Los Angeles Staples Center 7/3/2013

[michelej1]

Another GREAT show. The musical highlights were all the same to me and I didn't notice any hitches, so I don't have anything to add to that.

When Stevie speaks she says "Welcome to the City of Angels" and points out that this is the second time they have been in Los Angeles. They were at the Hollywood Bowl a few weeks ago, but she says at 50 shows in, it seems like they've been everywhere. "Let's get this party started!"

I initially thought her voice sounded a little hoarse, but maybe not, because as we got further into the show, I didn't notice any problem.

At the end of Dreams, she holds the last note for a long time know-ow-owwww.

Lindsey addresses the crowd and says it's been 3 years since they were all together (four now Lindsey), but it's good to be back in Los Angeles so soon. After all of this time, there are a few chapters left in the book of Fleetwood Mac.

When he introduces Sad Angel, he still calls it an "EP." You're right Elle that that makes searching very difficult for people who don't already know exactly what they are looking for.

I notice that when he's playing near the center of the stage, when he wants to back up, he looks behind him first. He doesn't usually do this. I wonder is he checking so that he doesn't bump into Stevie, since he's closer to her than usual or is he just doing it to see where the cords are. He should install a rearview mirror.

As he introduces Not That Funny, he laughs at the applause Tusk gets and people must have had Tusk albums at the stage, because he points downward and says that he sees that they have some Tusk fans in the audience.

Sara when I look up at the monitor I notice that it is showing Mick's drum set, but an image of Stevie's head is superimposed over it, as she sings.

When Stevie gets to the "I'll be there" part, as Lindsey approaches, her arms are open and he could just walk right into them, but doesn't. She wags her finger at him, as he backs away.

When she comes over to his mic and he creeps up behind her, the audience screams. They scream almost as much when he does that, as when they hug.

He says that Big Love is a transition song. Written in 1987 for an album called Tango in the Night. Wow. He not only knows the year it was written, but he even has an album title? That's remarkable. I wasn't even aware he realized that Fleetwood Mac had ever released an album called TITN. I mean, I knew he had a recollection of several songs on it, but had no idea he knew its name. Hmmm.

Yes, he dangles one hand and pokes at it, before beginning to play.

Landslide: Stevie says they usually dedicate Landslide to people that they love, but tonight she wants to hurry through it before Lindsey comes up and says shorten it. Lindsey (apparently) doesn't hear her, so she pulls him forward with a hand behind his neck and whispers to him that she is hurrying up or else he'll tell her to shorten the dedication. He whispers back, "I wasn't going to say anything." She tells the audience that he can't hear. She said she has ears and he doesn't, so they are on kind of different planes. Lindsey then begins making wacky faces to illustrate the fact that, "I can't hear ANYTHING."

Lindsey is never wearing an earpiece, so how come he can hear her during the Without You intro, but not during Landslide when he's closer to her? I don't understand?

Stevie dedicates Landslide to Nigel from So You Think You Can Dance and to her clothes designer of 36 years, Margi Kent. This is for you Margi Kent, wherever you are, you tiny person. [Look Margi, keep a low profile, because you have been designing for her for 36 years, but you have only been creative about it for about 20 years, so I wouldn't jump up and take a bow, if I were you.] Stevie says that having a voice is one thing, but Margi's designs are a big part of her success.

Stevie also wants to dedicate the song to her brother Chris and to all of her family and to all of Lindsey's family.

They do the pinkie clasp near the end of the song. After it closes, she says that she forgot to say that the song is also for Rodney [I think. I'm not sure what the name of the person was].

The Without You Intro: She says that 3 months ago the intro was 3 minutes long and now it's 9 minutes long, which is twice as long as the song [killing me with your math skillz, Stevie]. She says it's only natural that she explains something for that long beccause she did go to school for 5 years to be a teacher (???). [Stevie, are you counting high school too? You didn't take 5 years of college courses and if you did and this is all you have to show for it, I wouldn't brag. I'd keep it to myself].

She talks about how great San Francisco was in the seventies with Janis Joplin and all. She wrote a poem about herself and Lindsey. They came to Los Angeles and cut Buckingham Nicks in 3 months. They made a demo from her poem and probably made a lot of other ones too and put it on a casette. They had tiny houses filled with casettes. The casette was probably on the floor and it was stolen and they lost it and their friends found it on Youtube in 2010 and she asked Lindsey if he remembered it and he said, "Yes, Stevie, yes I do."

Stevie looks over at Lindsey and remarks, "He looks bored, but he's enjoying this. He told me so."

Lindsey is just standing there. He's not talking to audience members below. So, Mick reminded her to tell the audience that he was attracted to their sound on the demo and 3 weeks into the tour, Lindsey said, "That's not what Mick was attracted to. What Mick was attracted to was _____" Now, the audience starts to chuckle here. For those of them that have seen the Youtube videos like we have, they laugh because she's about to go into her "lead guitarist" line. However, for the uninitiated, I think they are laughing because they believe she is implying that Mick was really attracted to HER. Which is accurate. It's an inference I think the audience is getting that those familiar with the script may not be.

Mick and Lindsey sort of gesture and guffaw together.

She goes on to the "hippy girlfriend" part.

So, she says at this point she always throws it over to Lindsey, "even though he doesn't ever really want it."

Lindsey says, "Oh are you throwing it over to me, now? You don't always throw it over to me."

She kind of covers her head. He begins, "Well . . . " and says he had only met Mick once before when Mick called him and said, "Lindsey?"

"Yes, Mick." He told Mick that if they wanted him they would have to take his girlfriend. "That's what I call loyalty" and then he adds, "clearly it worked out."

She thanks him for saying he wouldn't join the band "if you don't take my girlfriend" and says that it's been a crazy ride with these mad dogs and Englishmen [I like that description]. She says the song they are about to perform is in its original state so we can hear who they were before this all happened.

As the song ends, Lindsey walks over to Mick and they finish it head to head, smiling.

Gypsy: I notice she does a do-doood-do-do to mimic the guitar line.

GDW: At the end, she stumbles across the stage, past Lindsey's mic and back to her own, sometimes convulsing, as if being electrocuted (shock therapy)! Her hair falling across her face, "you can't make me, take me, shake me. You can't do it now. You can't do it. You can't fix me. You wish you could, but you can't do it . . . nowwww." And the last word is just a whisper.

I'm So Afraid: If I'm an officer on the Titanic and there's only one lifeboat left and I had the choice of either putting (a) him or (b) the other 15 of them, in it . . .well, just don't anyone ever ask me to make that choice. Don't ask, don't tell.

Stand Back The way he goes hurriedly to his mic and starts positioning it I begin wondering, "What? Are you singing back up on this song now? What's your deal?" I guess he just wanted it to be ready for GYOW.

Go Your Own Way: At the end of the song, as he jumps off of the drum kit and starts circling and she follows, I love how he suddenly turns on her, making it a chase. She points a finger at him smiling. He points back.

He kisses her hand as they return for the encore.

World Turning: After the drum solo is over, I love the way John, Stevie and Lindsey all head back to their positions with determination and alacrity. It reminds me of the line "marching off to war" in Sad Angel. They're on a mission.

As Mick stands to make the introductions, he says he better speak before his fingers drop off. He said it took him 10 days to 2 weeks to realize that Lindsey never leaves the stage, "if but for 30 seconds" He also might add that LB is "one hell of a guitar player." He's ok in a pinch, I guess, if Clapton turned you down.

He says that for the boys, never a night on this planet goes by without them thanking their angel, their poet, Miss Stevie Nicks. Someone in the audience extends a bouquet of flowers to Stevie and she takes them.

Mick introduces John as his partner in crime and his dearest friend.

It could be my imagination, but after Don't Stop it seems to me that Lindsey is very careful to make sure that when he leaves the stage, he has tucked his guitar safely behind the speaker and away from prying fan hands.

Say Goodbye: Lindsey says that when they started out, they needed their illusions in order to dream. But later you need to let them go in order to grow. I think this is a very beautiful sentiment. He has been perfecting this speech and I like where it has ended up, since I last heard him.

Lindsey tells the audience that Los Angeles is his and Stevie's home town and the place where it all came together. He's glad to be back.

For her dreamcatcher speech, Stevie says she usually never says the same thing twice, but she has been doing so, though not using the exact same words. She just wants us to know that songwriting is rife with struggle and hurt, but they throw the songs out at us and we struggle [yep, whatsamatterbaby was nothing, if not a struggle] and throw them back and we've been doing it for 35 years. She mentions Rhiannon, NGBA & GYOW. In London, I'm sure she'll go out of her way to mention a Christine song in this speech.

Mick closes the show, "We have had a ballllllll." He says that he, Stevie and Lindsey never like to say goodbye to the audience, they'd rather end by saying be good to yourselves and be good to each other. "The Mac is back." Instead of drawing it out like he usually does, he makes "back" short and sweet. Then, the night is over.

Can't believe this leg of the tour is almost complete. Everything is ahead for the overseas fans, but I'm starting to feel quite the let down over here. It's been a great ride. Michele

[StreetAngel86]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Landslide: She tells the audience that he can't hear. She said she has ears and he doesn't, so they are on kind of different planes. Lindsey then begins making wacky faces to illustrate the fact that, "I can't hear ANYTHING."

i don't even know what to say
"sometimes, to be near you, is to be unable to hear you..."

Michele, your reviews are much better than anything official
how many shows you been to? You can always hit up London or Oz

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by StreetAngel86

"sometimes, to be near you, is to be unable to hear you..."

The funny thing is, we have seen her audio monitor and gadget box forever and we know exactly what she means, but what about other audience members who aren't longtime fans. When she said she had ears and LB didn't, what did they think she meant. Michele

[allie3466]

Aww, I came to this thread to see if I could add anything substantial but it looks like it's all covered.

Also, Kristen was definitely there (also, she's really gorgeous in person... I didn't realize this until I looked up from my phone before the show and realized she was like five feet from me), and she had kids with her but they looked like all boys - I'm guessing Will and some friends, possibly?

And I'd just like to point out that, as a nearly 21-year-old girl, I don't think I've ever been more attracted to someone in their 60s as I was to Stevie at the end of Gold Dust Woman. She was hot tonight, damn. Not that she isn't usually, but that ending was badass.

My friend also said someone passed out or something? I didn't see it or hear anything about it, does anyone know anything about this? I'm guessing the band didn't see because I feel like it definitely would have noticeably affected Stevie.

I've been lurking for a while but decided to finally come out of hiding. There's a little more from this show at my tumblr, if anyone's interested.

[michelej1]

[michelej1]

Look at Mick pretending to cry.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by allie3466

My friend also said someone passed out or something? I didn't see it or hear anything about it, does anyone know anything about this?

Oh, I didn't see or hear anything either. I saw them taking people in wheelchairs to their seats, but didn't know about any medical emergencies.

Michele

[bluecalmsea]

To add two more notes to your incredibly detailed account Michele:

-Landslide: when Stevie is commenting about how Lindsey can't hear- she jokingly says something to the effect of "I can say anything!"

-When Lindsey introduces "Say Goodbye," Stevie shakes her head while he says it was written at a time when the drama was behind them. I was dying!

Someone put up a Gold Dust Woman that captured the drama nicely:

[justdreamin]

"Lindsey is never wearing an earpiece, so how come he can hear her during the Without You intro, but not during Landslide when he's closer to her? I don't understand?"

Hey I really really love your reviews of the shows. You are fantastic!

To answer your question, when Lindsey is standing in front of his mic he can hear everything that comes through everyone else's mic through his floor monitors. Stevie looks like she has floor monitors but they are teleprompters, so when he is standing by her he can't hear what's coming out of her mic or anything else. Stevie can hear with her "ears" regardless of where she stands. Does that make sense?

Again, thanks for your great input!!

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by justdreamin

"Lindsey is never wearing an earpiece, so how come he can hear her during the Without You intro, but not during Landslide when he's closer to her? I don't understand?"

Hey I really really love your reviews of the shows. You are fantastic!

To answer your question, when Lindsey is standing in front of his mic he can hear everything that comes through everyone else's mic through his floor monitors. Stevie looks like she has floor monitors but they are teleprompters, so when he is standing by her he can't hear what's coming out of her mic or anything else. Stevie can hear with her "ears" regardless of where she stands. Does that make sense?

Yes, it does. Thank you. I didn't know what those things on the floor in front of him actually did. I thought of them as speakers and I think I just assumed they sent sound out to the air and audience in general. I didn't realize that they sent sound to Lindsey -- which now makes perfect sense.

Michele

[elle]

Originally Posted by michelej1

When he introduces Sad Angel, he still calls it an "EP." You're right Elle that that makes searching very difficult for people who don't already know exactly what they are looking for.

i have some choice words for him that would be inappropriate to write here. but yeah, i should know better by now.

there's JB show recording, and when i tried to correct him you can hear him being all snide about it: "what's the name of it? it's called EP! no, it's called Extended Play... as in EEE-PEEE."

he obviously didn't get what that was about. not smart Linds, not smart.

[michelej1]

Consequence of Sound by Wesley Hodges, July 5, 2013

http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/0...les-center-73/

When you’ve been doing whatever it is you do for four-plus decades – ‘work’ can get routine and the difficult can be made to look easy. For Fleetwood Mac in 2013, even after playing over 35 shows (including several major festival appearances) to date, there appears to be a new life force propelling the legendary band. While the relatively dull and demographically broad crowd could have used some of the aforementioned life force at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on Wednesday night – Lindsay Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie delivered nearly three straight hours of material from a majority of the band’s catalog (despite unfortunately ignoring the bluesy Peter Green years – but that was to be expected). And despite the absence of Christine McVie, fans ponying up are getting their money’s worth and a nice stroll down memory lane.

After a roaring ovation as the band took to the stage in the dark, the impressive lighting rig sprang to life and “Secondhand News” began an early run of major hits that included “The Chain” (replete with McVie’s bass-solo-you-know-by-heart) and “Dreams”. Anyone (Everyone?) who knows the catalog is adequately familiar with the truism that reads like a twisted tale of Shakespearean proportions. The lines just kept coming – whether it was Buckingham singing “the sound of your loneliness like a heartbeat,” during “Dreams”, Nicks’ dramatic delivery of the “So I’ll begin not to love you/ Turn around, you’ll see me runnin” verse during “Silver Springs” or “Been down one time/ Been down two times/ I’m never going back again” during “Never Going Back Again”, the tales of heartache and busted relationships rolled out in relentless form. Nicks would later dedicate “Landslide” to her father before delivering in inspiring form to pin drop silence in the Staples Center.

One of the major musical highlights during the set was the experimental foray out of the poppier realm of the catalog during the Fleetwood-steered “Tusk”, during which Nicks spun and floated around with a tambourine accented by her signature scarves while the band roared through a fierce rendition of the 1979 classic. A montage of the USC marching band playing the song and a PA blaring the marching band’s trademark brass was an essential kicker. Had school been in session, it would’ve been likely to see the modern Trojan Marching Band roll onto the stage but this production element did the trick. Buckingham’s worldly and tribal “Big Love” was the only selection from the 1987 mega success Tango In The Night and featured some aggressive strumming by the lead axe wielder. The set ended with the synth-infused “Stand Back” off Nicks’ 1987 LP, The Wild Heart, before an expectedly well-received and fierce run through of “Go Your Own Way”.

The night’s encore included the lengthiest drum solo I’ve heard since I last caught Widespread Panic, arriving during “World Turning” which sparked some last-minute energy for the thick layer of pop sheen that followed during “Don’t Stop”. Because that wasn’t enough, the veterans shuffled back out for another encore, toning things down with “Silver Springs” and a Buckingham-Nicks sign-off with “Say Goodbye”. The more melodic finale closed the night’s multi-faceted run through one of the all-time greatest band’s stroll down memory lane, and in the town that helped inspire and propel them during their almost unrivaled run of mainstream success. One can only hope such fortune strikes today’s crop of talent.

[sidwich]

Hi, newbie here! I don't have a lot to add to Michele's wonderful report on the Staples show, but I did want to add that I now understand why Lindsey's been calling this tour the lovefest.

The show had a really lovely, warm energy about it, a really strong undercurrent of warmth, love and appreciation amongst the band members and for the audience. And the audience loved them. Great vibes all around.

It was so much that when it came to the "Landslide" dedication, Stevie's dedication to (in order) Nigel Lythgoe, her costume designer, her family, Lindsey's family and the audience, I really wasn't surprised that she included the audience in the dedication. It was just that kind of night.

Other notes:

Stevie did sound a little hoarse on the first couple of songs, but her voice strengthened as the night went on. Her voice has clearly deteriorated over the years (Lindsey's too), but it happens to everybody at a certain age, and she still sounds really very good. Streisand's voice isn't the same either.

I found the whole "Lindsey can't hear me... I can say ANYTHING" really funny, because Stevie was fiddling with her ear monitor all night long. I don't know if it's a common thing for her, but she was adjusting it constantly. Not sure if she was getting the mix or volume she wanted.

Stevie really was hilarious when Lindsey was rambling on about how the drama of the group is behind them. And "Say Goodbye" is now about "resolve for the future"???

I got to Staples early, and saw a woman I think was Kristen Buckingham talking to two woman in the front row, dead center, and then to security before the show started. I know people had mentioned that she looks an awful lot like Stevie Nicks, but wow. She really does look like the younger, Brentwood mom version of Stevie (if that makes any sense). It was um.... startling.

The ushers were uber strict about cameras for the first part of the show. Seriously, they were coming around to people individually in the front rows before the show about NO CAMERAS. For the first several songs they were flashlighting anybody who dared to have a camera out. It was incredibly distracting, actually. I think I got a bright light in my eyes a few times, and I didn't even have a camera out. (At some point, they gave up).

I noticed a couple of teenage boys were in the front row getting incredibly into it, and especially Lindsey's performance. If they were Will and a friend, it was great to see.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by sidwich

Stevie really was hilarious when Lindsey was rambling on about how the drama of the group is behind them. And "Say Goodbye" is now about "resolve for the future"???

Welcome. I don't usually watch the Say Goodbye videos, but I look forward to seeing this one.

I don't know how Stevie interprets what he says in this intro, but I don't think Lindsey meant that he wrote Say Goodbye when their drama was over, because they weren't even speaking at the time. He wrote it when their illusions were over. They were disillusioned, but far from at peace with one another.

Based on a previous comment she made about the romance of the early years, I think she questions Lindsey's position that things seemed idyllic because they still had unrealistic dreams and expectations back then. I think she thinks there was an inherent romance about the time that was genuine, not the product of inexperience, fanciful dreams or naïve innocence. In private conversations, he may have disputed this. The other night she said he even got a little mad at her when she talked about the romance of it all.

Michele