exactly.

yes, "I" may be there just for Lindsey, but if he started having diarrhea / vomiting spells and we haven't still heard third of the show, like Little Lies for example, i'd want Brett or Neale or Stan or all 3 to jump in and finish as much of the show as they can, if i'm already there, and not getting any refunds.

Stevie did Don't Stop for Clinton's party when Lindsey was unavailable and Christine was retired. was that disrespectful towards either of them and FM as a band and she should have just said no? (maybe. :lol:)

I'll be 45 years old in May. At my age, I wouldn't attempt half of the crazy s**t that I did in my 20's. Time and wisdom have taught me different. I can only IMAGINE what kind of reservations that I'll carry when I'm 70! Factor in the courage that whiskey and cocaine provide, and it's easy to see why the people in the video above are more than happy to "WING IT". I think we're forgetting that these folks are senior citizens age---even the cloud of ROCK N ROLL doesn't change that. I don't know that they do very much "winging it" these days.

A simple solution would be to refund the money, and do exactly as they did---finish with "GYOW" and "Songbird". With the number of dates they have scheduled, it would not hurt their pocketbook. BUT, AS FAR AS CARRYING ONE THE SHOW WITH IMPROVISATION AND "WINGING IT", I think NOT......especially in the age of social media. Videos of "WINGING IT" during "Say Goodbye" and unrehearsed acoustic renditions-----that **** would have been stamped on YOUTUBE forever!!! No thanks!!! I'm taking my platform boots back to the hotel for a nightcap.

that's what people seem to be saying. strange.

if Lindsey was out for a third of the show and i had the option of hearing some of Christine's songs that we normally wouldn't hear i would feel privileged that i witnessed that.

of course if they would unexpectedly add any Stevie's songs i'd be here complaining that i want my money back. :p but there's no worry about that happening cause she doesn't seems to know her words without teleprompter anyway. ;)

Basing ANYTHING on social media is almost a good idea.

Ticket sales have been stronger on this tour than the 2013 tour, so much so that they keep adding dates. Stevie was on the 2013 tour. What's different now?

i don't really get this argument. it's their job. if you are good at it, years of experience in your job make it usually much easier to wing it if something goes awry, since you know all the ins and outs much better than when you are first starting and inexperienced.

I don't have an opinion on what the band should or shouldn't have done, but I'm from the midwest/northern plains, and I will say that that flu wasn't anything to be messing with. I'm completely shocked that at his age, Mick was still trying to play. It wasn't just vomiting and diarrhea, we had a couple of elderly and a couple of toddlers die from it, and the local schools around here had both students and teachers alike home sick by the masses. Fever, severe abdominal cramps, chills, aches...but the dehydration and cramping were the worst. People just left moaning in pain from severe cramping...sad stuff.

The band came through the area up here at the worst time!

I've been reading people's comments on the band's Facebook page and am appalled at the lack of sensitivity and understanding about the band's need to cut the concert short. Many of you have made really good points and I agree with you. I think the band could have handled this a little differently--especially having their discussion offstage and taking a couple minutes to come up with a real plan of action (Stevie and Lindsey could have played acoustic numbers from BN that would have thrilled people). But, they're human and it's obvious that they panicked. If it was our good friend who was violently ill, most of us wouldn't be thinking that clearly in that situation either and it's much easier to second guess them now than what they went through in front of thousands of people.

Many of us will only see them once this tour, others can't afford to go at all because of the high prices in most of our cities and the prices have been 4-5 times higher in most markets than what people in Lincoln are complaining about. FM for $150? Do they even know what a great deal that is? Every band has an off night; this was FM's very off night. I think people need to just be thankful that the band is touring because this may be their last chance to ever see them again. Try to have some forgiveness and understanding. They are human, not robots.

I'm glad Mick is ok.


Most of the audience members probably take off of work for a mild cough and cost their company more money than they paid for
their tickets. So they need to shut the **** up and deal with the fact that not everything goes as planned!
Mick was a total trooper in my book!

If I was at that concert, I would be okay with the drum tech finishing the set. At least I'd get to see the other 4 members play.

i can't say anything about how the band or its individual members feel and whether they are entitled or not, but agree that many of their fans certainly seem to support the idea that the band should feel entitled.

Clearly, some FM fans think very little of the band's talents. Do you seriously think it would be that bad? I find this baffling.

Hey, that car you just drove off the lot stalled a couple of blocks away? Shut the **** and accept that not everything goes as planned. So what if you've already paid for it?

Good point. I don't know what the individual members think about anything. But they sure act like they are entitled.

When you think about it, the only member who would be hard to replace on the spot is Lindey. The backup guitarists could step in fro most songs but there are just some that would lose that essential Lindsey-ness. Now, if the show could go on without him, regardless, why not?

John's had someone replace him on stage, Lindsey has sung Stevie's vocals once or twice, and now we've seen that Mick can be easily replaced. it's not a big deal.

I agree that the flu is serious. Even a cold can be bad under the worst circumstance, because of the fluid back up and the strain of coughing, if you are unhealthy, a COLD can do you in, if you push your body too far. Michele

Whenever I have been unfortunate enough to witness someone throwing up, some odd feeling churns in my throat and the scent of their puke makes me feel like I'm gonna hurl. So just try to imagine if Mick hurled onstage and it splattered all over Lindsey's back and sputtered off the stage into the first few rows.After all, Mick is a tall man.That could have started a chain reaction of pukers throughout the arena. All those people who normally would have run to the bathrooms to purge their beer.Now that would surely be a youtube moment no one would ever forget. Chain keep us together. Indeed.:lol:

I think that's a very good point. They must have been very worried about Mick. They had to decide very quickly what to do, and they just weren't in the frame of mind to be able to step out of their comfort zone. I don't think it's right to be critical of them for how they handled the situation.

All I really care about is, I hope Mick is recovering from his illness (and I hope none of the rest of them catch it).

i re-listened to that video and finally heard what Lindsey said before GYOW: "we didn't wanna end on such a mellow note" (meaning with NGBA i guess).

i love that statement and find it interesting, especially because FM and LB solo always like to end with a really quiet, mellow song, something that was always puzzling to me (and different from most bands) even though i've heard their explanations of gently letting audience go.

Yes,Yes,Yes!I always have loved it when a singer/band messes up a little ,not if they're falling over from booze or whatever,but just human error.It makes the audience realize that they are human like everyone else and not just a star or "above" us.Maybe this band really does think they are above us,which would make a natural blunder TOTALLY unacceptable.

you have good points but this shouldn't have taken them by surprise. and they don't seem particularly panicked in that video. if they knew what he had there was no real reason for them to be either (although sensible thing would probably have been to cancel the show upfront but at the time that ship has sailed). if you took care of your kids or household members who fell ill from this kind of virus, you know how bad it can get, and also that it gets better as long as it's properly handled. :shrug:

i love that they had their discussion onstage - at least the audience got something different and special! plus many bands that vary their setlist discuss onstage which set of songs to do next - it's cool to watch.:thumbsup:

i think what many of us are saying is that they had a chance to step up and really show how great they can be in unexpected situation, and how much people would love that. but they just re-affirmed what many have been complaining about - being set-in-stone, non-spontaneous, rigid... which most fans are used to from them so they are grateful for any crumbs and fool themselves into thinking that most other bands would do even less... even when faced with the evidence that many bands reacted differently.

You go for the jugalar Elle!I'm a huge fan of hers(despite some of my posts),but that was some funny s**t right there:nod:

So right.It might not be the best but it would definitely sound good (or it should anyway).Could it be that they truly cannot perform their own damn songs without a gruelling rehearsal first,but can only play them in a "controlled" environment(studio)?I think that would have given them an even better review by critics,to show their true inherent musical talents,not to mention their outstanding troubleshooting and coping abilities in the face of subpar conditions.

LOL.That reminds me of the movie "Stand By Me" when the kid tells the story about the pie - eating contest and the "barforama".Of course,no one would want to "stand by" Mick........

They aren't panicked at all. I mean, this is what I thought when we saw the video of their show after we knew about John's cancer. The way they were acting, I thought that they must expect him to be just fine, because I've seen these band members be emotional and they weren't emotional. I feel the same way about Mick. I thought they felt it was an interesting turn of events, but overall they looked pretty darn happy.

I've seen Stevie cry at countless shows. I've seen Lindsey peeved at a venue (Chumash) and I've seen him almost cry dedicating a song to his family members. I saw Christine do the whole last half of the Dance looking somber and not interacting with them, the way she had the first half of the tour.

Compared to the way they have acted in the past when they are ruffled on that Lincoln video, they look pretty cheery to me. At the very least, they are matter-of-fact.

Michele

Well, just judging by the conversation the person that shot the video was having with their friend, the audience seemed game for them to continue the show without Mick.

Michele

such a nice thought: 2 of them touring intimate theaters and re-working songs together, acoustically. :nod: :thumbsup:

That would be the ultimate. I was always surprised the B/N didn't do something after Christine retired. But Christine and Lindsey really inspire each other in a way I never thought would ever resurface. I feel blessed to see them perform again in Los Angeles.

What is this comment? I speak for myself, that is what people do on a message board.

Well, you DID say "I don't think that anyone would want to see the band without her in it" which sounds like you're speaking on behalf of everybody else, even though there are fans who would prefer to see the band without her in it.

Bickering aside. Mick will be sitting front center tonight in Grand Rapids to bang his way through the night with happiness of fans along with him and the rest of the Mac.

Let me get this straight - - after 47 years of shows and concerts, this band had to cut one of them short? :shocked:

(Just something to consider. :) )


ps - Catching them @ Nassau Coliseum on Sunday! :wavey:

That is nothing more than my opinion, and clearly stated as such. Well, I honestly believe that at least 90% of the fans would much rather prefer FM with Stevie. The only FM without Stevie I would LOVE to see is the incarnation with Bob Welch.

If it were clearly stated as such, there wouldn't be a debate.

You initially said anybody, and now it's 90%, which clearly means that SOMEBODY would be okay with Fleetwood Mac without Stevie, which negates the comment "I don't think that anyone would want to see the band without her in it" because clearly there are some who would be okay with it.

Me too. I'd totally buy into that whole Stevie-witch thing if the Bob Welch version of Fleetwood Mac got back together.

Little late for the Bob Welch reunion.

Here is an article the local newspaper did on Steve, the drummer who did Go Your Own Way

http://journalstar.com/blogs/ground-zero/a-little-more-about-steve-the-substitute-fleetwood-mac-drummer/article_a7b4cc3c-1bbf-5563-b0fa-5b09b3887b6a.html

nice article, thanks for finding it! here's the whole text:


A little more about Steve the substitute Fleetwood Mac drummer

5 hours ago • By CORY MATTESON | LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR0

On Tuesday, Fleetwood Mac is scheduled to perform the band’s planned tour date in Grand Rapids or wherever. The next stop matters little to Lincoln concertgoers, who saw the show here cut somewhat short on Saturday night. But that wasn’t before the band brought out “Steve” to fill in for an unfortunately ill Mick Fleetwood on “Go Your Own Way.”

Steve performed admirably in Fleetwood’s absence, drawing a “Yay, Steve” from Stevie Nicks at the end of his “big audition,” as she called it. He also got some stray “Steve” chants at the end of the show from fans who perhaps hoped he could lead the band through the rest of the scheduled set. (You can hear concertgoers asking if he could keep playing during a fan recording of “Go Your Own Way” that has over 7,000 views on YouTube already.)

So who’s Steve? Steve is Steve Rinkov, and he’s been a drum tech with Fleetwood Mac for over a decade. He's also worked with Lenny Kravitz and Pearl Jam, to name a few. In 2004, Rinkov did an interview with Cheryl Ferguson on a public radio program about careers, “The Recruiter’s Studio” where he talked about inadvertently landing a drum tech job, and then a performing role with Fleetwood Mac. During Rinkov’s conversation with Ferguson, he also gave some insight into why he might not have been able to cruise through the band’s catalog on command this Saturday.

“You’re not there to play the instruments,” he told her, referring to band rehearsals. “Nobody wants to hear it.”

So the technicians aren’t forming Fleetwood cover bands when Mick, Christine, Lindsey, Stevie and John take tea breaks. But that doesn't mean Steve can't play some Mac. He backed Fleetwood on some songs during the show at the Pinnacle Bank Arena, as he has for years. And Rinkov told Ferguson that he was not nervous, but excited, those first times he joined the band on stage. Here's what Rinkov had to tell her about going from a drum tech to playing with the band years before he sat in for Mick at the head kit during the Lincoln show. (Here's the entire interview.)

“I was minding my business, I swear," Rinkov said. "I was just minding my business. Because you learn early on, you learn early-early on -- and if you don’t already know, someone will not be shy about telling you -- you’re not there to play. You’re not there to play the instruments. Nobody wants to hear it. Nobody wants to hear it.

"Our rehearsal days, the band would show up at, you know, noon to two o’clock in the afternoon and in some cases I’d be working with Mick, and the sound crew would have to be there until one o’clock in the morning. And the last thing anyone wants to hear is someone else banging away on a drum set or wailing away on a guitar when they’re just really not supposed to.

"In rehearsals one day, I swear I was minding my own business and we had done one small show for a group of Best Buy retail executives. And it was just 10 days into rehearsal that we’d done that show. And I think that’s when Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood heard me play drums. Because they walked in when we were soundchecking.

"About a week-and-a-half, two weeks later, they were rehearsing a song from the new album, from the 'Say You Will' album. And on that song, there are two drum parts that were recorded separately. And out of the corner of my ear, I swear I heard, what I had to question -- did I really hear it or not? -- I heard Lindsey say, ‘Well maybe Steve can just play that part.’

"And I’m typing away on my computer and I’m looking up and I’m thinking: ‘No. Back to work.’ And Mick looks over his shoulder and goes, 'Have we got any drums here?' We had every drum that Mick Fleetwood owned there. So I said, 'Yes we do, as a matter of fact.' And (I) probably was just finishing another word by the time I had the drums all set up and ready to go.

"And so that was it. That was one song. Within literally a couple of days, one song became two songs and two songs became three."

Ferguson then asked Rinkov if he was nervous about getting to play with the band as a backing drummer.

"No, no," he said. "Nervous wasn’t part of it. Excited. It’s a weird thing. Being nervous about playing drums is just something that has never happened to me. It’s never happened to me. The first show of the tour, which was Columbus, Ohio, which is where my father’s from. So my aunt is there. I have cousins there, And I’m at an arena that holds I think like 17,000 people and there isn’t an empty seat in the house. And I was excited. I wasn’t nervous at all. I couldn’t wait to do it and keep doing it. It was a blast."

Steve, if you see this, it'd be great to know how the brief starring role went for you in Lincoln.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7438 or [email protected]. On Twitter @LJSMatteson.

It is a great article. Steve seems like a character. I have never heard his speaking voice, but I can imagine what his speech pattern is just by reading those sentences and the repeated phrases. I am glad he has a role he enjoys in the band and that they recognized his skill even though he wasn't putting it on display. Michele

I wonder how he's making out tonight in Grand Rapids.

Any Ledgies attending tonights show.

There is no "Ill be there' thread started yet for the Grand Rapids show.

Is Steve's brief appearance on drums the first time ever that someone other than Mick Fleetwood played drums with Fleetwood Mac? (I mean, other than the backing drummers and percussionists they've been using for years.)

If so, this was truly a historic occasion, since Mick is the only band member who has been in the band from the very beginning and has played every gig.

Well, he did make it to the end this time, so I guess that's good? :lol:

http://onwiththeshow-bn.tumblr.com/p...robin-bartells
http://onwiththeshow-bn.tumblr.com/p...-c-mark-rendel
http://onwiththeshow-bn.tumblr.com/p...c-sabswill7596

[Mick often gets oxygen during a show, though. On one occasion in a high altitude, I saw Lindsey take oxygen onstage as well.]

Star Tribune, Jon Bream 1-19-2015

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/289080251.html

Drummer Mick Fleetwood acknowledged that he was feeling under the weather when he addressed the sell-out crowd Friday at the end of Fleetwood Mac’s concert at Xcel Energy Center.

Indeed, we heard rumors that he was getting an IV and oxygen before the show.

On Saturday in Lincoln, Neb., things didn’t go so well for Mr. Flu-wood. He began vomiting backstage. The show was curtailed by several songs, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

Here is what Kevin Coffey reported in the World-Herald:

“Mick is really sick. We don’t know exactly what to do,” Stevie Nicks said, adding that Fleetwood suddenly became ill and was throwing up backstage.

Set to play more than two hours, Fleetwood Mac cut its set short by eight of its planned 24 songs and finished almost an hour early with “Go Your Own Way” and “Songbird,” and they had to call on a drum tech to get behind the kit to finish.

“We’re so sorry,” Nicks said. “In all of our 40 years, this has never happened.”

“It’s really unfortunate,” Lindsey Buckingham added. “We’re really sorry, guys.”

Honestly, I still don't get people who don't care who plays drums at a FM concert or don't see Stevie as an integral part of the band, because she does not play an instrument.Why bother to see FM then in the first place? See a Cover band, it's cheaper and fun, too.