Your opinion: the Mac's zenith concert performance?

[louielouie2000]

So if you could pick one song, from one concert that represents Fleetwood Mac at the top of it's game, at it's most Fleetwood Macness :laugh:, what would it be?

I began pondering this question while I was cruising youtube at work this morning. For me it will always be "Sisters of the Moon" from the Mirage concert in '82. To me that's Fleetwood Mac at it's crazed best. Stevie screaming in tongues in all her coked out goodness... babbling about stuffed animals living in her house, assistants pouring beer down Mick's throat while he plays :laugh:, John's absolute pounding bass riff, Lindsey's comical appearance yet SCREAMING guitar playing, Lindsey and Christine's exchanged sordid looks, Christine visibly being completely tanked... all tied together in arguably the hardest rocking performance of the Mac's career is what makes it for me. This one performance alone proves FM is NOT the California soft rock dinosaur that the press claimed them to be at the time. I listen to this song every single morning to get me going... I've heard it several thousand times I'm sure, and it is the one performance that NEVER fails to make me smile. It is just the complete essence of Fleetwood Mac tied up into one song, with each member of the band playing out their stereotyped role to it's max.

[David]

I began pondering this question while I was cruising youtube at work this morning. For me it will always be "Sisters of the Moon" from the Mirage concert in '82. To me that's Fleetwood Mac at it's crazed best. Stevie screaming in tongues in all her coked out goodness... babbling about stuffed animals living in her house, assistants pouring beer down Mick's throat while he plays :laugh:, John's absolute pounding bass riff, Lindsey's comical appearance yet SCREAMING guitar playing, Lindsey and Christine's exchanged sordid looks, Christine visibly being completely tanked... all tied together in arguably the hardest rocking performance of the Mac's career is what makes it for me. This one performance alone proves FM is NOT the California soft rock dinosaur that the press claimed them to be at the time. I listen to this song every single morning to get me going... I've heard it several thousand times I'm sure, and it is the one performance that NEVER fails to make me smile. It is just the complete essence of Fleetwood Mac tied up into one song, with each member of the band playing out their stereotyped role to it's max.How familiar are you with other performances on the same tour?

[JbbyStew86]

Hell yes man. Great choice. I agree with your selection. I was even thinking about that one before I read your description. That would have been my choice if I didnt put the same concerts The Chain in front of it. Lindsey's guitar playing alone sets that song above Sisters. The solo is unstoppable. When I have a friend who nay says Fleetwood Mac, all I have to do is play that one for them and even if they wont admit they're amazing, will at least admit that Lindsey is sick. I dont think its possible to argue that anything shows the Mac at their musical best better than the Mirage tour. The frustration of everything around them was fueled through their playing. It definitely shows.

[aleuzzi]

Good choice. But I'd pick their performance of "Tusk" in, I think, St. Louis, for the Tusk Tusk Documentary. That's primal. It's like nothing else the band did before or since--and unlike anything else in all of rock.

[louielouie2000]

How familiar are you with other performances on the same tour?

I'm not as familiar with the other performances from the Mirage tour. I just know that I love how assertive the entire band is for the Mirage concert video. Stevie really puts herself out there forcefully, confidently, and unapologetically with all her vocals (this is really the only time in Mac history your could say that), Lindsey is just insane with his guitars, and John knocks it out of the park with his hard driving bass. Even Christine seems to be visibly having fun on stage during this concert, whereas she usually comes across as rather indifferent. Everyone but Mick seemed to be at their ripest and best... but of course history proves you can only go downhill from there. What I mean by that is it seems everyone was enhanced by their substance usage, whereas Mick seemed like he was suffering from it, and it was well down the path to his addiction bringing him down.

So is there something else I should know about the Mirage tour? Was it better/worse than the Mirage concert video?

[David]

So is there something else I should know about the Mirage tour? Was it better/worse than the Mirage concert video?It's highly subjective, as you know, but I think that there were some performances on that tour which outstrip the videotaped Los Angeles stuff in terms of energy & passion.

[mylittledemon]

I just love everything about "The Chain" from the Dance. But just about everything from the Tusk tour was amazing, too.

[sillydreamer64]

It would most deff. be Rhiannon for me. She would be so intense in that song.

[wondergirl9847]

I agree with JbbyStew86. That version of The Chain....WOWZA. It is an entity. In fact, I must listen to it right now. The energy is un-friggin-believable.

[JbbyStew86]

I agree with JbbyStew86. That version of The Chain....WOWZA. It is an entity. In fact, I must listen to it right now. The energy is un-friggin-believable.

yeah since i wrote my response, ive listened to it a few times myself!!

[jmn3]

The Chain, Go Your Own Way, Sisters of the Moon are all incredible on that video. Certainly my favorite version of both The Chain and GYOW.

I will agree that there are some other Mirage shows which capture even better what the Mac was about at that time...love the Denver and Oakland shows.

It's hard to believe that 5 years later the band would have such a completely different live sound.

[vivfox]

It's hard to believe that 5 years later(after Mirage) the band would have such a completely different live sound.

Is that because Lindsey was no longer the lead guitarist?

[louielouie2000]

Lindsey not being the guitarist certainly had a lot to do with it, as did so many other factors. Stevie was calmed the hell down due to being off cocaine, and totally zonked out on Klonopin. For all intensive purposes their power house front people were gone for that tour. Rick and Billy I believe ushered in a more soft rock/middle of the road sound to the band too. Tango era everyone was hitting their 40s too... so maybe they calmed down just a bit too? (of course Lindsey's exit from the band after Tango isn't a good example of this lol)

[JbbyStew86]

i think the change in guitar during Tango is the biggest reason for the different sound. just watch the Chain video from that concert series and compare it to the Mirage Chain vid and see the difference. IMO they utterly lamed out. Rick and Billy did seem to bring in a laid back type soft rock style.

on a side note, does anyone out there have an MP3 of the GYOW from the Mirage concert that was turned into the tape? Ive heard its spectacular and I would love to hear it. I have SOTM, Rhiannon and The Chain. Does anyone have anything else!?!!? HELPPPPP!:shrug:

[Villavic]

So if you could pick one song, from one concert that represents Fleetwood Mac at the top of it's game, at it's most Fleetwood Macness :laugh:, what would it be?


Hard to find one song that "represents Fleetwood Mac", since we have 3 songwriters and singers (just to mention the Rumours lineup). And that's why Fleetwood Mac is my favorite band. Their complexity and variety.

So If I look for a song where the 3 of them are "equally" involved, it would be The Chain. Cause thinking in Rhiannon or GYOW doesn't show Christine at her "zenith". So The Chain is the most "band" song..

now the "zenith concert performance" in terms of a whole show could be any from the Rumours-Tusk era, in my opinion, followed by the Reunion Tour

btw, remember the tour was not called The Dance tour, but the Reunion tour, though everybody recall it as The Dance toour).

[michelej1]

btw, remember the tour was not called The Dance tour, but the Reunion tour, though everybody recall it as The Dance toour).

I didn't know that.

Michele

[jmn3]

i think the change in guitar during Tango is the biggest reason for the different sound. just watch the Chain video from that concert series and compare it to the Mirage Chain vid and see the difference. IMO they utterly lamed out. Rick and Billy did seem to bring in a laid back type soft rock style.

on a side note, does anyone out there have an MP3 of the GYOW from the Mirage concert that was turned into the tape? Ive heard its spectacular and I would love to hear it. I have SOTM, Rhiannon and The Chain. Does anyone have anything else!?!!? HELPPPPP!:shrug:

I totally agree an it's nothing against Rick and Billy personally. The sound was just so unbelievably different and low key. The Chain is the best example (Tango VHS versus Mirage VHS)...Lindsey had such a manic solo and the vocals were scorching during that entire song in 1982. By 1987, the band was playing note-for-note and everything was "perfect." They just seemed to lose a lot of punch. Lindsey's departure is certainly a factor, the then-new mini-Mac is obviously a factor, Stevie/Klonopin, and so on. I guess like all incarnations of the band, they were just totally different from their former selves.

Jbby - I have that GYOW mp3...shoot me a PM with your address and I will email to you.

[Villavic]

I didn't know that.

Michele

Oh yes I bought 3 t-shirts from that tour (NYC), one has the The Dance cover album, but all of them said "The Reunion tour" with the cities list

[David]

I totally agree an it's nothing against Rick and Billy personally. The sound was just so unbelievably different and low key. The Chain is the best example (Tango VHS versus Mirage VHS)...Lindsey had such a manic solo and the vocals were scorching during that entire song in 1982.I defy anyone to listen to Rick on THE CHAIN from both 1987 & 1990 & to tell me, without knowing beforehand, which audio is from which tour.

Rick has excellent chops & a lot of soul, guitarists tell me, but over the nearly two years he was on the road with Mac, his playing never evolved. You can pick any live song on which he's prominent from the first few weeks of his tenure with the band, & then pick the same song toward the end of the last tour he did with the band, & you can't hear a difference in the extemporaneous aspect of the playing. It's uncanny! It's akin to listening to Stevie Nicks sing live these days. (Can anyone really tell the difference between a STAND BACK from 2005 & one from 2008?)

[AliceLover]

I defy anyone to listen to Rick on THE CHAIN from both 1987 & 1990 & to tell me, without knowing beforehand, which audio is from which tour.

Rick has excellent chops & a lot of soul, guitarists tell me, but over the nearly two years he was on the road with Mac, his playing never evolved. You can pick any live song on which he's prominent from the first few weeks of his tenure with the band, & then pick the same song toward the end of the last tour he did with the band, & you can't hear a difference in the extemporaneous aspect of the playing. It's uncanny! It's akin to listening to Stevie Nicks sing live these days. (Can anyone really tell the difference between a STAND BACK from 2005 & one from 2008?)

Sadly, yes. The 2005 version was better, Brett Tuggle gave it away.

[jmn3]

[QUOTE=David;759838]I defy anyone to listen to Rick on THE CHAIN from both 1987 & 1990 & to tell me, without knowing beforehand, which audio is from which tour. QUOTE]

Totally agreed. There is no difference at all. Same for Billy's vocals on Go Your Own Way. The passion is lacking altogether. I never have gotten on board with the love fest that some have for the "new" non-Lindsey versions of GYOW. The bland vocals and anthem like arrangement and solo take away from the raw emotion that the song should bring out. And I can't buy that only Lindsey can sing those lyrics with emotion....I mean, who hasn't had an ex they wanted to tell off?

Of course, in the later years, Lindsey has done his own version of blanding down the vocals on GYOW....but that's another story.

[michelej1]

[ The passion is lacking altogether. I never have gotten on board with the love fest that some have for the "new" non-Lindsey versions of GYOW. The bland vocals and anthem like arrangement and solo take away from the raw emotion that the song should bring out.

The worst culprit has got to be Wilson Phillips. Their performance is so sweet and sing-songy they might as well be saying, "You can have iced tea today. Have ice tea your way." If Lindsey had sung it frothy and pleasant like that, Stevie would have been flattered by the shackin' up line.

Michele

[BombaySapphire3]

I was at the forum the nights they taped the Mirage shows for Showtime ..any number of Tusk tour shows blows those performances away ..I'll go with my first FM show ever Dec 1979 at the San Diego Sports Arena and that version of SOTM ..no speaking in tongues but still intense.

[louielouie2000]

Hard to find one song that "represents Fleetwood Mac", since we have 3 songwriters and singers (just to mention the Rumours lineup). And that's why Fleetwood Mac is my favorite band. Their complexity and variety.

So If I look for a song where the 3 of them are "equally" involved, it would be The Chain. Cause thinking in Rhiannon or GYOW doesn't show Christine at her "zenith". So The Chain is the most "band" song..

now the "zenith concert performance" in terms of a whole show could be any from the Rumours-Tusk era, in my opinion, followed by the Reunion Tour

btw, remember the tour was not called The Dance tour, but the Reunion tour, though everybody recall it as The Dance tour).

I disagree with the way you're looking at it. It doesn't have to be a song where everyone is equally involved, because the reality of the band is each member doesn't get equal spotlight time, even while playing their own songs. Each of the 3 songwriters played their own totally different role within the band. Even when they were performing Christine's songs, she was hidden behind her keyboards, and wasn't a stand out showman... that was just her style and stage presence. You would think Lindsey would trump Stevie in the showman category because he not only runs around and sings, but he also plays hard driving guitar. At the same time, he and Stevie's showmanship is pretty equal because of Stevie's crazy outfits and dancing around.

I feel that the Sisters Of The Moon from the Mirage concert captures each member doing what they do the best. Lindsey's hard driving guitar riffs battle it out with Stevie's take no prisoner vocals. Lindsey shares vocals by singing a verse too. Mick certainly plays up his role by having beer dumped down his throat and looking crazed in general. Christine looks sexy, drunk, and jolly as ever... all while backing the band up with her flawless keyboards. John stays in the shadows as always, but really brings the house down with his bass riffs. I feel personally that this one song performance totally captures every single person doing what they do the best. If you could tie up everything that the Rumours era Mac was in a neat little package, this performance is it (for ME at least!:thumbsup:)

[chiliD]

I'd have to say August 29, 1977 at the GW Forum was the peak for me as far as the "whole show". Everything after that was on the downward slide...they'd have 4 or 5 song stretches of grandeur here & there during subsequent tours, but that "Hot August Night" was the peak for me.

[jmn3]

Even when they were performing Christine's songs, she was hidden behind her keyboards, and wasn't a stand out showman... that was just her style and stage presence.

This makes perfect sense. I mean, "Don't Stop" is Chris' song but I would think based on the live performances, many casual fans and newbies would think it was Lindsey's.

[jmn3]

The worst culprit has got to be Wilson Phillips. Their performance is so sweet and sing-songy they might as well be saying, "You can have iced tea today. Have ice tea your way." If Lindsey had sung it frothy and pleasant like that, Stevie would have been flattered by the shackin' up line.

Michele

LOL...that's awesome. I absolutely loathe that Wilson Phillips recording. I am always amazed at covers of Go Your Own Way and the difficulty so many have with achieving the proper balance of tone/emotion in the vocals. I'm certainly not a singer so I have no room to talk but I guess if I was I would not cover a song if I couldn't sing it in a way that did the original some justice.

[David]

This makes perfect sense. I mean, "Don't Stop" is Chris' song but I would think based on the live performances, many casual fans and newbies would think it was Lindsey's.Perhaps less so for DON'T STOP than most of her other songs because she was always seated at the grand piano for DON'T STOP, & she kept the lid all the way down so when you were watching the song in person, you could generally see Chris quite well.

In the old days, she was more hidden while standing because the Hammond was in its original case & she generally had two keyboards above it. But when she got the Hammond recased in a smaller console (in time for the 1977 tour), she was a little more visible from the audience.

She was fairly nicely visible from 1977 on, once she cut the number of instruments back. Certainly more so than Mick.

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Christine's biggest visibility problem was always that the stupid cameramen ignored her.

[Hawkeye]

The answer to this was actually really easy for me. No song showcases every danmed member of Fleetwood Mac all at their "Zeniths" like a REALLY GOOD live Rhiannon from 1975-1980. And I mean really good. Midnight Special don;t cut it for me. There's about a 7-10 way tie that do cut it for me. Almost any of the Tusk bootlegs I have are included. But so is Largo 75, and a few from 77 and 78. Just you have the obvious Stevie at her Witchy Vocal Exorcism Zeneth. Lindsey's had many guitar Zeneths but you cna't argue that his Rhiannon solos have to be some of his best. Not just the solos, the slow build up to Stevie's finish have some of his most psechadelic licks ever. And speaking of the slow build up, did someone say Christine's finest playing ever. Her danmed piano playign is the freaking glue that throws the song into outer space, then Stevie lets out that wail before the dreams unwind part that throws it past outer space into the after life, but first is that hypnotic piano. And Mick and John are all over the song with awseome drumming and bass. SOTM may have temporarily borrowed the title for a milisecond, but Fleetwood Mac performing Rhiannon from 1975-1980 is their Zeneth.

Green Manalishi Live comes close, but there's not enough of a Chis showcase.

[David]

And speaking of the slow build up, did someone say Christine's finest playing ever. I certainly didn't say it, nor would I ever.

Her danmed piano playign is the freaking glue that throws the song into outer space, then Stevie lets out that wail before the dreams unwind part that throws it past outer space into the after life, but first is that hypnotic piano.So why your exclusion of the Midnight Special performance? Her board work on that one is no different from that of these other 1975-1976 performances you mention, & it's a lot more audible, to boot.

[Hawkeye]

Yeah Agreed, Christine's playing is no less great for the midnight special, but just something about the rest of the performance bugs me, that I cna't put my finger on. I actually find Stevie's vocal performance at the end to be pretty lackluster and boring.

[TrueFaith77]

My vote:

Save Me A Place
Tusk Tour

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z5Pe9X5Lp90