as he expertly built up the intensity. (The same song also featured intricate unison lines by Buckingham and second guitarist Neil Haywood that evoked the work of the English band Wishbone Ash.)

Nicks sounded more constricted, her trademark tremolo less tremulous, her lower vocal range somewhat diminished. But she is still a commanding presence and the sheer force of her personality usually made up for her technical shortcomings. In a few instances, her struggle to hit the notes of her youth lent added depth to the songs. In others, she simply fell (and sounded) a bit flat.

After the fourth and final encore, “Say Goodbye,” Nicks thanked the audience for making her and the band’s dreams come true over the past four decades. She also urged fans to listen to the band’s vintage songs in the future as if they were hearing them for the very first time.

It was sage advice at a nostalgia-fueled concert that could serve as a preview of the band's valediction (Buckingham's reference to "new chapters in the Fleetwood Mac" notwithstanding). No fewer than 15 of the 23 selections came from the first three albums he and Nicks made with the band: 1975’s “Fleetwood Mac”; 1977’s “Rumours”; and 1979’s “Tusk.”

But the high-tech stage production was very much of the moment. And Fleetwood Mac's best songs, like the group itself, both define and transcend their time. Don't stop, indeed.

[HelloMonster]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

Yeah, this happened in Atlanta and apparently a bunch of other shows too. I agree that it's really annoying. I don't know - I'm not really a fan of the whole "moving people up" thing in concerts, unless it's a situation where there are actually empty rows or something. But letting people come up to the stage from far back in the arena just because they're young & attractive is kind of gross. I mean, it's great for the people that get to go up and I'd never begrudge them of it because it's not their fault if they get asked (and who would turn it down?) but in general it kind of skeeves me out and I do have to wonder what the purpose of it is from the band/security perspective.

He was always very kind and helpful to my boyfriend and I. He recognized us and brought us up to the stage 3 times. We weren't the "cute girls" and he never flirted with me. We just thought he liked how much we loved the band, by seeing them so often and dressing up 3/5 shows. He always made sure we weren't blocking or upsetting anybody with our presence (like my hat, and my SO being 6'2), and stood up for us when a ticket checker lady tried to give us trouble. We owe a lot to him for helping making our experiences even more outstanding, not that they weren't already amazing. He directly helped make this summer a very special one, one we certainly won't be forgetting any time soon.

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by HelloMonster

He was always very kind and helpful to my boyfriend and I. He recognized us and brought us up to the stage 3 times. We weren't the "cute girls" and he never flirted with me. We just thought he liked how much we loved the band, by seeing them so often and dressing up 3/5 shows. He always made sure we weren't blocking or upsetting anybody with our presence (like my hat, and my SO being 6'2), and stood up for us when a ticket checker lady tried to give us trouble. We owe a lot to him for helping making our experiences even more outstanding, not that they weren't already amazing. He directly helped make this summer a very special one, one we certainly won't be forgetting any time soon.

Like I said, I don't begrudge the people that get pulled up from. That's amazing for you and I'm glad you had good experiences.

But 9/10 they pull up groups of young, cute girls, and it's a little weird, is all. And I say this AS a young, (relatively) cute girl.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Nicks, 65, and Buckingham, 63, briefly held hands and embraced on stage several times. They also engaged in some between-songs banter that prompted Nicks to liken them to George Burns and Gracie Allen.

“Can’t we be someone younger?” Buckingham playfully responded.

Yes George Burns did live to be 100 or so, but Gracie died when she was 69. They started in vauldeville when they were young enough to be Lindsey and Stevie's kids. Then they moved to radio and then television. They probably reached the height of their fame in the 1950s, in their fifties. Georgie and Gracie are the ones who should be asked to have someone younger than Stevie and Lindsey compared to them!

Michele