"In the Back of My Mind" as a set opener
I was looking at some old setlists and was really surprised that by the end of the 1990 tour, the band would open with "In the Back of My Mind". Really odd and bold choice, it was a new song and not really a hit, it had Billy (still a relative newcomer to the band) as the primary vocalist, and it's a slower number too, much different in tone from previous openers like "Say You Love Me", "The Chain", "Second Hand News", or "Monday Morning". I'm wondering, if you were at any of those shows, how did that go down with the audience? Did it work as an opening number?
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The crowd roared. |
Everything you said about In the Back of My Mind is pretty accurate- it was a slower song, new, and spotlighted Billy. Still, as jbrownjr said, it really was a spectacular opening! The stage was obscured by a steel curtain, and as the long intro played, it helped to build up the excitement and had the crowd on their feet, trying to see through the curtain. Then as the vocals started, the curtain rose and everyone was already in place singing. It really was great. And Stevie and Christine were singing almost as much as Billy, just like on the Chain, so that probably helped. So even though it was a new song that most of the audience may not have been familiar with, it was dramatic enough that it certainly kept the audience engaged, that was for sure. And the segue into the Chain was seamless and just so natural. Man, I wish a live recording would be released as a Deluxe Edition!
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It was the PERFECT opener. The giant masks on the stage went up and slowly revealed the band. The song features 3 of the singers and its got everyone interested since its the opening number and then it goes into the Chain.
It also set the moment that its a new band with new members. Back in 1990 there was no internet so when you went to a concert you had no idea of the setlist. This song was one of my favorites from the album and I was floored and excited they opened the show it. The opening number gets everyone's attention. I have always believed a lesser known song should be the opener for that reason. Too many bands rely on their standard opener or hit for the first song. Fleetwood Mac is not known for change so this change was pretty cool IMHO. During this last tour, the band was rehearsing old Mac songs. I firmly believed the band should have come out and opened with the Green Manalishi and blew everyone out of their seat. That would have been so freaking cool. They could have played it like Judas Priest too. But we got the Chain (again) without Lindsey :( |
As a song, I almost feel like it was intentionally designed to be a set opener. Especially given that they abbreviated it a bit and segued it into The Chain, it really always sounded like it was perfectly placed in that slot. Unlike the middle of the set, you aren’t going to lose a lot of the audience to the bathrooms or beer line by placing an unknown new song at the top of the order.
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I think they did perform some surprises on their 2 tours- the first tour had Brown Eyes, Oh Well, Tear It Up, Stand Back, Has Anyone Ever Written Anything, Seven Wonders, Everywhere, Isn’t It Midnight, I Loved Another Woman, and Little Lies. Those were 10 songs that were either new, deep cuts, or never performed by the band before. I think for both tours, FM was trying to straddle the line- they had a new lineup that they wanted to spotlight, but yet still keep the fans they had who came to hear certain songs. This last tour had a lot of surprises initially, but audience reaction to the deeper cuts resulted in swapping out those songs for hits. As a fan of those deep cuts, I was bummed, but I understood.
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In the Back of Mind was amazing as an opener with the visual effects the song was tight, concise and featured enough of the vocalists that they pulled it off to great affect. I was in the front row at the Toronto (then Skydome) show and had chills. I played the song loud on my vinyl copy on my stereo too. Great memories.
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They even had to make Stevie sing a Crowded House song and Black Magic Woman to prevent people from running to the bathroom :lol: |
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The answer is the same reason Stevie came out to sing Don't Dream Its Over. |
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They did 'Love is Dangerous' from what I recall. |
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Also, as you pointed out yourself, Storms was dropped because of the lackluster audience response, and Stevie sang that song. So people probably went to the bathroom then as well. Yet people responded enthusiastically to Black Magic Woman, which Stevie sang. You make it a point to say that’s why Stevie sang it and not one of the new guys- but if the audience didn’t respond well to Storms, that shows none of the band members were immune to the ‘bathroom break syndrome’ as I call it lol. Isn’t It Midnight also got a tepid response when I saw them, which was insane because the band sounded great and it was a really uptempo song. Storms and Hypnotized, 2 of my favorite FM songs that I would have loved to have seen performed, were maybe too slow for the crowd, I don't know. My point is, there wasn’t a mass exodus for the bathroom whenever Neil took the lead... it really just depended on the song rather than who was singing it. At least that was my experience when I saw them live. |
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I think Stevie got bored of doing it in 2018. It really is a dull song. Even though Gypsy's done every tour, she can bop to it. Angel or Beautiful Child wouldve been better. I agree DDIO was loved by the crowds in the shows I went to. I Got You there may've been some people walking, but not sections of people! |
I remember them opening with In the Back of my mind in Pittsburgh. I absolutely loved it as an opener. I actually enjoyed the shows with Billy and Rick in the band. I remember at the time not being that upset that Lindsey had left the band. Probably because I was such a Stevie fan and Lindsey had made his choice. I would like to have seen a few more albums with Stevie, Rick and Billy. I think the music the band made on Behind the Mask was really good.
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Hoping Mick's ongoing Dadaism project sees more Rick/Bekka type collaborations. |
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Sadly if you remember, the arena had the entire balcony empty and they probably played to a house of about 9,000 people :( Trivia question: Do you remember who Stevie dedicated Landslide to that night? I don't remember the actual name but will give you credit who it was in Stevie's life. |
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I think, like most performers, Stevie reacts to the crowd. If the audience was digging Storms, than she reacted and responded to that; if the audience wasn’t digging the song, she probably got frustrated. I would say that’s what happened with Storms on the last tour. |
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DID I EVER REALLY CARE THAT MU-UCH? That song in 09 was worth price of admission. She also looked liked a Goddess in the red dress |
The Behind the Mask Tour was a fantastic concert for me. I was at the edge of my seat and even standing with the crowd with these song choices.
The crowd didn't seem to care about hits or not. They were just playing with so much energy and charisma that the audience responded. People are constantly smoking, drinking and going to restrooms during shows. It's. a rock concert. And like Mac said, Christine was the ring leader. She and Billy were driving the show. |
This thread had me curious about the setlist for the BTM tour, so I checked and was surprised to see that early on, FM only played 2 songs from that album- Save Me and Stand on the Rock. A few dates in, they added In the Back of My Mind near the end in this order- Landslide, Everywhere, ITBOMM, Stand on the Rock, Little Lies, and Stand Back. They removed ITBOMM from the setlist for a few dates and then in late July brought it back as the opener.
Finally, in November, near the last month of their tour, they added Love is Dangerous and Say You Love Me, but removed Save Me. The website actually says they performed Save Me through the end of the tour, but I was at the show in Cincinnati and I can say with 100% certainty they DID NOT. Notable takeaways; I’m surprised they started of the tour performing only 2 songs from the BTM album. Maybe the album hadn’t been released yet. Then they added the full version of ITBOMM midway into the set, which I’d love to see/hear. But even then, that was only 3 songs! Also, even after Skies the Limit was chosen as the second single, they didn’t add it to the set, another surprise. I’m also really surprised they even bothered to to tweak the set for the last month of shows by dropping Save Me and adding Love is Dangerous. I was thrilled I got to see them sing Love is Dangerous, but bummed to miss out on Save Me. They really should have performed ITBOMM, Save Me, Skies the Limit, Stand on the Rock, Do You Know, and Love is Dangerous. The section of the show where they performed Landslide would have been the perfect place for Christine and Billy to perform Do You Know. |
Save Me was swapped for Say You Love Me towards the end of the Farewell Tour. The Farewell Tour started in Gainesville Florida in mid October 1990 and finished in Oakland, CA. The American dates cancelled when Chris's father passed were made up during this time. Save Me is played in Gainesville (its on youtube) but when I saw the tour a month later in Pittsburgh, it was replaced with Say You Love Me. However, they still played the following songs from BTM: ITBOMM, Stand On The Rock, and Love is Dangerous.
For those who have not seen the opening when the masks come up and reveal the band, here is a good video from Miami that shows that. I hope no one was tripping on acid because those masks would terrify you. Clip also shows Save Me being performed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KuQ1uGMlZo&t=2s |
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I do remember I went to the bathroom during Go Insane in NYC 1997, because (though I like the song) it was the least interesting to me for a FM concert. And because of the several beers I drank. ;) The following concerts I went, I changed several beers for a few Chardonnays, and didn't miss any song. |
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I'm recalling people leaving their seats during Go Insane on Unleashed. |
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It is frustrating. I think Gypsy should have been in rather than Tell Me All the Things. Then we would've gotten both Storms and Gypsy. I miss Beautiful Child too. Such a great musical piece for a band to play. |
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When I go to shows in Nashville, I can walk to nearly any venue, so I pre party on whiskey(in a Gatorade bottle) while walking to the show. Walk in half lit, and you can sip on a tall boy for quite a while, thus lessening the pissing contest. :p #protips #themoreyouknow :D:D:D |
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"Gotta go?" "Let Er Rip!" $tevie going on about spirit catchers, and Lindsey blathering on about organic cycles??? "Just close your eyes, and enjoy your own warm juices!" "Pretend you're in the Army with $tevie, and you're dropping a deuce in the latrine with her, side by side!" "Think About It, think about it before you GOOOOOO!" ----------- This ad brought to you by $tevie Nicks' Depends. :D |
Or just dream that you're with MLK, you won't know them, but they will know you. :distress::distress::distress:
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