Lol the band just starting the song while she was about to restart rambling is priceless. Like the music playing at the Academy Awards during a long speech 🤣

I try to remember these people are old now but this is what lacks in live performances today. Not just Stevie, and not just the old farts either…so much is preprogrammed and over rehearsed that you miss all of the spontaneity that used to slip into live performances. Stevie’s randomly odd vocal inflections, wails, and woahs used to add a lot to the performance. Today you’d be lucky to get a random “well”

Good lord she's speaking in tongues.

Haha, yes jmn3. So true.

When you start playing with tracks, SPONTANEITY IS OVER. You can't really improvise, or let the song breathe... tracks were the end of live bands being great.

But hey, we kinda sound like the record now! :mad:

Wow that audio is really good!

I would love to talk to her band off the record and the challenges they faced with her behavior during that tour. In Largo during If Anyone Falls she tells the crowd "they just play until I start" meaning she is not going to start singing when she's supposed to start singing.

In Cuyahoga Falls, OH during How Still My Love right before the second verse she goes and into the audience for a hat that she puts on her head. Her band actually slows the beat a tad so she can make it back to the microphone on time to start the second verse.

They were improvising every night it seems.

Especially as a band. Because now you're just memorizing instead of playing off someone else. (who's also memorizing in today's world).

The amounts of improv that Mick, Lindsey, and Christine, (and even John sometimes) played back in the day make those performances priceless.
How the hell do you expect to stay fresh?

Yes. While live and not lip synced like Tango there was still major editing on the Mirage shows. Sisters is spliced together near the end. Stevie almost gets to the microphone late on Gypsy during recording. But its real, not staged and used primitive editing effects.
The US Festival was really sloppy for a reason.
Funny because on the clip that David posted Stevie is still yacking what she forgets to get running back to her "tent." She went on about this during the US Festival in 1983. Its like almost unconsciously she knows she cant control her urge for another bump and makes up stories to tell the audience over and over. First it was a brush and then she forgot something else.
On the rock album countdown (in the early 80s on radio) she was asked why she spends so much time back stage at Fleetwood Mac shows. She said she was breathing steam for her voice. :lol:

Like in Crocodile Dundee!!

I see your point. I do like when artists say some few words, it feels they want to connect with the people or at least enjoy performing. Donna Summer used to do that, and she was very charismatic. Roger Waters too, though sometimes he was too political for my taste. But Cher didn't say a word beyond Thank you when I saw her. It felt too cold.


2014 was the last time I saw Fleetwood Mac, and though I liked the intro words Stevie said before Gypsy, at the end of the show she make a loooong speech that frankly I didn't even hear, I was more interested in leaving quickly to avoid traffic as much as possible. Besides audio wasn't that good so I barely understand half of the words she said. It was good at first but then I wanted to tell her Get a life.

I'm sure it wasn't like this every night, but there must have been nights where Chris and John were sitting on that amp together and one of them mutters to the other "oh jfc, here we go again"

We'll never know, but lordy there must have been some funny exchanges between those two on that amp.

Anyone else notice how quiet that crowd was while she was talking? that would NEVER happen at any concert these days.

I'm with you here. When it's just a run through the setlist with no audience interaction, it seems cold and disconnected. When the gap in music goes on for too long, however, the result ends up being the same. Gypsy is a 4-minute song, it doesn't need a 4-minute introduction. It's different if it was in a small theater and more of an intimate Storytellers type show. In an arena or stadium, at some point, it's just like, shut up and sing the damn song already.

I wholeheartedly believe this. Chris was probably like "how the hell long has this crap been going on?" and John was just like "meh..Chris, you know how much we're taking home tonight?"

I agree; I love when the artist communicates!!

We haven't played anything from Tusk yet so, ... try some out tonight for you, actually this is the first track on side one, and it's called Over and Over...

vs.

When I wrote this song, it was 1978 and Schhhevie was standing next to me. Well her presence made me automatically more talented by osmosis. Her chiffon happened to brush against me and I instantly knew how to play keyboards and sing better... Then in 1980..... (4 more minutes) ... and it's called Over and Over featuring Stevie on tamborine...

I want to punch the second one. STFU!