I agree, but wanting little more energy and enthusiasm than she has now is not an unrealistic expectation.

I don't think she's "more graceful" than Cher because what Cher's currently doing has been her schtick for forty years and it really hasn't changed much, if at all. Stevie's still doing the same schtick, but it's just gotten more rote and tired because she insists on hanging onto her youthfulness while not being able to be as energetic, unlike performers like Cher. That's just my opinion, though. I think that Stevie could recapture a lot of her magic if she performed different songs, ditched the Lindsey drama and the canned speeches and movements. Inject some freshness into all of it, revitalize it. She doesn't have to swing from the rafters wearing a tube top and panties in order to do so. She doesn't have to run about the stage stripping off her clothes, either. If she can't handle singing the high energy songs, don't sing them. Bring out some old chestnuts like Storms and make the show more intimate. If you can't wear platforms, don't wear them. Don't wear ridiculous, laughable things such as those Reeboks in order to substitute for not being able to wear the real deal. Be practical and just wear regular shoes instead of turning it all into a ridiculous joke. Just don't wear the same outfit every night, sing the songs the same way every night, or spin around in platform Reeboks and still expect to be considered a great performer like you were back in the day. Just scale it all down. If others like that, fine, to each his own. I just think she needs to freshen everything up and if she does so, it would only mean positive things. :woohoo:

Yeah, because drugs had nothing to do with it. :rolleyes: :laugh:

Like I said, being spontaneous is not changing a line in Rhiannon every few weeks on tour. If you think so, great. I don't. So, nyeah! :xoxo:

Oooh, what shows have you been to recently? :blob1: :] :blob2:

I'm obviously following the wrong artists!! :lol: :lol:

:laugh: :laugh: I don't care if drugs had something to do with it. Fact is, most live vocal performances i heard from back in the day each had different nuances, sometimes different timing and different harmonies. SOTM is a good example. The Chain is a good example. Rhiannon is a good example. I'm not really talking about changing lines, necessarily :shrug: I've just heard a ton of things where she sounds different every time. :xoxo:

She's obviously not going to sound the same on each song every time, especially when you're doing as much damage to your voice as she did. :shrug: To say that the songs sound different because she's singing them differently on purpose just doesn't make sense in the big picture. Maybe she did here and there, who the hell knows, she very well could have. But I attribute it to not knowing how to sing properly for years most of the time. Start collecting audio boots from the past thirty years and listen to them, it only becomes more obvious.

She had a different voice for each album. :laugh:

Amen!! Those shoes are incredibly hideous. I really have NO CLUE why she wears them. NONE. WHY STEVIE WHY?!!

Maybe she has a Napolean complex (who wouldn't with Mick Fleetwood around you 24/7?) and wants them for the added height. :laugh:

I would tend to disagree here... The timing thing is a major issue.. The Chain from the '82 Mirage show wouldn't have been anywhere near as powerful if the timing of the words had not differed from the norm. (I'm using blue for LB, red for Stevie) "and if you don't love me now" " you do not lovvvveee me nowwww" "you will never never never never love me again, I can still hear you saying" " hear you saying" "you will never break" "never break" "never break the chain" "Arrggghhhhhhhhhhaaaa"

That is the best performance of The Chain ever.

I love watching it, it's obvious that they were so wasted. The intensity of it is rather chilling. :nod:

On another note, I wasn't speaking of timing, I'm speaking about how she used her voice.

Yes the "intensity" and the "energy" but also the timing and the word play between the two singers..

I'm gonna have to award a tie between the two of you guys here... :D :D :wavey:

p.s I'm just listening to the Oakland 1982 show from the night before the famous LA gig and I have to say Stevie is playing with the words very differently right now during "Dreams" :nod:

If one considers spontaneity to mean different setlists every night of a tour, then, no, Stevie Nicks is not spontaneous. She's also not going to be very spontaneous in what she wears.

However, Stevie has been in the past... though less so now... vocally spontaneous. One can attribute that to drugs, but she wasn't coked out when she first joined Fleetwood Mac, and yet she was already singing things differently from show to show.

Her lyric changes have also often seemed more like a product of the song evolving as she goes through life, than stemming from an inability to remember the lyrics (though she has stumbled from time to time over the years -- which I'm sure all performers have).

Very, very few performers are wholly spontaneous... their in-between songs banter is often the same night after night, with only mild ad-libbing (Cher had Bruce Vilanch write most of hers! Bette tells similar jokes at similar points during her shows, etc.), or their dance moves are tightly choreographed, or they wear certain outfits for certain songs, etc., etc.

Even Lindsey's more "spontaneous" actions on the 'Say You Will' tour were the same night after night. We all knew he was going to "tusk" John and shadow-box with Stevie, we all knew he'd swing his guitar cord around like a lasso, we knew he'd dry hump some imaginary lover at the start of "Stand Back," and that he'd go down to the edge of the stage and let the crowd strum his guitar during the end of "Go Your Own Way", etc., etc.
We even knew he'd give his well-rehearsed speech about being spontaneous! :laugh:

But knowing what he'd do, didn't make it any less fun or exciting. :shrug:

I think Stevie is still a captivating performer, whether I "know what she's going to do before she does it," or not.
Plus, most people who attend shows don't attend multiple shows on each tour, or haven't attended a show at every tour Stevie/FM has done since they became a fan... so for them, familiarity has not bred contempt.

I certainly hope you are being facetious. If not, why don't we all get put to sleep at 49 ? Age is an excuse. I have an 87 year old friend who rows 2 miles a night, does 4 miles on a stationary bike as well, and she gardens. With 2 artificial hips. The exception ? Perhaps. She decided a long time ago she didn't want to slow down, and that's that. I hope I have half that enegry at 60.

:nod:

The "seniors" of today are not content to sit back and twiddle their thumbs anymore. New census reports show them migrating to the big cities (LA, Boston, New York, Chicago) and enjoying city life instead of going to places like Miami. It's changing the face of senior citizenship. ;)

I think the concept of performer is open as the ocean, and is strongly influenced from person to person by culture, personal tastes, desires, etc.

For me a real, unforgettable musical performer is an artist who has the talent to amaze me with his/her vocal ability, that doesn't have to be linked necessary to a wide range, but definitely to the use of his/her voice and stage persona:
1) to let the audience feel through the music, in the strongest way, emotions, sensations, memories, thoughts, or the blissful absence of them (that's equally important :p );

2)to bring me out of my everyday's life for a while, and at the same time making me part of a strong sense of belonging.

I consider Stevie Nicks, now more than ever, such a performer. :thumbsup:

Moreover, in this specific case, to be at one of her shows, would represent for me also, the chance to listen to one of the best songwriters around, but again, that's just my opinion. :)

Romy

But... I wonder if there was a time, during the onset of menopause, when she had to learn to adapt to the way her body was changing. A period where perhaps she had to learn how to work around new aches and pains, etc.

You know what I mean?

I'm suggesting that perhaps we're seeing Stevie in a transitional phase, as she's learning how to pace herself and work around fatigue and physical limitations.
I've watched as my mother and my aunts... who have all been very physically active women... have been going through that very same thing for the past several years now.
And I know they've talked about how my grandmother slowed down for a period around their ages, but then after she got through it, there was no stopping her again.

:rolleyes:

It was my british sense of humour coming through once more, unfortunately it doesn't translate as well on paper, and translates even less well in American circles.. Sorry for my wit.

Golf was invented for this very reason... Many think it was a sport invented in St Andrews, Scotland as a game of skill.... Nah... No no no no nooooo... It was really invented because when football, hockey, basketball and other energetic sports become a little too frantic for the human body to endure anymore, the joints etc... Golf becomes a healthy exercise of body and mind at a more accomodating pace... :]

It's great that an 87 year old is doing such physical things.. Great to keep physically sharp in the advancing years but I doubt she'll be doing the hundred in less than 13 seconds anytime soon :shrug:


I can't speak for you but I have no intention of being put down at 49, I also have no intention of playing football at running back at 49 either.. There are things you just don't do...

:wavey:

Excellent post.... hear, hear, Romy! :nod:

Not unless you want to be stiff and sore for five day afterwards, that is! :laugh:

You get that from being a running back at 29!!!!! :laugh: :laugh:

Truer words were never spoken.

Stevie may not be "spontanious" but she certainly has a magic or an energy that can not be put into words. It seems like Dissention is not capable of saying anything positive about Stevie- but that's okay. I think Stevie is the greatest performer of all time (and I know I am not the only one who thinks that) and I thank God that she is still touring and making records. Not to mention the fact that she still puts on a killer show and writes beautiful music today. I've only seen Fleetwood Mac four times but every single show was amazing and each one was a different experience. Stevie rocks, plain and simple. Maybe I am a tad obsessed with her but better to be obsessed with Stevie Nicks then say... Eminem (like so many people my age today are!)

Well...
 

I lost my ability to walk two years ago. Since, I have been working hard at physical therapy 2-3 times each week, relearning the nuances of balance and muscle control, etc. As such, I happen to notice people's gaits when they are walking...

On June 29th, I noticed that Miss Nicks has difficulty in getting around. I'm certain that drug abuse has done damage to her constitution. In fact, she walks not unlike my mother, a woman of the same age who has progressive multiple sclerosis. It amazes me that Stevie is able to get out and tour in the manner that she has.

When someone has trouble walking, they CANNOT wear just any shoes. The Reeboks are probably just the most comfortable and allow her to get around easiest; they are practical. Being able to wear attractive shoes and walk around well is, in my mind, a luxury. Whether one has to wear an orthopedic device while walking or plain athletic shoes while performing, it isn't much fun at all.

But that's just me...

-Justin

Hello, thank you! :xoxo: I'm one of the few who does not give a rat's a** if stevie wears boks. The shoes are not the show, my friends... :D

The shoes are not the show, the whole package is the show. And I, personally, am not a huge fan of her current show. The shoes are laughable, the clothes border on parody, besides for a few songs she's rather immobile, sometimes she doesn't even look like she's enjoying herself, and most of the time she sings rather listlessly. She's clinging onto the same image and display that she's been putting on for the past thirty years and she just can't do it justice anymore. Like I said earlier, there are ways in which to change that and for her to get all the magic back. If she can't sing the high-energy songs, don't. Break out some old songs that never saw the light of day that don't require you to strain for notes; make the show more intimate instead attempting to make it bombastic and failing. Wear simpler outfits and concentrate less on appearance and more on making a show special and not hurting your hip. She doesn't have to spin in circles or do high kicks, she needs to concentrate on the thing sthat make her great: the songs. Make everything else take a backseat. If you can't be like you used to be, don't try to be. Change stuff around and make it fresher. Who among us would be mightily disappointed to hear her do an acoustic version of Crystal instead of another boring retread of Dreams? Or how about hauling out Storms and singing it with nice harmonies from Lindsey instead of Don't Stop? Inject some vitality into it.

Preach it!
 

:rolleyes: mreow! hisss!! *spit*...

I'd rather hear Trouble myself. I thought BL and GI were both not done justice. Big Love would kick ass with the band version.

:shocked: :confused: :shocked: :confused:

I love them, especially Go Insane, but Big Love needs to hit the road or come back as a full-on band version. I'll gladly listen to it on The Dance or some bootleg if the mood strikes, but it's just clutter in the setlist. But, I guess it's Lindsey's Rhiannon. :laugh:

See, by limiting her stage wardrobe to one basic outfit with a few changed shawls, and by wearing her comfy shoes, I thought she was already doing that. :shrug:



Personally, I still feel that she's not "clinging" to anything, but rather she has evolved her stage persona in a way which retains elements and aspects of "Classic Stevie Nicks," but which deeply reflects where this 56 year old woman is in her life at this particular moment.

Just as they always have, her stage performances reflect her current life. There was a time when her life was crazy and out of control, and her stage performances reflected that. These days, she's older, wiser, more mature, and more reflective. She's also not as thin as she once was, she has aches and pains, some physical limitations, and just plain isn't as mobile as she used to be... but she's still up there on that stage relating her life experience to us.

She's not Cher or Tina Turner or anyone else -- she's Stevie Nicks. And this is Stevie Nicks' life at this moment, as she continues to adapt to growing older, and works through making her peace with that.

I think it's pretty cool that she's still allowing us to go along with her on the journey, rather than disappearing from the public eye for six or seven years while she goes through "the change" in private.

As always, some fans want to go along for the current ride, while others would rather sit this one out.

That's just my 2 cents. :)

I commented before the SYW tour kicked off early last year that I thought Big Love should have been played full electric like the original, I would love to hear that live.

I'm just rather puzzled by the comment that it wasn't done justice. :shocked:


The acoustic Go Insane is, IMHO, one of Lindsey's finest songs and should remain as it is.. Perhaps it is best left out of the setlist due to the fact it's a Lindsey solo piece and I seriously doubt it can be bettered after The Dance version..

I love big love only accoustic. I think it is more amazing that way. At least, I'm always amazed...

Yeah, that song's already been sung, just like my song has already been sung. :wavey:

I enjoyed the acoustic take on it for his 'Cradle' tour and 'The Dance,' but I would LOVE to see a full-band version now.
Acoustically, it is beautiful, and it's extremely impressive to watch him playing... but I think it would be so much fun to see them rock that one out.

Still, Lindsey says the way he plays it now reflects how he feels now, so I definitely respect that.

Nice post. Probably a better argument than my "Mreowr! hiss!!! *spit*" :laugh: :laugh: :wavey:

So Stevie Nicks and I are not allowed to repeat ourselves ad nauseum, but you are? ;) :p :laugh:

Respecting it and enjoying it are two totally different things.

I still enjoy it, though, but I do wish that they'd at least try it out as a full-band song for once. I think it would kick ass. I love hearing songs played that sound completely different from the studio versions. If only he'd haul out Tango In the Night, I'd have a stroke and none of you would hear from me again. ;)

My personal favorite is always, "saucer of milk to Table 6!" :laugh:

You're a slow learner, but when you get it, YOU GET IT. :p :laugh: :wavey:

Nah, I'm done with it, the whole discussion has become passe. You guys like her currently, I think she's a bore. Life goes on. :D

I think anything is a step-up from that argument. ;)

Dude, I'm starting a petition to Lindsey, ASAP!!! :laugh:

(That was JUST a joke, folks.)