Washington DC, 4/9 - Page 3

Keith · #31 04-10-2013, 09:05 AM

What a time! What a show! I have to admit I thought the band might be a tad tired just coming off their NYC show without a day for rest - but this band yet surprised me again. Excellent show.. Great “east coast” audience.

Fleetwood Mac is beloved by so many.. And they love the hits. “Go Your Own Way” had almost everyone on their feet and singing. Everyone was humming along with “Landslide” and the woman next to me was wiping away tears when the song ended. I was in section 100 and was surprised at how much the audience was really into the concert - it was killer cool.

Some things I remember…

During “Never Going Back Again”, Stevie went to the far left of the stage and did this “witchy woman” dance in the dark during the guitar solo. I almost didn’t notice her - very creepy cool.

Stevie and Lindsey definitely play up the past jaded lover theme and it so works for the audience, especially the ladies… totally dug when Stevie went to Lindsey’s mike and sang “all I ever wanted was to know…” “Sara“ was delicious“ I got such a positive vibe from Stevie this time with the band.. She seemed to really want to be there playing with the boys.

And the songs.. And the setlist - it just so works the way the songs flow. I love, and I mean loved… “Big Love” “Gypsy” “Sisters of the Moon” “Sad Angel” “I’m So Afraid” “Silver Springs” "Sara" "Landslide" and “Say Goodbye” - my highlights. I lot of folks thought “Don’t Stop’ was the final song, but when the band came back on stage and started “Silver Springs,” folks stopped and some came back to listen. Fans just wanted more..

And “Say Goodbye” was the perfect way to end the Buckingham Nicks, I mean, Fleetwood Mac show. Seriously, B&N could totally tour as an act - just add the “Buckingham Nicks” songs to the setlist… and one final thing - “Sad Angel” shows that this band still has some great to music to share.. It totally rocked!

And in my “dreamer” mood, I begin to plan my next journey to see this band.. Let’s see Vegas over Memorial Day weekend, Jones Beach on a Saturday summer night.. Chicago this weekend.. I fell in love with Fleetwood Mac on Christmas 1976 when my sister gave me the White LP for a present. I can’t believe it’s 2013 and I’m still having the opportunity to see this band play on. I love Fleetwood Mac.

Keith · #32 04-10-2013, 09:12 AM

I also forgot to mention how I loved her vocals on the ending of "Gold Dust Woman" - I hope a video surfaces. I also noted security kept shining flashlights on people on the floor who were filming with their cameras/phones.. power to the people! Great, great show!

Aisling · #33 04-10-2013, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elle

Sad Angel from DC tonight - not a bad quality, especially that solo at the end that he played right over us:

Very nice, thank you! I noticed he said "any day now" for the EP. I hope any day doesn't mean some day smack in the middle of August.

Keith · #34 04-10-2013, 09:29 AM

still on my post Fleetwood Mac high... I thought some of the backdrops were nice.. the smoke on "I'm So Afraid" was, well smoking hot.. perfect for my favorite Lindsey song.. and I think it was the Annabel Lee footage during "Gypsy" - also, loved the tall screen with Stevie for Landslide..

the merchandise was ok. I did buy the red "77" Fleetwood Mac jersey - I almost bought the black "Rumours" shirt with the names of the Rumours songs (and length) on the back - probably would of bought it if they had the tour dates instead. Didn't really care for any of the other shirts except the Blue "77" jersey that I saw at another merch stand. Didn't want to pay another $45 for it though.

oh well.

WildHearted · #35 04-10-2013, 09:55 AM

I like that they are using th Annabel Lee footage for Gypsy. Bright eyes and all.

michelej1 · #36 04-10-2013, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elle

don't know... he said she'll probably perform at London show, i yelled "all 3?", he said "no, probably just 1", then someone yelled "which one?"

I'd prefer to see the last one, because I'd guess that might be the most emotional one. I don't know why she wouldn't just do all 3. I mean, she could do just Don't Stop, if she wasn't in the mood for more. But surely she must realize how hurtful it would be for some fans if they missed her because they attended the wrong show.

Even though she's been away for 15 years, she's just as frustrating as the other 4. I suppose one could take perverse, reverse comfort in that fact.

Michele

BLY · #37 04-10-2013, 06:46 PM

I really hope a quality MP3 of this show surfaces. I'm still on my Mac high from last night. Keith, you are so right about the crowd energy for Go Your Own Way, Landslide and even Don't Stop. It was like everyone was singing along. So cool to be a fan for 35 Years!

michelej1 · #38 04-10-2013, 07:03 PM

Washington Post, April 10, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...f35_story.html

Fleetwood Mac relives ‘Rumours’ as crowd revels in hits at Verizon Center

By Dave McKenna,

Fleetwood Mac survived affairs between band members; affairs between band members and crew members, and affairs between band members and really hard drugs — all during the making of one record, 1977’s “Rumours.”

That’s not exactly the stuff celebrations are normally made of. But Fleetwood Mac packed the Verizon Center on Tuesday as part of a tour honoring “Rumours,” the soft-rock touchstone that ended up selling an estimated 40 million copies worldwide and hatched several tunes that remain on pop radio play lists and can still wow a crowd.

Fleetwood Mac goes back to 1967, when it was formed in London by British blues master Peter Green and existed mostly to cover tunes by American blues kings. But the band in its current incarnation has about as much in common with the original confab as the current Republican Party has to do with the GOP of Abe Lincoln. Green went his own way in 1970 because of mental illness, and soon enough blues was gone and the songwriting chores and stage spotlights were shared by a former sidewoman, Christine McVie, and two beautiful recruits from the Southern California rock scene, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. A surprisingly influential middle-of-the-road monster was born.

Four-fifths of the band that made “Rumours” remains, with McVie, who wrote and sang lead on much of the record, having departed in 1998. Her contributions were mostly ignored in the 21 / 2-hour set, but that still left plenty of nuggets for the mostly middle-aged crowd to revel in. The harmonies on “The Chain,” with its Crosby, Stills and Nash-like harmonies, showed the SoCal pop influence, and the fans went nutso after the bridge when 67-year-old John McVie set up a ferocious Buckingham guitar solo by plucking what has become sort of the “Smoke on the Water” of bass riffs.

The tell-all tune “Go Your Own Way” shined brightest among the rockers. Buckingham, who at 63 has somehow remained about as fetching physically as he was in the ’70s, spewed the nasty lines he wrote long ago about his then-recent ex-girlfriend Nicks (“Shacking up is all you wanna do”) and pounded on his guitar during an amazing solo run, as if the instrument had cheated on him, too.

He later joined Nicks for a duet on the evening’s best ballad, “Silver Springs,” a Nicks-penned tune which was recorded during the “Rumours” sessions but released as a B-side to “Go Your Own Way.” Buckingham didn’t make eye contact with Nicks, who over time has lost a few RPMs on her trademark whirling-dervish stage move, as she stared him down and bellowed, “You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you!” again and again.

The night wasn’t only about “Rumours.” Drummer Mick Fleetwood, 65, who lived in the D.C. area in the 1990s while running a nightclub named Fleetwood’s in Alexandria, got to shine during “Not That Funny” and “Tusk,” both cuts from a 1979 percussion-heavy double LP also called “Tusk” that served as a sort of musical equivalent of “Heaven’s Gate.” The band delivered the collection so over budget (it was labeled the costliest record ever made) that the album was considered a flop before it hit the bins. But, as Buckingham boasted while introducing the “Tusk” portion of the set, time has been kind. The record ended up selling in the multi-platinum range and has been embraced in more recent decades by scads of indie-rock bands, who have mined edginess from perhaps the most middle-of-the-road band in rock annals. Two examples: The Decemberists covered “Think About Me,” and Camper Van Beethoven covered the entire two-record set.

Tuesday’s set also included “Sad Angel,” a new song that Fleetwood Mac recently recorded but has not released. From the sound of things, Buckingham wrote the tune while his kids were playing Taylor Swift records.

For an encore, the band went back to the night’s raison d’etre and reprised “Don’t Stop.” Although it’s now best known for being the theme song of Bill Clinton’s presidential campaigns, Christine McVie originally wrote the song for former hubby John McVie after she’d left him for the band’s lighting director during the “Rumours” recording. Its strident, anti-nostalgia message — “Yesterday’s gone / Don’t you look back” — is great for an ex-lover, but, as evidenced by Fleetwood Mac throughout this very successful night, is best ignored by an aging rock combo.

McKenna is a freelance writer.

Aisling · #39 04-10-2013, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelej1

Even though she's been away for 15 years, she's just as frustrating as the other 4. I suppose one could take perverse, reverse comfort in that fact.
Michele

Ha!

It *is* frustrating for those of us who really, desperately want to see her. Frustrating from a logistical and financial standpoint. Right now, I'm resigned to try for all 3, because I'm terrified that I'll miss her if I guess and pick the wrong one. If by some miracle I end up at all 3, and she doesn't show for any of them, I'm going to be very, VERY upset.

But on the other side of the coin, I'm trying (not very gracefully) to cut her some slack because I know how hard it's been for her to get to this point. I want her to do it because she wants to do it. I would hate to see her and feel that she was miserable doing it.

To end on a optimistic note, maybe Mick will tell Chris that people have been asking after her and that they are trying to plan for which show she'll play. That might move her to be more definite.

Question: Do you think she knows how much she's missed? By the fans, I mean. I'm sure she knows the band's view on the matter.

michelej1 · #40 04-10-2013, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aisling

Ha!

It *is* frustrating for those of us who really, desperately want to see her. Frustrating from a logistical and financial standpoint.

Yes and if I went I'd want decent seats and that's going to cost $1000 per show at this point. I don't want to do all 3.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aisling

Question: Do you think she knows how much she's missed? By the fans, I mean. I'm sure she knows the band's view on the matter.

Well, I don't know what she does online, but I look at daily twitter posts with people saying they miss her. If she sees those she might have an inkling of the sentiment out there. Also, the popularity of Everywhere must've convinced her she must've been doing something right. It wasn't just her imagination.

When I say I miss her, it's not just her though. It's who FM was WITH her. That's what I miss most of all. It makes me ache.

Michele