DoubtfulMiracle
02-27-2010, 08:53 PM
The concert last night was held on the Brisbane Riverstage, an outdoor venue tucked in behind our city botanic gardens right on the river. A generally very nice setting.
Now, some people are saying we sat through torrential rain. I'm not sure if that might be overstating it, though only a little bit, so let's call it steady, soaking rain.
After leaving my mother under shelter to pick-up some umbrellas (it wasn't raining when we left the house), I ventured through the rain because I didn't want to miss MFBB. Unfortunately I think I missed one or two songs while waiting to purchase a poncho (more on the utility of ponchos in a minute).
From what I did see though, they were great. Rick Vito is a wonderful guitarist, and it's always a joy to watch Mick given that he always looks like he's having a great time. In fact, they all looked like they were having a blast, which is always so nice to see. Despite the short set, Rick even managed to interact with the small crowd a little bit, which was cool. In between songs, a fruit bat flew over the front part of the crowd. Rick goes "Hey, look at that bat." And then in his best Count Dracula voice: "I feel right at home."
I won't lie -- I enjoyed the PG-era FM songs best. Rattlesnake Shake is one of my favourities, and Black Magic Woman (I loved Rick's explanation that the song "Went to no. 1 all over the world. Just not for Fleetwood Mac.") was great too. Even Shake Your Moneymaker, which is not one of my favourites, was excellent live, with Rick encouraging some crowd participation, first from the ladies then from the guys.
All in all, it was great to see them do even a small set of songs. Of course my only complaint is that I would have loved to have seen them do more (Albatross would've been awesome), so I'm pretty envious of those folks down in Sydney and Melbourne who had the chance to go to the MFBB-only shows in the smaller club venues.
Just briefly, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs were both wonderful as well. Both still have great voices, and their bands are outstanding. And their classics -- What A Fool Believes, Minute by Minute, Lowdown and Lido Shuffle in particular -- went off a treat with the rain-sodden crowd. Throughout Michael McDonald, I found that the rain that had pooled in my poncho-covered lap would ocassionally empty itself into my shoes. Clapping also proved dangerous for the person sitting next to you, who thankfully probably didn't notice the wetness from your hands splashing across their face amongst all the rain dripping off their hood and down their nose. We had almost dried out by the end of Boz, only to be soaked again while waiting -- wait for it -- to collect our umbrellas from the cloak room. So all in all a bit of fun. :lol:
The best part though was that Mick -- and I'm sure I made out Rick and Mark Johnstone too, but Mick's just... distinctive -- hung around above the stage, watching all of Michael McDonald's and most of Boz Scaggs's set. The only successful photo I took of MFBB (http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/Smurf1812/?action=view¤t=MFBBFull-Copy.jpg) (I managed to accidentally turn the stability function off after this one and couldn't work out how to turn it back on) is at least useful for illustrative purposes -- up the top, where you can see some people, is the balcony where the guys were hanging out. It was just cool to see them enjoying the others' music.
I'm off to do the right thing this week and get the Blue Again DVD -- I'm hoping it will satisfy the craving for a bit more blues.
Now, some people are saying we sat through torrential rain. I'm not sure if that might be overstating it, though only a little bit, so let's call it steady, soaking rain.
After leaving my mother under shelter to pick-up some umbrellas (it wasn't raining when we left the house), I ventured through the rain because I didn't want to miss MFBB. Unfortunately I think I missed one or two songs while waiting to purchase a poncho (more on the utility of ponchos in a minute).
From what I did see though, they were great. Rick Vito is a wonderful guitarist, and it's always a joy to watch Mick given that he always looks like he's having a great time. In fact, they all looked like they were having a blast, which is always so nice to see. Despite the short set, Rick even managed to interact with the small crowd a little bit, which was cool. In between songs, a fruit bat flew over the front part of the crowd. Rick goes "Hey, look at that bat." And then in his best Count Dracula voice: "I feel right at home."
I won't lie -- I enjoyed the PG-era FM songs best. Rattlesnake Shake is one of my favourities, and Black Magic Woman (I loved Rick's explanation that the song "Went to no. 1 all over the world. Just not for Fleetwood Mac.") was great too. Even Shake Your Moneymaker, which is not one of my favourites, was excellent live, with Rick encouraging some crowd participation, first from the ladies then from the guys.
All in all, it was great to see them do even a small set of songs. Of course my only complaint is that I would have loved to have seen them do more (Albatross would've been awesome), so I'm pretty envious of those folks down in Sydney and Melbourne who had the chance to go to the MFBB-only shows in the smaller club venues.
Just briefly, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs were both wonderful as well. Both still have great voices, and their bands are outstanding. And their classics -- What A Fool Believes, Minute by Minute, Lowdown and Lido Shuffle in particular -- went off a treat with the rain-sodden crowd. Throughout Michael McDonald, I found that the rain that had pooled in my poncho-covered lap would ocassionally empty itself into my shoes. Clapping also proved dangerous for the person sitting next to you, who thankfully probably didn't notice the wetness from your hands splashing across their face amongst all the rain dripping off their hood and down their nose. We had almost dried out by the end of Boz, only to be soaked again while waiting -- wait for it -- to collect our umbrellas from the cloak room. So all in all a bit of fun. :lol:
The best part though was that Mick -- and I'm sure I made out Rick and Mark Johnstone too, but Mick's just... distinctive -- hung around above the stage, watching all of Michael McDonald's and most of Boz Scaggs's set. The only successful photo I took of MFBB (http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd237/Smurf1812/?action=view¤t=MFBBFull-Copy.jpg) (I managed to accidentally turn the stability function off after this one and couldn't work out how to turn it back on) is at least useful for illustrative purposes -- up the top, where you can see some people, is the balcony where the guys were hanging out. It was just cool to see them enjoying the others' music.
I'm off to do the right thing this week and get the Blue Again DVD -- I'm hoping it will satisfy the craving for a bit more blues.