Oakland Review July 23

Somajoseph · #1 07-24-2003, 11:00 AM

My friend James treated me to this concert as an early birthday present because he knows I love Fleetwood Mac. I was excited because we were really close, first row on the side, and I have never gotten that close before.
We get to the Arena,grab a beer and go find our seats. The house was packed, we were 4 songs into the concert when out of nowhere this lady with a clipboard comes up to us and asks if we want to sit in the front row!! I just had to ask if she was kidding because I just couldnt believe it. She hands us 2 ticket stubs and walks us to the front row. There were 4 empty seats on the right, near Lindsey, and we just assumed they wanted those filled up.
From that point on I just sorta floated through the concert,it seemed like it was over in minutes-LOL!!! I could look up and there was Lindsey! Then, believe me I was just awestruck the whole time, after "come" Lindsey leans over and these two women that were next to us run up, and my friend James leans over and says go up there! So i walk up and reach up to Lindsey and I got a handshake!! I never would have imagined, walking into the Arena that anything like that would happen!
Sorry for rambling but I was just so happy to be up there. A few things I remember, Stevie didnt wear the boots until the encores but she did dedicate "Landslide" to us, saying they were headed to Portland and Seattle next, and they didnt know anyone up there!
SHe was in great voice, and the audience really got into "Stand Back", "Gold Dust Woman" and of course, "Landslide". Oh yeah, during MIck's drum solo, Lindsey went and sat at the corner of the stage to watch Mick Play!! I could see him through a space between the monitors, and there he was, I thought that was wild. The girls to the left of me could see him and they pointed at him and waved!
So, this being my second and final show on this tour, unless they come back to the Bay Area, was a night I will never forget. I mean I have loved this band forever, since 1975, and I finally got to the front row and actually got to touch one of them! It was pretty surreal,I told my friend, i love Lindsey, but if I had gotten to shake Stevie's hand, that wouldve been it! Passed out right there-LOL!! Thanks for letting me share my story.

Joseph

glitter_fades · #2 07-24-2003, 02:16 PM

Wow, Joseph! Great to hear a true fan got front row at the last minute. I can't believe how many shows people say had empty front row seats. I'm still wondering why most people who paid for fan club memberships were never offered good seats, forget about front row! Still, it's great news that a Ledgie and a huge fan got lucky at the last minute.

Somajoseph · #3 07-24-2003, 02:36 PM

Thanks! Yes I was really happy to luck out with that! There were 4 seats at the end of the row, and the other two were empty all night, the security was pretty tight, but the weird thing was there was this wide open area to the right on the side of the stage! People that were obviously with the band, with their laminated tags kept walking back and forth. They just had these two guys standing there all night. Again, it was really cool!

Joseph

gldstwmn · #4 07-24-2003, 09:21 PM

What a nice birthday present! Good for you!

macmar71 · #5 07-24-2003, 09:31 PM

Glad to hear you had a nice time at the show, Joseph. It is awesome when you get to touch the hand of that brilliant guitarist. I got to touch his hand in 1993 and it definitely holds a place in your heart and memory.

Crown · #6 07-25-2003, 06:07 PM

I was there too! It was actually the first time I'd ever seen the Mac, I guess this is a novelty for the Ledge haha.

I've heard some pretty lukewarm reviews about the tour but I think they did just terrific...it was amazing to finally see my heroes.

You're so goddamn lucky, I hope you know that. We were also sitting on the side, in the $125 seats, but apparently the Clipboard Fairy passed me by

I was the chick with long black hair. I know that means nothing within the thousands of people, but I only counted five other brunette girls besides myself. A lot of peroxide there that evening...more so than Nordic heritage methinks.

It was so amazing. My favorite parts were " Never Going Back Again" and " Silver Springs" , my two best-loved Mac songs. And I thought it was wonderful how they talked to the audience about Oakland...it was a good crowd too. I just wish more people had stood up, it bugs me when they sit down the whole time.

And Stevie is SOOOOOOO beautiful.