Washington DC, Verizon Center

[michelej1]

By Eric Althoff - The Washington Times - Sunday, February 1, 2015

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...on-wit/?page=2

British-American pop rock band


Fleetwood Mac performed before a sold-out crowd Friday night at the Verizon Center on the latest leg of its “On With the Show” tour.

The group, which came into its current incarnation in 1975, was in a celebratory mood, not only for reaching a four-decade milestone but also for the return of keyboardist/vocalist Christie McVie to the lineup for the first time since 1999.

"This is normally the moment when I would say, ‘Welcome, Christie,’” singer Stevie Nicks said during an early set break, “but I think it’s now safe to say, ‘She’s baaaaaack!’”

Miss McVie, 71, who for the past decade and a half enjoyed a quiet life at her home in Kent, England, was clearly joyous to be back with her old bandmates while finding her footing on a major tour. She excelled on vocals in long-dormant classics such as “Everywhere” and “Little Lies,” but the heights of “Say You LoveMe” seemed to challenge her upper register, with Miss McVie even quasi-apologizing afterward that her performance was “a bit dodgy.”

While Miss McVie’s return allowed for the dusting-off of some tunes from Fleetwood Mac’s catalog, the set list by and large featured few surprises or trips deep into the band’s oeuvre. Perennial favorites “The Chain,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “Rhiannon,” “Tusk” and “Second Hand News” were sprinkled in with lesser-known gems such as “I Know I’m Not Wrong” and “Sisters of the Moon.”

Band members frequently paused to share stories with the audience. Miss Nicks related an anecdote about being a young woman window shopping at a San Francisco boutique called Velvet Underground that was frequented by the likes of Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. This experience, she said, informed the lyrics of the song “Gypsy,” which includes the line “So I’m back to the velvet underground, back to the floor that I love.”

Miss Nicks, 66, later related how she had been vacationing in Italy when she received a call from “Chris” asking whether she might rejoin the band — this after some guest spots in England last year in which Miss McVie played keyboards and sang on a few songs. Even after so many years without Miss McVie, Miss Nicks maintained that there was never any question she should return to the group full time.

“She’s never allowed to leave again,” Miss Nicks said of her bandmate, which generated thunderous applause.

Friday’s high-energy, three-hour spectacle seemed overwrought at times, testing the crowd’s stamina and interest with overly long stories and somewhat somnambulant mini-sets by the band. However, this was more than counterbalanced by the carefully programmed overall set, with each of the members taking turns at center stage.

Lead guitarist and singer Lindsey Buckingham continues to shred and scream for the rafters with the energy of a teenager, never letting on that, at 65, he is officially a senior citizen.

In addition to his electric riffs, Mr. Buckingham also played solo acoustic guitar — with no less vocal gusto — on “Big Love” and “Never Going Back Again,” before being joined by Miss Nicks for the elegiac ballad “Landslide,” which she said was her late father’s favorite among her songs.

As is true of pretty much any Fleetwood Mac show, the spiritual climax was undoubtedly the late-set performance of “I’m Still Afraid,” a bluesy, at times mournful, impassioned tune that begins quietly, with Mr. Buckingham singing two verses, before the song evolves into a nearly 10-minute jam session, with Mr. Buckingham assaulting his instrument with ever-brisker finger work and rock ‘n’ roll showmanship accompanied by drummer Mick Fleetwood’s pounding percussion. The crowd roared to its feet at the song’s conclusion, appreciative of the sweating fervor of Mr. Buckingham’s musicianship, which has earned him a reputation as one of the best living rock guitarists.

The set closed with Fleetwood Mac’s arguably most popular tune, “Go Your Own Way,” a hit from the smash album “Rumours” that was written amid the divorce of Miss McVie and bassist John McVie and the simultaneous romantic breakup of Mr. Buckingham and Miss Nicks. The up-tempo song, laced with pain, brought the 20,000 fans to their feet — a testament to the band members’ talents and the universality of their themes.

The encore began with percussionist Mick Fleetwood rendering a spirited drum solo, then featured “World Turning” followed by “Don’t Stop” — famously used as the theme song to Bill Clinton’s 1992 Democratic presidential nomination convention — and Miss Nicks on vocals on “Silver Springs” (perhaps in nod to the D.C. suburb).

Surprisingly, Miss McVie and Mr. Buckingham returned for a second encore, this time performing the angelic and melodious “Songbird” from “Rumours,” with Miss McVie singing and playing a Steinway as Mr. Buckingham accompanied on guitar.

The goodnight was a lengthy affair, with somewhat long-winded thank-you speeches from Miss Nicks and Mr. Fleetwood, 67, one of the band’s original members along with fellow Briton Mr. McVie, 69.

“Love,” Mr. Fleetwood said as he took his final bow. “In this crazy world of ours, be kind to each other. And love.”

Despite inner strife, breakups, feuds and member leave-takings that threatened to derail one of rock’s greatest acts, Fleetwood Mac proves that the love of music, and of those with whom we make it, has the power to unite and heal.


Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...#ixzz3QcFqlsaS
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[elle]

some photos from a different angle - https://www.facebook.com/ellellew/me...=1&pnref=story - enjoy!

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by elle

some photos from a different angle - https://www.facebook.com/ellellew/me...=1&pnref=story - enjoy!

Thank you. Honestly, now Christine's jeans are as tight as Lindsey's.

Ha ha. I love that avatar of Christine pointing at a person of interest.

Michele

[Macfan4life]

Now THIS is a rocking crowd. Everyone on their feet jumping and dancing.
Amazing. The band feeds off such energy. Really cool video to see the crowd how the band sees it. Good job DC!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nzi--R3eSUGood

[jbrownsjr]

^^^^ That was amazing!

[teedeerocks]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Thank you. Honestly, now Christine's jeans are as tight as Lindsey's.

Ha ha. I love that avatar of Christine pointing at a person of interest.

Michele

I think Chris and Bucky borrow each others jeansI also noticed that Chris has a cushion on her piano bench - she must have a sore a$$ at the end of the evening(I can relate to that),especially since she has literally no fat on it,unlike myself.Great Philly show but my butt was killing me by the end of it.Is it possible to go to a show that is great and also be a pain in the ass?But I digress.....Anyways,I'm not seeing the avatar but then again my sight is about equivalent to Stevie's.Can you point out where it exactly is and I"ll give it another look-see?

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by teedeerocks

Anyways,I'm not seeing the avatar but then again my sight is about equivalent to Stevie's.Can you point out where it exactly is and I"ll give it another look-see?

I was talking about the avatar Elle's page that she linked to.

Michele

[elle]

DC Big Love intro someone referred to in Rosemont thread where Lindsey went off the script and started conversing with the audience -



he did similar in Newark too -



seems that every show now his intros and in between-song banter are less and less scripted. well worth recording!

[SteveMacD]

"Miss McVie"

She hasn't been a "Miss" since 1968.

Oh, the things I learned in THIRD GRADE!!!

[bobwelchera]

This probably has happened so many times over the years, but it seriously irks me when writers say she is "Christie" McVie. Not at any point have I seen anyone in the band or close to it say that instead of "Christine" or "Chris." Yeah, it's one letter, if you're a writer, you think you'd make sure.

The Washington Times sucks anyway, but that's beside the point, hahaha.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by bobwelchera

This probably has happened so many times over the years, but it seriously irks me when writers say she is "Christie" McVie. Not at any point have I seen anyone in the band or close to it say that instead of "Christine" or "Chris." Yeah, it's one letter, if you're a writer, you think you'd make sure.

The Washington Times sucks anyway, but that's beside the point, hahaha.

I have heard people say that over the years and I am not bothered by it. Molly Meldrum had interviewed Stevie many times over the years and once referred to CM as Christie in a 1986 interview with SN. She did not correct him.

What has always bothered me is/are the people and especially the ones who call themselves fans, who misspell Lindsey's name with an A. Or the people who spell Rumours the American way.

[michelej1]

What I don't like about "Christie" is that those who write it usually don't think it's a nick name. They think it IS her name and they are too lazy to even make the easy trek to Wikipedia and make sure they heard correctly.

At least with Lindsey, they know his name, even if they can't spell it, which is an improvement over the days when they called him "Stevie."

Also, I am completely imagining this and have no proof, but I bet that if you walked up to her and said "Hi Christie," Christine would not be very happy at all.

Michele

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by vivfox

What has always bothered me is/are the people and especially the ones who call themselves fans, who misspell Lindsey's name with an A.

That bugs the crap out of me, too. I give it a slight pass, because some people use Siri instead of typing, and that only recognizes "Lindsay."

[nicepace]

Long time ago, maybe in the '70s or '80s, there was a host on an American music show who called her "Christie," and that used to bug me. I am trying to remember who it was. Maybe Casey Kasem (American Top 40). Anybody remember?