2012 tour reviews

[elle]

http://freewheelin-folk.blogspot.com...-out-solo.html

SATURDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER 2012

Stepping Out Solo

You won't find a line-up full of massive eight-piece bands at this year's festival. Instead, some of music's greatest are stepping out on their own to face the crowd solo.

The Ottawa Folk Festival presented by TELUS has a history of hosting musicians who've stepped out on their own. Be sure to look out for John K. Samson of The Weakerthans performance Sunday.

From this year's performances by Ben Harper (Relentless 7) and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), to last year's show by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, musicians always find a way to step out of the box and their comfort zone here.

It takes a lot of guts to face a crowd alone, especially with an already established audience. With a single spotlight, a musician has no one to blame but themselves for missed beats and out of tune guitars and vocals.

During Friday's performance, Buckingham discussed the differences between the "large machine," Fleetwood Mac, and the "small machine," his solo project. While he admittedly usually performs with a backing band, he stepped out alone, with just his guitar, for this year's festival. Buckingham described finding the balance between the two, though they end up informing each other.

He joked, "And now, for tonight, it seems to be just me. The small machine is getting smaller."

There's something about stepping away from a group, however, that can lead to some grass roots results. When you strip down the music to just your voice and an acoustic guitar, piano, or even a banjo, what's really left is the stage presence of the performer and the heartfelt melodies and lyrics.

Sometimes all you have to do is tune out the rest of the band, strip down the instrumentals, and dim the lights.

Folkier things are sure to come.

- Natasha

[elle]

http://www.tmakworld.com/2012/09/lin...rt-review.html

Lindsey Buckingham - Concert Review Casino Rama Sep 8 2012

Lindsey Buckingham at Casino Rama 2012


Sep 9 2012 - Going into this concert we had great expectations. Lindsey Buckingham the guitarist and co-vocalist of Fleetwood Mac was in the Toronto area for his solo show and everything was pointing to what we believed was going to be an epic show. Buckingham's solo record Seeds We Sow was in the number 5 spot on T-Mak World's Top 10 Albums of 2011. Furthermore in our article of Toronto's Upcoming Must See Concerts Buckingham's gig was bookmarked as one of only a handful of must see shows. This is what we said at that time:
Last time we saw Buckingham was in a very sold out Air Canada Center with Fleetwood Mac and this time we have the opportunity to enjoy Buckingham on his own at a much more intimate Casino Rama.
Let me get right to it - we were disappointed with this concert and this is why:

The venue - a casino. This casino however does not permit drinks in the concert venue. I have not once in my life been to a concert in which bringing a beer to your seat was not permitted. Aside from no food or drinks there was a big sign declaring no cameras - again a first for me, I have never been to a concert in my life that prohibited cameras. This was my first concert at Casino Rama and unless the Led Zeppelin reunion tour stops there it will very likely be my last concert there.

The audience - although there were quite a few real Buckingham fans in there, there were way too many casino rats (see above). No joke - behind us on the 9th row of this concert was an 80 year old Asian woman with pearls and fancy clothes, taking a nap during the whole concert. No doubt her husband was out at the high stakes Baccarat tables and she got comped and found the concert a great place for a nap (!). She wasn't the only one, clearly a large number of people in attendance were casino comps who probably had no idea that Lindsey Buckingham was a man before they saw him walk on stage. People kept walking out throughout the concert to get back to the tables.

The show - 75 minutes in total. I guess you get what you pay for and this concert was priced at $40 and $30. We usually complain about the length of The Black Keys shows which come in at 85 minutes (read here) but Buckingham has set a new low for headlining set length. Another odd choice was that Seeds We Sow was under-represented with only 1 song being delivered from Buckingham's latest album. Most of the show was just Buckingham on guitar and vocals, and a few songs had a backing recording track (eg. Go Your Own Way).


Lindsey Buckingham at Casino Rama September 2012

All that aside, Buckingham really did shine both vocally and on the guitar - we counted 5 guitar changes for the first 5 songs for example. His mastery of the guitar and his picking style were a clear indicator of his musicianship. It is truly rewarding to see a major rock star venture off on his own and prove that he does not need the brand of the big group's band to deliver solid music. After kicking off the gig quietly with two songs Buckingham addressed the audience exactly on that point by saying:

"Thank you for coming out and being part of this little experiment I am doing. I have been doing allot of touring - the second half of 2011 i was touring with my band and now I am doing this (referring to being alone on stage the whole night). All through this cycle of touring I have been talking about the idea of the big machine and the small machine - the big machine of course being Fleetwood Mac and the small machine being this solo work, and how the two over time have found a balance and at this point would not exist without one another. One thing I am observing about the small machine, when i first started touring with my solo stuff i started off with a 10 piece band, and for many years now i have been playing with the same 3 guys, but tonight its just me. One thing you can say about the small machine is that it appears to be working well and the small machine seems to be getting smaller."


Lindsey Buckingham at Casino Rama September 2012


Buckingham delivered what very quickly became a very predictable set. Guitar change, a moody and dark lyrical version of some of his solo catalog songs or a Fleetwood Mac song, mind blowing acoustic guitar picking style or on a few songs electric guitar, rinse and repeat. Buckingham spent 95% of the night within a 6 square foot radius of the mic and had very little to say to the crowd. Unsurprisingly the more familiar Fleetwood Mac songs got the loudest crowd response.

Before the 9th song Buckingham address the crowd for only the second time so far: This next song is one that is particularly significant to me for a couple of reasons:... one reason is although it became as an ensemble piece as a Fleetwood Mac single it found its way on stage as a single guitar and voice piece ... it and represented a certain train of thought, a way of growing to keep seeking what is essential and discard what is inessential. ... The other reason is if you look at the lyrics of the song when it was written ,,, probably before you were born 1987 (pointing to someone in the front row), it described the person was at during that time. One of the lines in the song was "looking out for love"... I wrote the lyrics looking out for love, i wasn't looking for love i was looking out for love, i was defending against love i was pushing back. ... everyone in the band at that time was dealing with things pretty much the same way... with the passage of time the description had become an echo whereas the song began as a contemplation on alienation the song has now become a a meditation on the power and the importance of change"

Highlights include Go Insane where the spotlight was on Buckingham's vocals (one of only a few times this night that the voice out shined the guitar), Big Love as introduced above which is a staple of all Fleetwood Mac songs presented in the new single guitar/voice combo, Go Your Own Way which got some people up from their seats, and the finger picking masterpiece Seeds We Sow.


Lindsey Buckingham at Casino Rama


Verdict: 2 out of 5 In the end Buckingham is a musical genius that can deliver the goods and he took the opportunity tonight to let the "small machine" roll which no doubt helps him grow musically and personally. Perhaps my expectations were misguided and I came in to tonight's show with the wrong mindset but I for one can't wait for the "big machine" to roll on a massive scale next year and although that one will be much more expensive to attend, you do get what you pay for. The next morning I still had mixed feelings because I am a big Buckingham fan but the overall experience did not satisfy. I thought it was just me but the other two editors of T-Mak World that were with me echoed the same sentiments on the drive home. Furthermore, 75 minutes does not a concert make Lindsey.

Setlist:

Cast Away Dreams
Bleed To Love Her (Fleetwood Mac)
Not Too Late
Stephanie (Instrumental from the Buckingham Nicks record)
Come (Fleetwood Mac)
Shut Us Down
Go Insane
Never Going Back Again (Fleetwood Mac)
Big Love (Fleetwood Mac)
I'm So Afraid (Fleetwood Mac)
Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)
ENCORE
Trouble
Seeds We Sow



Review by Terry Makedon
T-Mak World: Toronto's Site For Music, Movies and Culture
www.tmakworld.com

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by elle

Highlights include Go Insane where the spotlight was on Buckingham's vocals (one of only a few times this night that the voice out shined the guitar),

I love his singing on Go Insane. I like the mangled pain aspect of it, but I wouldn't consider it a song by which to judge his vocal performance.

Michele

[michelej1]

It's hard enough for me to get people to recognize the name "Lindsey Buckingham." I worry about them knowing his sex later, if at all.

Michele

[elle]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I love his singing on Go Insane. I like the mangled pain aspect of it, but I wouldn't consider it a song by which to judge his vocal performance.

Michele

yeah. how about Big Love vocal performance?

anyway, i'm kinda shocked that this guy expects FM-level arena show from a concert that is billed as a one-guy acoustic intimate. hello!! (i'd sooner expect him to gripe about electric Come, ISA, and GYOW, but apparently he expected everything to be like that?). i understand that it may be in and hip to call yourself a fan of Lindsey's these days, but please don't do it if you so obviously can't appreciate what he delivers with these solo shows. (just mho )

of course, we all agree with set being too short, and not enough SWS songs in it...

i tweeted back and forth with this guy during the show, and i'd like to think that i managed to soften the blow - this review would be much worse if i didn't. he initially blamed Lindsey for all the venue policies (which in his review now are front and center, but blamed on the venue, as they should be!!).

and venue policies were horrible, according to LB fans who were there - no cameras, no standing Os (!?!?!), no going to the stage, etc. so everybody was upset with this from the start... and i'm sure that soured the show not just for hard-core lindseyfans, as you can see from this guy's review.

[jetta07]

The review seems a bit ridiculous IMO...two out of three of his major gripes had nothing whatsoever to do with LB, but with the venue and his perception that too many people in the audience were just there because they had received casino comps. Its one thing to comment on this observation, but it shouldn't be taken out on the performer. The Council Bluffs casino show was the complete opposite in regards to people taking photos, having drinks, and audience interaction. I was a bit peeved with a (obviously drunk) couple having a loud conversation right by the stage during SWS at the Des Moines show, but I wouldn't ding my rating of the show because of it.
I would have liked a longer set, but with the number of back to back shows I can understand why they are not 2 hrs (plus tickets for $30 is pretty cheap.)

Unrelated, but someone should also tell him that its 'a lot' not 'allot.'

[Bm7th]

Why he did not tour in the Phoenix metro area is beyond me. Phoenix I think is the 5th most populated city in the U.S.

Being that he passed my area, was this his best tour from previous tours and what was the average length of his shows.

* I know he also skipped other areas of the country, so my heart goes out to those who could not see him on this solo tour.

[elle]

Originally Posted by Bm7th

Why he did not tour in the Phoenix metro area is beyond me. Phoenix I think is the 5th most populated city in the U.S.

Being that he passed my area, was this his best tour from previous tours and what was the average length of his shows.

* I know he also skipped other areas of the country, so my heart goes out to those who could not see him on this solo tour.

from what i've heard, he really wanted to add another leg - southwest, and he might be still trying to work this out. Denver and Phoenix were specifically mentioned.

there are apparently some conflicts with dates and other obligations that may make adding another leg not possible.

[elle]

http://www.glidemagazine.com/article...m_campaign=ntg

Lindsey Buckingham
The Manship Theatre, Baton Rouge, LA, 08/17/12
By Leslie Michele Derrough
September 12, 2012

Standing on a stage alone can be a very intimidating thing for a human to do. It takes courage and confidence to stand vulnerable with just a guitar and your voice. It also takes self-control, knowing when to wail and when to whisper.

Within the coziness of the 300-plus seat Manship Theatre, Lindsey Buckingham walked out with a seriousness that normally proceeds a symphony performance, picked up one of the dozen guitars he had lined up behind him, and took the audience on a carousel of notes with a staunch authoritativeness. If you were expecting a rock concert, you guessed wrong. Tonight Buckingham was in artiste mode, creating masterful chord changes with his bare fingers, forgoing a pick in favor of the intimacy a piece of flesh can convey.

Connoisseurs of Fleetwood Mac have known for years that there was more to Buckingham than his good looks and harmonically high lead vocals on such hits as “Go Your Own Way” and “Don’t Stop.” So for those expecting big hits brought out in a big way, Buckingham handed out instead delicacies from his oeuvre, songs both known and obscure, and remolded them on a different plane of existence within his usual musical realm.

Take for instance the Mac tune “Come.” Originally a mechanical adventure in steampunk bings and whistles, dipping into Mac-isms with a wink to the surreal, Buckingham took it apart and reorganized the chromosomes to become an aching beating heart of raw emotion, featuring a breathtaking solo.

“So Afraid,” another post-apocalyptic emotional breakdown that scorches in a Mac live show, has always been a Buckingham solo staple, and on this turn he seemed to bring it down just a half-beat slower for psychic emphasis on each note, building to a boiling point of pent-up soul sacrificing, exhausting it’s creator. It was simply – to pen an overly used word – amazing.

“Not Too Late,” “Shut Us Down” and the instrumental “Stephanie” harkened up folk-inspired melodies while “Go Your Own Way” and “Never Going Back Again” pleasantly pleased the more Mac pop hit loving oriented fans in the audience.

Buckingham wasn’t completely alone on stage. Although his fingers and voice provided 98% of what echoed through the room, there were some pre-recorded drums and backing instruments that enhanced several of the tunes. They never interfered with Buckingham’s choral interpretations; they merely added some flavor to an already marinating piece of music. “Big Love,” another one of Buckingham’s trademark concert spotlights, albeit done a bit more friskier than usual, and an electrifying “Go Insane,” brought the crowd to their feet, as did the aforementioned “Go Your Own Way.” Ending his barely over an hour set with a lovely “Trouble” and a confessional “Seeds We Sow,” he left the audience craving more, which is what any great artist hopes to accomplish.

SETLIST: Cast Away Dreams, Bleed To Love Her, Not Too Late, Stephanie, Come, Shut Us Down, Go Insane, Never Going Back Again, Big Love, I’m So Afraid, Go Your Own Way ENCORE: Trouble, Seeds We Sow