Some songs are available on AbsoluteRadio page: http://absoluteradio.co.uk/competiti...te-radio-live/

I've captured the stream. You can download it here: https://www.sendspace.com/file/tysk2t

1. Little Lies
2. Sisters of the Moon
3. Go Your Own Way

There's nothing like a festival to prove the relevancy of a band

This video is stellar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxca4Q88F70


With a crowd reaction like this... the FM train can go on for a long while yet...

These all kick butt- even SOTM.

I'd expect FM to chart well in the UK this week.
Michele- I guess you could expect a spike in Ledge member applications too.

Really pleasing to see- and that's just the opener.
That sort of reaction and atmosphere might even sway Stevie Nicks' decision making with regards to 2016.
Come on Stevie, you can be a big star and get to fly around in helicopters.

Now, a new album with a Glastonbury performance in late June 2016 please.

I would love them to be enthused by this and agree to a future Glastonbury appearance. I can only imagine what a high they must have been on coming off stage last night. Some of the pictures of the crowd floating around online are incredible.

Loved it! They especially Loved John's bass solo.

The Very best of has spent 3 consecutive weeks within the top 20 here in the UK. It's at #18 this week. :)

Could even push top 10 next week then.

This was fun and still hoping the videos pop up.

Of course they did. It is the part they know best, lol. Really, though, it made me laugh hard. Biggest sing a long of the night? :lol:

Wow, from 3:55 on, when John plays the solo, it get's EPIC! Great stuff.

Wow, Nicole, that F1 clip is fantastic. I love it!
Sorry for getting off topic. :D

:o . Me, too!

SIGH!

Did anyone else notice that Stevie wore a beret instead of the top hat? She looked great!

Yes I really like it - Nicole posted a photo of it....


We need more photo's like the 2nd one above :nod:

Despite the concerns about Christine's voice it sounds more like Lindsey who's hoarse.

I like how the camera pans back to look at the fireworks when the band is singing "Don't you look back."

They just told you don't look back.

Christine's definitely been more on point than Linds & Stevie on this tour. I guess 15 years of solitude had its perks. ;)

I wonder what the non/casual fans thought about 'I Know I'm Not Wrong' and the giant Lindsey head. I wish there was more footage out there from this concert.

was Stevie wearing her high heeled ankle boots?? thought she had that foot injury :shrug:

She's always been more on point.

yes, she had them on. At first I couldn't tell from the videos but she did wear them. And she managed to do some kick ass twirls during GDW!!

Fleetwood Mac Rebound From Illness to Close Isle of Wight Festival
By Jeff Giles June 16, 2015 9:51 AM


Fleetwood Mac have had to cancel some shows due to illness lately, but they didn’t name their latest tour On With the Show for nothing: In spite of rampant speculation that they’d be no-shows for their headlining slot at the Isle of Wight festival yesterday, the band took the stage and — by all accounts — delivered a triumphant set.

NME reports on the scene, starting with the cancellation of Mac gigs in Birmingham and Manchester prior to the festival, and describing the mix of anticipation and worry that ran through the crowd up until the moment the band took the stage.

A no-show would have been a disaster for festival organizer John Giddings, who admitted to the London Evening Standard that Fleetwood Mac were the “jewel in the crown” for this year’s lineup. “Getting them was a fantastic result. I’d approached them repeatedly and they hadn’t had much interest in it,” he explained. “They said they weren’t keen on playing in the open air, but they spoke to Tom Petty and the Kings of Leon, who said they had a great time at the festival. They managed to convince them.”

As you can see from the fan-shot footage above, Fleetwood Mac had no trouble running through a 20-song set that included a healthy selection of their greatest hits — and was punctuated with small asides from the stage such as the moment when Stevie Nicks dedicated the evening’s performance of “Landslide” to Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, saying, “Falling offstage, getting up and playing a two-and-a-half-hour set. I think that’s awesome.”

The band still has plenty of dates left to get through before the tour is done, and while they earned rave reviews for their Isle of Wight appearance, bassist John McVie echoed sentiments recently expressed by his fellow Fleetwood Mac vets when he told Mojo that he feels like the end might be near for the group. “How much longer can the Mac be a working band? Not much longer, for me anyway,” he warned. “It’s not the music – it’s the peripherals, the traveling.”

Joking that drummer Mick Fleetwood will “go on until they put him up against the wall and shoot him,” McVie expressed incredulity that the band remains such a popular draw. “I do flash on it, what must I f—ing look like, this old fart up there,” he continued. “But I look out and there’s kids, and kids on their shoulders now, and they all seem to be having a good time. It’s sort of worrying … Jesus Christ, will there still be a demand when I’m 75?”

Fleetwood Mac 2015 Isle of Wight Festival Set List:
“The Chain”
“You Make Loving Fun”
“Dreams”
“Second Hand News”
“Rhiannon”
“Everywhere”
“I Know I’m Not Wrong”
“Tusk”
“Sisters of the Moon”
“Say You Love Me”
“Big Love”
“Landslide”
“Never Going Back Again”
“Over My Head”
“Gypsy”
“Little Lies”
“Gold Dust Woman”
“I’m So Afraid”
“Go Your Own Way”
“Don’t Stop”


Read More: Fleetwood Mac Rebound From Illness to Close Isle of Wight Festival | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/fleet...ckback=tsmclip

JOE.co.uk
The website for British men
(I must check it out more often)

11 REASONS WHY FLEETWOOD MAC WERE THE SIGNING OF THE SUMMER FOR THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL

http://www.joe.co.uk/entertainment/1...-festival/5769

Fleetwood Mac saw the cheque (rumoured to be close to £1million) and came and conquered at the Isle Of Wight festival.
They've been releasing hits for 47 years but their headline performance on Sunday night was nothing short of magical.

It's the first major UK festival of 2015 and here are 11 reasons why JOE believes the Mac at Isle Of Wight is already the signing of the summer.

Over to you, Kanye...

1. It was was their first festival in 20 years, with Isle of Wight being their first EVER British festival.

2. Christine McVie returned to the band after a 16-year hiatus.

3. They helped restore IOW to its former rock glory of the late 1960s which saw Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix perform on the main stage.

4. 67-year-old Mick Fleetwood's hip thrusts.

5. There may be rumours of rows behind the scenes but they put on a united front on stage, holding hands and even throwing in a couple of high fives.

6. After cancelling two shows in Birmingham and Manchester, they made it back from illness to cap a great weekend.

7. They gave the crowd exactly what they wanted.

8. Lindsay plays the guitar like a bad-ass.

9. Stevie - still a mesmerising frontwoman and fashion icon.

10. They peppered the set with inspiration, Stevie saying: "If you have a dream, don't let anybody get in your way, go for it."

11. Mick's closing speech: "Take care of yourselves and more importantly take care of each other, we love you very much!"



I'm hoping the comment about rows behind the scenes is a general remark concerning Lindsey/Stevie/album stuff rather than anything specific concerning this concert.

Some footage;

I’m So Afraid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eQ9JYF8jJM

Big Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SArMkh99Fn4

Go Your Own Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_gdcRqJWRg

Landslide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKtG9hzaftQ

Little Lies (almost unlistenable with the bass but a great sense of the atmosphere)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k9Y0Xwmgbg

Everywhere (almost unlistenable with the bass but a great sense of the atmosphere)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0YU7vG5StY

Rhiannon (entirely unlistenable)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcRMDWpynTg

:distress: The last three videos were almost unwatchable as well. I was getting dizzy. At the concert, either make a video or dance to the music, but DON'T DO BOTH AT THE SAME TIME! And if you do, don't post it to YouTube!

given how hoarse Lindsey sounded at this show, maybe the canceled shows were due to HIS voice and giving it a rest in advance of this....

I wonder which ones were high-fiving each other.

Michele

By NME News Desk , June 15, 2015 11:33

http://www.nme.com/news/fleetwood-mac/86201

Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks dedicates song to Dave Grohl as band headline Isle Of Wight Festival Fleetwood Mac Tickets

Band made triumphant return from recent illness to close Sunday of the annual festival


Fleetwood Mac put illness troubles behind them to play a triumphant headline show at the Isle Of Wight Festival last night (June 14).

Despite pulling shows in Birmingham and Manchester in the run up to the festival, the full classic line-up of Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie made it to the stage for a rapturously received, 20-song set of classics.

Introducing 1975's 'Landslide', Nicks said, "I'd like to dedicate this to Dave Grohl." Referring to Grohl's recent fall at a Swedish gig that left him with a broken leg, she added, "Falling off stage, getting up and playing a two-and-a-half-hour set, I think that's awesome."

While Fleetwood Mac were the talking point of the day, other acts on the festival's Main Stage pulled in big crowds of their own.

Courteeners frontman Liam Fray used their set to apologise for their previous appearance at the festival, saying, "We've waited a long time to come back to Isle Of Wight, 'cos last time we were shocking. We were awful. So big thanks to John (Giddings, festival boss) for having us on and to you for watching. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?"

After politely introducing themselves to anyone in the crowd unfamiliar with their Swedish country folk, First Aid Kit's Soderberg sisters played a sprightly Main Stage set, including a cover of Emmylou Harris' 'Red Dirt Girl'.

With The Charlatans headlining the Big Top stage, singer Tim Burgess was a fixture on site all day. Once again taking over the Hey Joe marquee with his Tim Peaks stage. Burgess' guests included actor Paddy Considine's band Riding The Low and The View, who popped by for a short four-song acoustic set ("We're just making it up as we go along. It's too early!" joked guitarist Pete Reilly) before their lively Big Top performance.

Other acts going down a storm in the Big Top included teenage Merthyr Tydfil rockers Pretty Vicious, Ian Broudie's Scouse hitmakers The Lightning Seeds (whose unexpectedly massive crowd was backed up to the main arena) and returning power pop titans Ash.

Following Fleetwood Mac's main stage success, The Charlatans brought the music to a close in the Big Top with songs from current album 'Modern Nature' and much loved singles like 'One To Another', 'How High' and 'The Only One I Know'. Proudly announcing debut album favourite 'Sproston Green' as "The last song of the festival", Burgess and the band sent the capacity crowd home dancing.


Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/fleetwood-ma...RpMCzpFfu2U.99

Huffington Post by Rachel McGrath Posted: 16/06/2015 10:05 BST

Isle Of Wight Festival 2015 Review: Fleetwood Mac Triumph After Illness Following Blur's Glorious Saturday Set (PICS)

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015...p_ref=uk&ir=UK

Fleetwood Mac confirmed what many of us knew already at the Isle Of Wight Festival over the weekend. As they performed a stonking 20-track set, they reminded us all that yes, they are the festival booking of the summer.

There’s not one event organiser who wouldn’t want Fleetwood Mac topping their bill - and it’s no secret that Glastonbury’s Michael Eavis has been trying - but it was IoW’s John Giddings who managed to get Stevie Nicks and co to sign on the dotted line - and boy was it worth it.

While many acts impressed over the weekend, it was clear that for many festival-goers, it was all about Fleetwood Mac, who, thanks to the return of Christine McVie, are currently in their most authentic form possible.

After cancelling two gigs due to illness, the band were on fine form, and kicked off their set with ‘The Chain’, which is testament to just how brilliant their back catalogue is.

In the two hours that followed, the 5-piece smashed through their greatest hits, following ‘The Chain’ with ‘You Make Loving Fun’, ‘Dreams’ and ‘Second Hand News’.

Christine, who’s performed 90 shows with the band since returning after a 16-year hiatus, inspired a heartfelt singalong with ‘Everywhere’, before Stevie returned to centre stage, dedicating ‘Landslide’ to the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, following his recent on stage injury.

And if there was any doubt that this was festival history in the making, the band thanked the crowd and closed their set with the astonishing ‘Go Your Own Way’ and ‘Don’t Stop’.

Of course, it wasn’t all about Fleetwood Mac and there were plenty of other standout highlights during the weekend.

Christine McVie's return to Fleetwood Mac feels 'magical'

15th Jun 15 | Entertainment News Xpose

http://www.tv3.ie/xpose/article/ente...-feels-magical

The 71-year-old keyboardist returned to the band last year, 16 years after leaving, and now the drummer, Mick, has described having the band's most well-known line-up back together as being like a ''lovely fairytale''.

He said: ''We're enjoying what we're doing and of course it's unbelievably great to have Chris back, you know. Well it felt like a full circle. It's brilliant, and the lovely fairytale is that she really came back and we don't really stop until December 2015. We get a little break after this tour.

''It's more magical and appropriate than you could ever think and imagine for us.''

The 67-year-old musician was speaking at Isle of Wight Festival, which they flew into in a large helicopter after making a deal with the event's organiser John Giddings to secure the ''biggest helicopter'' in the festival's history, which made him remember how far they have come as a band.

Talking to Absolute Radio's Sarah Champion at the Isle of Wight Festival, he explained: ''There was about 18 people in it and it freaked me out that so many people could be in a helicopter. It was actually like a reminder of when Fleetwood Mac first started to really get off the ground, so to speak, in a big way. We didn't really realise what had happened to us in the United States after the advent of 'Rumours' and we were helicoptering in which was our first time that we'd ever done that, to a festival in Texas. It was at that moment out of a helicopter, like the Isle of Wight that you look down and you think to yourself, 'Wow that's a lot of people'.

''So all these years later to be in a helicopter and coming in and seeing a cartload of people is super gratifying and inspiring.''

17 Moments At The Isle Of Wight Festival That Kick Started Summer 2015

FLEETWOOD MAC. Nuff said.

.By Sophie Tighe | omg – Mon, Jun 15, 2015 15:52 BST Yahoo UK

https://uk.celebrity.yahoo.com/gossi...145235538.html


Summer is here, which means sipping cider in a pub garden, marvelling at the cost of a 99 Flake these days and of course FESTIVALS!

Here in the UK we’re spoiled when it comes to festival fun thanks to Glastonbury, Bestival, Reading, Latitude, Secret Garden Party but this year we decided to kick things off with a trip down to the legendary Isle of Wight.

Celebrating 45 years since the one and only Jimi Hendrix took to the stage in Newport, this year’s line-up had to be seen to be believed.

Here are 17 of the OMG moments that made our festival.

1. Getting totally washed out on Friday night watching The Black Keys but getting our groove on just the same.

2. Losing our minds dancing to The Prodigy who, by the way, don’t seem to have aged a day in 20 years.

3. Fresh, hot doughnuts at 1am to recover from some epic raving

4. Waking up to a flat white from Smiling Eyes coffee company every morning. Yes, they were worth the queue.

5. Adopting Jessie Ware as our new spirit animal. From the sleek styling to that voice, Ms Ware is our new soul sister.

6. Ciders in the sunshine listening to James Bay kill it.


7. When Blur frontman Damon Albarn admitted he’d lost his voice the day before and thought he wouldn’t be able to make it but battled through like a trooper, drinking what looked like honey and lemon the whole time.

8. Singing along to ‘Girls and Boys’ like it’s 1994.

9. Looking at the line-up and feeling like you’re in a time warp. Blur, The Prodigy, The Lightning Seeds, The Charlatans. Clearly it’s not just 90s fashion making a comeback.

10. Steak sandwiches fresh off this bad boy. YUM.

11. Watching Paolo Nutini whip the ladies into a frenzy with his dulcet tones and impressive chest rug. Overheard: ‘JUST GET IN MY BED!’

12. A-mazing burgers from Kua’Aina, who made the trip all the way down from London. Cheers lads.

13. FLEETWOOD BLOODY MAC.

14. Being in the presence of the woman, the legend Stevie Nicks

15. The Chain, You Make Lovin Fun, Go your Own Way, Rhiannon, Everywhere. Too many hits to name.

16. Stevie Nicks dedicating Landslide to Dave Grohl, who broke his leg on stage in Sweden on Friday but still played a two-and-a-half hour set.

17. Perfectly timed fireworks for Fleetwood Mac’s encore, Don’t Stop, rounding off a pretty perfect festival.

Virtual Festivals, June 15, 2015

http://www.virtualfestivals.com/latest/news/15511

Fleetwood Mac made festival history by closing the final night of the Isle of Wight Festival 2015 - their first UK festival appearance in more than a decade.
.
Ending days of rife speculation, Mick Fleetwood walked out on the Main Stage at Seaclose Park with an expression that seemed to say ‘what were you so worried about?’.

Cancelling two shows earlier in the week due to an undisclosed illness within the band, it was only fitting that Fleetwood Mac closed this festival with all the talk and Rumours centred firmly around them.

Show 90 of the world tour and the full Fleetwood touring machine didn't seem at all tired through the process. Dressed in the gothic black and trad-folk threads we’ve come to expect, Fleetwood Mac appear exactly as you’d expect and sounded even better. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham walk out hand-in-hand to a vast sea of flailing arms and cheering fans.

The reception for opener 'The Chain' was perhaps the loudest Isle of Wight Festival has ever witnessed and surely got the sound monitors flickering.

"Welcome back Ms Christine McVie." Nicks said, beckoning over to the newest addition of their touring band, sat behind the keyboard. "Let's get this party started."

McVie - once the missing piece of the seminal Fleetwood Mac line-up - is utilised to the fullest tonight and, beyond anything else, allowed the island festival to enjoy a sing-along to ‘Everywhere’ and ‘Little Lies’.

"It's safe to say we're not just pleased to be here tonight, we're thrilled to be here!" Lindsey reassured the crowd, doing his best to not look too enthused by the whole process.

Watched on by Geri Halliwell and Ronan Keating, Fleetwood Mac's two hour headline set seemed to race along, leaning heavily on Fleetwood Mac's 1975 self-titled record, 1977’s ‘Rumours’ and 1979’s ‘Tusk’.

Dedicating 'Landslide' to a recently incapacitated Dave Grohl, it seemed an odd tribute but everything about the huge headline spectacle seemed bizarre tonight. Rarely a band for a stand-up crowd, Fleetwood Mac worked the additional numbers perfectly, switching between lead roles, they gave everyone from the front barrier to the rear fairides a moment to take home as their own.

The encore, cut down from the traditional tour setlist - perhaps due to overrunning on the festival's curfew, was a crowd-pleasing rendition of ‘Don't Stop’. A rather apropos title for the closer which saw so many hanging around just hoping, believing that Fleetwood Mac would never stop.

Fleetwood Mac’s headline set brought to a close of weekend of live music at Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight which has featured sets from The Prodigy, Blur, The Black Keys, Pharrell Williams, Paolo Nutini and James.

Another positive review from the NME. I don't know, I'm sure I can remember the NME (or maybe it was the now-defunct Melody Maker) wrting in circa 1989 in reference to a Stevie album review "and Fleetwood Mac should be shot in the back of the head" Maybe they just didn't like Vito and Burnette ;). Weird though. It proves that if you hang around long enough you'll win everbody around. It's getting hard to find negative press about them at the moment...

http://www.nme.com/blogs/festivals-b...-of-wight-fest

As fresh-faced festivalgoers headed to the Isle Of Wight earlier this week, on the ferries and the buses conversations between strangers kept starting with, "So, who are you looking forward to this weekend?" Nine times out of ten, the answer was Fleetwood Mac. And then a hesitant voice sitting nearby would pipe up. "Er, did you hear they cancelled a show in Birmingham last night?" and all manner of gasps, wailing and mutterings of refunds would follow.

Let's face it, it's been a bad week for the Mac. The band cancelled the second of two dates at Birmingham's Genting Arena on Tuesday (June 9) just hours before showtime, due to unspecified illness. Assurances were given that Friday's Manchester Arena show and this weekend's Isle Of Wight slot, the band's first UK festival appearance since singer and keyboardist Christine McVie rejoined after 16 years' absence, would go ahead. And then, on the day of the Manchester show, that too was pulled. Not postponed but definitively cancelled. Backstage at a rain-lashed Isle Of Wight, there were some very long faces indeed.

As festival boss John Giddings had admitted, a lot of money was put on the table to convince the group to play Isle of Wight Festival rather than, as had been rumoured earlier in the year, Glastonbury. The band were this year's prize catch and - no disrespect, Blur and Prodigy - the main draw at this year's event. Out on the festival site, Fleetwood Mac t-shirts with 'On With The Show' written across them hung from the merchandise tents and fluttered in the wind. Fans prayed that'd be the outcome, but hopes were fading.

Two days later, the sun is brighter and so is the festival mood. At 2pm on the Sunday, the festival Tweets a picture of the just-arrived Fleetwood Mac truck. At least their gear is on site. Those still sober enough to be checking Twitter breathe a sigh of relief. Still, as their scheduled stage time comes and goes, even the sight of the band's arsenal of instruments and an army of roadies doesn't entirely convince us somethings hasn't gone awry at the last minute.

Finally, nearly quarter of an hour late and just as the crowd are getting restless, booing the umpteenth film trailer on the big stage screens, out step founding rhythm section Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, followed moments later by Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham, smiling and waving. The full famous five, seemingly fit and well and getting into gear with 'Rumours' classic 'The Chain'.

Throughout the 20-song triumph of a show that follows, there's no mention of their troubled week. Stevie Nicks points out that this is the 90th date (and first festival appearance) of their tour but isn't apologising for fatigue. Instead, the whole band appear energised. She dedicates 'Landslide' to Dave Grohl ("Get better Dave!") following his recent serious onstage fall but makes no slips herself as the group power through joyous renditions of 'Second Hand News', 'Dreams', 'Rhiannon' and more. There's powerful outings of 'Everywhere', 'Little Lies' and 'Go Your Own Way', and by the time they leave the stage two hours later, a final encore of 'Don't Stop' followed by a loving farewell speech from Mick Fleetwood himself, all the week's troubles are forgotten.

After those cancellations, and the speculation that followed, for a time it looked like Fleetwood Mac's UK festival return might never happen, or worse yet - happen, but be a limp affair, sluggish with illness. Instead, it was a unarguable success that showed the band as the hit-after-hit crowd-pleasers they are. With a string of more UK dates ahead, hopefully the band's recent troubles are behind them. On with the show.

Stuart Huggett

^^^ That's a great review! The UK loves the Mac right now.
So excited to be seeing them again on Monday :D

Contact Music Isle Of Wight Festival - 2015 Live Review

http://www.contactmusic.com/isle-of-...-festival-2015

By Jim Pusey on 16 June 2015

It's perhaps fitting that my prevailing memory of this year's Isle of Wight Festival will be guitars. This was after all the 45th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix's legendary performance on the Island, something that was being widely celebrated by festival organiser John Giddings and his team across the site. Fender, for example, brought some specially designed guitars to the party for artists including You Me At 6 to play, and there was also a world record attempt for the most number of people in one place to be wearing a mask, the face in question was naturally Hendrix himself. Despite that backdrop, it was some of the guitarists who played across the weekend that demonstrated the power of the instrument and reinforced that guitar based rock isn't on its last legs as some have speculated over the past few years.

The festival got into full swing with a Stones-esque swagger on Friday afternoon when The Struts took to the Main Stage. Their enthusiasm signalled a continuation of their set from the previous year's festival, indeed they are an ideal opening act when you want to energise a crowd. Their appearance at Download the following day, will no doubt have had a similar effect. There seemed to be a Rolling Stones theme to many of the acts getting the festival underway. Over in the Big Top The Ruen Brothers covered 'Miss You' during their rousing set that was well received.

The first moment that sent a shiver down my spine this year was the Counting Crows though. The guitar line to 'Round Here' sent a wave of excitement across the main arena. It was a strong opening statement in a nine song set that featured the likes of 'Mr Jones', 'Miami', and 'Rain King' into which singer Adam Duritz dropped some Elbow lyrics as a nod of the hat to Guy Garvey. If Counting Crows' guitars weren't haunting enough, it was actually The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach whose riffs were the most powerful and elemental of the day. The dirty Blues grit of Auerbach's playing was like a roll of thunder that saw the heavens open to drench the crowd in torrential rain. While much of the set was dedicated to material culled from 'El Camino' and 'Brothers', rather than recent record 'Turn Blue', the band's graduation to a headlining slot was well deserved and warranted. The final song of the set 'Little Black Submarines', which builds from a delicate solo performance to a dramatic climax, utilised every trick in the book for The Black Keys' expanded touring band. If Patrick Carney's drums and Auerbach's guitars are the perfect union on record, it seems their live shows rightly now have the power to command top billing with the inclusion of bassist Richard Swift and keyboardist John Clement Wood.


The rain may well have seen audience numbers for Groove Armada's appearance in the Big Top swell, but The Prodigy certainly took the prize for battling the elements. Keith Flint menacingly prowled around the stage for a set that was book-ended by well-known tracks from 'The Fat Of The Land'. Far from being a nostalgic trip down memory lane, a fair amount of recent material from 'The Day Is My Enemy' featured in-between, which fuelled a rallying mood amongst the crowd against the rain. A rare live outing for 'Ibiza' from that recent album, and an encore featuring a climactic 'Take Me To The Hospital' certainly stood out as high points.

With the rain failing to dampen spirits, Saturday brought the best moments of the festival. Blur's Graham Coxon took the prize for hero of the weekend in my book. His guitar work on stage was impeccable, injecting a spiky and Punky edge into a set perfectly balanced between new material ('Lonesome Street' went down a storm), the hits (Phil Daniels turned up for 'Parklife'), and the more obscure cuts ('Trouble In The Message Centre'). While Damon Albarn wasn't short on charisma, he admitted that he'd been struggling with a sore throat. Coxon's efforts made up for any problems Albarn was experiencing and his spirited guitar work seemed to channel the ghost of the ever-present Hendrix at times. This is the best evidence yet that the rejuvenated Blur are at the height of their powers, the camaraderie between all four members was palpable, and judging by this performance Coxon has earned his place as one of the best guitarists on the circuit today.

Earlier in the evening, Stiff Little Fingers had also channelled the spirit of a different icon, Joe Strummer. Their set in the Big Top had started with some cuts from their early records, before the appreciative audience were treated to an explosive version of 'Strummerville', as the song came to a conclusion with the familiar strains of "Clash City Rockers" ringing around the tent, it was obvious this would be a performance to remember. However, on the Main Stage, Pharrell Williams was also putting on a memorable show. As you'd expect, his set included 'N*E*R*D' material, alongside covers of Daft Punk, and Gwen Stefani. Not one to be left out of the Hendrix celebrations, Williams also got his guitarists to cover 'The Star Spangled Banner' and 'Hey Joe', before launching into an encore that featured both 'Happy' and new song 'Freedom' which threatens to be just as big a hit. That he invited children being helped by charity WellChild on stage for the encore just added to the party atmosphere.

It wasn't the first time audience members had been on stage on Saturday though. James' performance was heavy on new material, leaving some disappointed to find this wasn't going to be a traditional crowd pleasing festival set. Opening with 'Sit Down' was certainly a good start, but the crowd reaction seemed somewhat subdued until 'Come Home' and 'Laid' made late appearances. The latter saw an impromptu party on stage as frontman Tim Booth beckoned punters up to dance around the band.

If James left the audience a little cold, James Bay's earlier performance had certainly cemented his place amongst the big names on the bill. The 24-year-old had the warmest reaction of the day aside from Blur and Pharrell Williams. That this is one of his first big festival appearances of the summer bodes well for him considering he has just a handful of releases under his belt. Talking of promising talent, Sunset Sons were a welcome surprise in the Big Top during the afternoon. The band who have just been announced as the support for Imagine Dragons gigs at the O2 in November, are still working on their debut album, but if their brand of Indie Rock is as infectious in the studio as it is on stage, that album could be a real treat. Not everyone in the Big Top had a good afternoon though. Chicks On Speed suffered deafening feedback on a number of occasions, which understandably knocked their confidence. That half the audience walked out in confusion and terror from the Noise Pop they were hearing seemed disappointing, perhaps their performance of 'We Don't Play Guitars' had gone against the prevailing mood of the festival and angered the spirit of Jimi Hendrix that was hovering over proceedings. Certainly, their cover of Talking Heads' 'Burning Down The House' was a saving grace for those that stayed.

The Big Top continued to provide some welcome surprises on the Sunday, with Aussie six-piece band Sheppard putting in a strong performance. It's little surprise that their debut album 'Bombs Away' has garnered such a strong following in their native Australia. A year after its initial release, it's now being rolled out worldwide. This was one of the first times that festival goers in Europe have been able to a get a glimpse of songs like 'Geronimo' in a live setting and it's been well worth the wait. The catchy melodies and loud guitars that anchor their high-octane Pop bode well for their future success. You'd perhaps not expect it from a band finding their feet, but the cover of Wheatus' 'Teenage Dirtbag' that was included certainly gave the original a run for its money.

In honesty though, the laid-back mood of many of the Sunday artists was most pronounced on the main stage. Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson may have divided opinion with his flute playing, but Imelda May and Sweden's First Aid Kit certainly won over the crowd. The latter dedicated a song to Emmylou Harris ahead of the Polar Music Prize in their home country this week. For many in the crowd, it was a pleasant surprise that their mix of Folk and Country carried enough weight to justify their Main Stage booking. Someone who had little to prove though was Paolo Nutini. On the back of the success of his third album, he could have comfortably headlined the day, and I'm in no doubt that if illness had continued to plague the Fleetwood Mac camp he would have. Nutini is an impressive showman and his re-workings of his earliest hits like 'Jenny Don't Be Hasty' certainly show how far he's come in the last decade. For many I think he will be high on people's list of festival favourites after this show, with an acoustic version of 'Last Request' receiving a thunderous reaction at the end of the set.

Finally then, Fleetwood Mac underlined the importance of classic guitar riffs to this year's Isle of Wight festival. Lindsey Buckingham jokingly loosened up his hand before some of his more athletic playing; he seemed to embrace that irony with the spirit of Hendrix hovering over the event. From the opening salvo of 'The Chain', 'You Make Loving Fun', and 'Dreams' there was hardly a moment not to sing along to. Christine McVie seems to be relishing her chance to sit at a piano and play these classic songs again, and aside from one new track, this set-list was all the hits you could have wanted. A final encore of 'Songbird' may have been missing, but certainly the acoustic versions of 'Landslide' (which Stevie Nicks dedicated to Dave Grohl's broken leg) and 'Big Love' provided the real heart to the show.

As the fireworks went off at the conclusion of Fleetwood Mac's set I realised that the past two hours had been the only real patch of nostalgia I'd experienced all weekend. Looking at the line-up and seeing names such as Blur, The Prodigy, and James, I'd been expecting a weekend of nineties showboating. None of the acts really relied solely on their established hits to coast through their sets though. Aside from Fleetwood Mac (where you're really looking for the hits), everyone had made a point of featuring newer material rather than leaning on tried and tested songs. That's a good thing and shows that the Isle of Wight Festival has found a good mix of acts to draw the biggest crowd possible to keep the event as an ongoing concern nearly fifteen years after it was re-launched. The performances of the likes of Graham Coxon, Lindsey Buckingham, and Dan Auerbach certainly celebrated the heritage of the festival with acts like Jimi Hendrix and by extension his electric guitar casting a long shadow over proceedings. At one point Pharrrell Williams urged the crowd to point to the sky as a tribute to the great guitarist, after what I've seen this weekend, I'm pretty sure Jimi Hendrix will have been looking back down on the crowd and smiling.

Jim Pusey

**** (Four Stars) June 17, 2015 The Scotsman

http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/mu...ydro-1-3804395

Gig review: Fleetwood Mac, Glasgow SSE Hydro

ACCORDING to the traditional concert closing remarks of Fleetwood Mac’s resident ringmaster Mick Fleetwood, “the Mac is most definitely back” - and now these MOR giants come with added Christine McVie.

The singer/pianist has rejoined the line-up after a sixteen-year absence and immediately made her leavening presence felt on the close harmony of opening number The Chain.

Her simply stated love songs, such as the sweet, girlish Everywhere and mellifluous Little Lies, made a welcome comeback to the setlist, providing a charming contrast to Stevie Nicks’ more melodramatic, impressionistic numbers - though the absence of Songbird from this show’s setlist was a great shame.

The eternal hippie chick Nicks was in her theatrical element, donning a black feathery shawl for extra gothic ambience on Rhiannon – though it hardly needed an atmospheric boost with Lindsey Buckingham’s burnished guitar and the ethereal harmonies as embellishing features.

Buckingham, meanwhile, was energised throughout, limbering up those fleet fingers to deliver an athletic, acoustic Big Love which climaxed with a primal yelp.

The eccentric tribal Tusk was another cathartic highlight.

The former couple cleverly traded on their volatile chemistry with a joint rendition of Landslide but were given too much hammy latitude on Gold Dust Woman and I’m So Afraid.

The band pulled back from the brink of indulgence with Go Your Own Way and heeded their own advice on Don’t Stop.

Both hits were the product of inter-band break-ups, yet here they are forty years on, still singing that universal rock soap opera.

The 8 best things we saw at Isle Of Wight Festival

Gigwise Wednesday 17th June 2015 by Alexandra Pollard

http://www.gigwise.com/reviews/10120...ac-the-prodigy

With Blur, Fleetwood Mac + First Aid Kit in the rain and shine

3. Fleetwood Mac

It feels churlish, to say the least, to criticise Fleetwood Mac for being too popular. Sadly though, the exceedingly busy crowd (probably the size of the previous nights' crowds put together) meant that, at times, it was a struggle to hear much more than John McVie's growling bass notes. After several attempts to change crowd positions to improve matters ended unsuccessfully, we were forced to accept, and even enjoy, the sound of 50,000 tuneless fans singing loudly over what sounded like someone's Fleetwood Mac ringtone.

The gentle nuance and rich gravel of Stevie Nicks' voice in songs like 'Landslide' became a muffled sludge, but they set off a heap of fireworks during 'Don't Stop' as the set neared its end, and for a moment, nothing had ever felt more special.