Saugatuck - November 16, 2012

lbfan · #1 11-17-2012, 11:21 AM

LB was in fine form last night. Due to the small size, the sound was over-powering - would have been better if they were able to turn down the amps. They handed out ear plugs as they tore the ticket stub apart. LB talked about driving from Kentucky to Michigan and enjoying the landscape, things he would typically not see. A very small venue (400), but sold out and very enthusiastic, especially considering the average audience age. The venue was a converted pie factory. Saugatuck is a quaint town on the western edge of Michigan with a very nice downtown with art, antique and wine shops. I imagine a nice place to vacation in the summer, but not a very busy place in November. LB had to be the biggest act to play there in a long time, maybe ever.

Took my 18 year old son as he is now at the age where he is beginning to appreciate good music (his first LB concert was six years ago, and he was more interested in playing his Nintendo than seeing the concert). We were able to get our photos from a previous Meet and Greet autographed (saw his manager in the lobby and were able send them backstage - must be new tour manager, very nice). My daughter (a big LB fan) coaxed him into playing Rock Away Blind. This may be the last time he ever plays this before a live audience, or the last time I see him play it live. A fitting end, for me, to wonderful summer and autumn LB solo tour. Keep challenging yourself LB, the results are magnificent!

michelej1 · #2 11-17-2012, 01:02 PM

How great that he took a request!

That's funny about the ear plugs. I've never seen a venue do that. I know the organizer for the packages they sold during the Unleashed tour did give people ear plugs though.

Sound can be a strange thing, because you can be 20 feet away from where you are sitting and have a much better experience. I guess it just depends on where the speakers are located.

Michele

elle · #3 11-17-2012, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbfan

LB was in fine form last night. Due to the small size, the sound was over-powering - would have been better if they were able to turn down the amps. They handed out ear plugs as they tore the ticket stub apart. LB talked about driving from Kentucky to Michigan and enjoying the landscape, things he would typically not see. A very small venue (400), but sold out and very enthusiastic, especially considering the average audience age. The venue was a converted pie factory. Saugatuck is a quaint town on the western edge of Michigan with a very nice downtown with art, antique and wine shops. I imagine a nice place to vacation in the summer, but not a very busy place in November. LB had to be the biggest act to play there in a long time, maybe ever.

Took my 18 year old son as he is now at the age where he is beginning to appreciate good music (his first LB concert was six years ago, and he was more interested in playing his Nintendo than seeing the concert). We were able to get our photos from a previous Meet and Greet autographed (saw his manager in the lobby and were able send them backstage - must be new tour manager, very nice). My daughter (a big LB fan) coaxed him into playing Rock Away Blind. This may be the last time he ever plays this before a live audience, or the last time I see him play it live. A fitting end, for me, to wonderful summer and autumn LB solo tour. Keep challenging yourself LB, the results are magnificent!

enjoyed reading your review - thanks for sharing your experience! ha, some friends of mine were there but didn't recognize that it was you and your family who requested RAB. good job!! only the second time he honored a request on this leg - and the first time he actually did the whole song!

yeah, others who were there also said that the sound in this venue was exceptionally loud when compared to other venues, and somehow they couldn't adjust the sound down.

michelej1 · #4 11-29-2012, 03:14 PM

Rock star loved stop here
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 12:34 PM EST, Allegan News
http://www.allegannews.com/articles/..._opinion/1.txt

To the editor: We welcomed rock’n’roll legend Lindsey Buckingham to our community for a sold-out performance Nov. 16 at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts.

The show was incredible. From the first notes he played, it was easy to understand why Mr. Buckingham is a member of the Rock‘n’Roll Hall of Fame.

While he may have played on the SCA stage, the impact of this concert could be seen throughout our community. Our thanks to the restaurants, bars and merchants who provided excellent meals and service to concert goers before and after the show.

Mr. Buckingham felt so welcomed by Saugatuck and was so thrilled with his experience here that after his three-song encore, he asked us to invite him back!

It takes a vibrant, welcoming community to host an amazing talent and we are fortunate to have just that. On behalf of the SCA board, staff, volunteers and donors, we thank you!

Mary Kay Baker
SCA board chair

redtulip · #5 01-07-2013, 04:24 PM

Off the Water

By Dave Carlock
Carlock: Buckingham plays up close and personal in Saugatuck

Published 2:51pm Friday, November 30, 2012
A Day in the Life

By DAVE CARLOCK

http://offthewater.com/2012/11/30/ca...-in-saugatuck/

I’d always wanted to see Lindsey Buckingham or Fleetwood Mac live, so I was shocked to hear he was appearing on Nov. 16 in Saugatuck, a little arts colony on Kalamazoo Lake with a population just shy of 1,000. I wasn’t so shocked to hear the 412-seat Saugatuck Center for the Arts was sold out. A few days before the show date, I mentioned this to a Los Angeles friend, and, suddenly, it appeared that I might end up on Lindsey’s guest list.

Anyone who knows Troy Morris knows he’s been one of the planet’s most enthusiastic Lindsey fans for decades. That passion led to his eventual befriending of Lindsey through his work as a Senior Pro Audio Account Manager at Westlake Pro, one of the premier recording studio equipment dealers on the West Coast. Being a true Lindsey evangelist, Troy offered to inquire on my behalf. And so three hours before showtime, I was confirmed, and I was on my way to an amazing night, just 45 minutes north of my recording studio in Benton Harbor.

The venue proved to be the perfect blend of intimacy, studio-quality acoustical design and a veritable holding chamber for fans who couldn’t believe they could see an artist of Lindsey’s caliber at such close range. From a performer’s standpoint, the stage was more than 24 feet wide and deep enough to be considered legit by pro touring standards. With the feeling of connection you usually only get in a club, the venue provides artists with an attentive audience through an “MTV Unplugged soundstage” type of experience.

After picking up tickets at will call, it was great to bump into Lindsey’s tech Stan Lamendola in the lobby. Stan’s been guitar teching in earnest for the past six years, counting regular work with Lindsey among other live gigs with artists such as Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) and Davey Johnstone (Elton John).

During the show, Stan has the sidestage task of swapping Lindsey’s multiple instruments and keeping them tuned fresh for each new song. The four primaries are a Rick Turner Renaissance acoustic in open tuning, a Rick Turner Model 1 electric in standard tuning (the iconic instrument seen on Fleetwood Mac tours), a Taylor 314 CE model acoustic in standard tuning and a Gibson Chet Atkins classical in standard tuning. The latter was blended with a low octaver on a creepily reinvented version of his solo hit, “Go Insane.”

I’m sure Jack Whitehead (my guitar tech from the Funkin’ Rock Orchestra) would’ve loved seeing Stan’s flawless flow.

And what can I say about the darkly enigmatic singer/songwriter set loose on Saugatuck’s shore? Lindsey is still every bit the quiet, brooding genius — exuding more than a hint of sex and danger behind a vaguely spiritual veneer. That’s quite the opposite of today’s pop stars who hope to get sponsored by Dr. Pepper instead of Pepsi because it speaks to their individualism …
His voice? Impeccably strong and identifiable. The songs? As personal and emotionally raw as any of the material from his Fleetwood Mac projects. And his guitar playing? A serious schooling to anyone who thought finger-picking styles were sweet and ballad-y. One word to describe the show? “Dynamic.” Whispers trade with shouts — sweetly gentle acoustic tones transform into hairy, semi-distorted power plucking, all within the same song. The genteel among you should bring earplugs.

Lindsey’s timekeeping during uptempos was relentless and punishing. There was a collectively held breath as seat-edge sitters wondered when he would fatigue. Songs early in the set received standing ovations.

His blindingly fast solo version of “Big Love” makes you forget Fleetwood Mac ever recorded it and may forever be the popular music benchmark for anyone who wants to test their finger-picking skill and endurance. “Big Love” has all the awe factor of the best bluegrass banjo pickers, while mercifully swapping out the awful sound of a banjo for the elegance of the classical guitar. Further, he rejects bluegrass’ major pentatonic blues slides and dow- home grins on the player’s faces for Aeolian tonality and bends. In true Buckingham spirit, he effortlessly turns that musical smile upside down. His playing can best be described as a human sequencer — where his frothy intensity and passion boil off the fretboard above undertows of hammering deliberation.

The 14-song set included solo cuts “Cast Away Dreams,” “Not Too Late,” “Shut Us Down,” “Trouble,” “Rock Away Blind” and “Seeds We Sow.” Songs from his Fleetwood Mac work included “Bleed To Love Her,” “Come,” ‘Never Going Back Again” and “‘I’m So Afraid.” During “Go Your Own Way” about 10 of us rushed the stage and I stood directly in front of Lindsey, who came to each side of the pedal boards to allow some fans to strum his guitar with him mid-song. Seeing him embrace the give and take he’s afforded on what he called “a car tour” was great. He acknowledged the value in the exchange at the show’s close as he promised to return if we’d have him back.

It’s great to see shows in venues under 1,000 such as the Saugatuck Center for the Arts that provide a place for the ever-serious Lindsey Buckingham to perform his music intensely, yet be able to relax a bit and truly connect with his audience. Thanks to Troy, Stan and Lindsey for a memorable night.

Dave Carlock is a 25-year veteran of the entertainment business whose work as a recording engineer and producer, touring musician, and songwriter made him Googleable. His continuing work as an Independent Content Creator of Sound and Image has earned him a Grammy Award certificate, two Platinum Record Awards, and a Paragon Award in advertising. Currently, he brings national and international artists to make records and music videos at his production studio in the Benton Harbor Arts District.
www.davecarlock.com

elle · #6 01-07-2013, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redtulip

Off the Water

By Dave Carlock
Carlock: Buckingham plays up close and personal in Saugatuck

Published 2:51pm Friday, November 30, 2012
A Day in the Life

By DAVE CARLOCK

http://offthewater.com/2012/11/30/ca...-in-saugatuck/

I’d always wanted to see Lindsey Buckingham or Fleetwood Mac live, so I was shocked to hear he was appearing on Nov. 16 in Saugatuck, a little arts colony on Kalamazoo Lake with a population just shy of 1,000. I wasn’t so shocked to hear the 412-seat Saugatuck Center for the Arts was sold out. A few days before the show date, I mentioned this to a Los Angeles friend, and, suddenly, it appeared that I might end up on Lindsey’s guest list.

Anyone who knows Troy Morris knows he’s been one of the planet’s most enthusiastic Lindsey fans for decades. That passion led to his eventual befriending of Lindsey through his work as a Senior Pro Audio Account Manager at Westlake Pro, one of the premier recording studio equipment dealers on the West Coast. Being a true Lindsey evangelist, Troy offered to inquire on my behalf. And so three hours before showtime, I was confirmed, and I was on my way to an amazing night, just 45 minutes north of my recording studio in Benton Harbor.

The venue proved to be the perfect blend of intimacy, studio-quality acoustical design and a veritable holding chamber for fans who couldn’t believe they could see an artist of Lindsey’s caliber at such close range. From a performer’s standpoint, the stage was more than 24 feet wide and deep enough to be considered legit by pro touring standards. With the feeling of connection you usually only get in a club, the venue provides artists with an attentive audience through an “MTV Unplugged soundstage” type of experience.

After picking up tickets at will call, it was great to bump into Lindsey’s tech Stan Lamendola in the lobby. Stan’s been guitar teching in earnest for the past six years, counting regular work with Lindsey among other live gigs with artists such as Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) and Davey Johnstone (Elton John).

During the show, Stan has the sidestage task of swapping Lindsey’s multiple instruments and keeping them tuned fresh for each new song. The four primaries are a Rick Turner Renaissance acoustic in open tuning, a Rick Turner Model 1 electric in standard tuning (the iconic instrument seen on Fleetwood Mac tours), a Taylor 314 CE model acoustic in standard tuning and a Gibson Chet Atkins classical in standard tuning. The latter was blended with a low octaver on a creepily reinvented version of his solo hit, “Go Insane.”

I’m sure Jack Whitehead (my guitar tech from the Funkin’ Rock Orchestra) would’ve loved seeing Stan’s flawless flow.

And what can I say about the darkly enigmatic singer/songwriter set loose on Saugatuck’s shore? Lindsey is still every bit the quiet, brooding genius — exuding more than a hint of sex and danger behind a vaguely spiritual veneer. That’s quite the opposite of today’s pop stars who hope to get sponsored by Dr. Pepper instead of Pepsi because it speaks to their individualism …
His voice? Impeccably strong and identifiable. The songs? As personal and emotionally raw as any of the material from his Fleetwood Mac projects. And his guitar playing? A serious schooling to anyone who thought finger-picking styles were sweet and ballad-y. One word to describe the show? “Dynamic.” Whispers trade with shouts — sweetly gentle acoustic tones transform into hairy, semi-distorted power plucking, all within the same song. The genteel among you should bring earplugs.

Lindsey’s timekeeping during uptempos was relentless and punishing. There was a collectively held breath as seat-edge sitters wondered when he would fatigue. Songs early in the set received standing ovations.

His blindingly fast solo version of “Big Love” makes you forget Fleetwood Mac ever recorded it and may forever be the popular music benchmark for anyone who wants to test their finger-picking skill and endurance. “Big Love” has all the awe factor of the best bluegrass banjo pickers, while mercifully swapping out the awful sound of a banjo for the elegance of the classical guitar. Further, he rejects bluegrass’ major pentatonic blues slides and dow- home grins on the player’s faces for Aeolian tonality and bends. In true Buckingham spirit, he effortlessly turns that musical smile upside down. His playing can best be described as a human sequencer — where his frothy intensity and passion boil off the fretboard above undertows of hammering deliberation.

The 14-song set included solo cuts “Cast Away Dreams,” “Not Too Late,” “Shut Us Down,” “Trouble,” “Rock Away Blind” and “Seeds We Sow.” Songs from his Fleetwood Mac work included “Bleed To Love Her,” “Come,” ‘Never Going Back Again” and “‘I’m So Afraid.” During “Go Your Own Way” about 10 of us rushed the stage and I stood directly in front of Lindsey, who came to each side of the pedal boards to allow some fans to strum his guitar with him mid-song. Seeing him embrace the give and take he’s afforded on what he called “a car tour” was great. He acknowledged the value in the exchange at the show’s close as he promised to return if we’d have him back.

It’s great to see shows in venues under 1,000 such as the Saugatuck Center for the Arts that provide a place for the ever-serious Lindsey Buckingham to perform his music intensely, yet be able to relax a bit and truly connect with his audience. Thanks to Troy, Stan and Lindsey for a memorable night.

Dave Carlock is a 25-year veteran of the entertainment business whose work as a recording engineer and producer, touring musician, and songwriter made him Googleable. His continuing work as an Independent Content Creator of Sound and Image has earned him a Grammy Award certificate, two Platinum Record Awards, and a Paragon Award in advertising. Currently, he brings national and international artists to make records and music videos at his production studio in the Benton Harbor Arts District.
www.davecarlock.com

great review to read!

and nice to see Stan getting his own paragraph too!

Cammie · #7 01-07-2013, 10:30 PM

That was just grand!!! We have vacationed at Harbor Springs but have never encountered LB in concert in Michigan! Thanks!
My pc is old like me and so Iam out of "the loop" of Lindsey Lovers
who used to converge on this site!!! They have all moved on but
elle, your great feeling for all things Lindsey keep me here, Smiling!