Blue Letter - Mirage Tour 1982
 

While grazing over the videos at youtube.com (which I discovered on this site - thank you!), I viewed the Mirage 1982 tour concert performance of "Blue Letter".

I don't want to drudge this stuff up - but it so intregal to the Rumour lineup's history - but - when you take a look at this - does Lindsey really look incredibly angry at Stevie? I've never seen such contempt in his eyes when he looks over to her. It seemed that she missed the cue for the harmony on "red bird, don't say you told me so..." with Christine lip synching it awkwardly... I wonder if I'm just getting too caught up in their drama and seeing something that's not a big deal - or if this is outright anger...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10hIy...Stevie%20Nicks

i dont see it personally...:shrug:
ive seen him give worse looks...

I think many viewers concoct drama & ascribe emotions to the performers that probably aren't there -- at least not as often as the viewers suppose.

I don't mean "you" personally, boots, but "you" in general. If you stop to think about what you're saying, & carry through on the implications & lay out all the logistics, it's pretty wildly fantastic. Viewers are always saying they think so-and-so is angry at such-and-such, & it might be true that, at that very moment, the camera caught someone getting pissy. But put it all into context. The band was on tour, performing these songs -- essentially the same way -- night after night for several months. Have you ever had a photograph taken of yourself in a candid moment, & had others say that you looked mad or sad or uptight or bored or something else, when you had no recollection of actually feeling any of that at the time?

If we stuck you in Fleetwood Mac in 1982 & put you up onstage with them for every night for a month or two, it's really unlikely that you would be exhibiting some grandly operatic emotion, visible on your face, each time the camera happened to catch you. Do you see what I'm saying? These guys are up there doing a show, playing instruments & singing, trying to keep a song together so that 20,000 people don't witness a musical catastrophe. The idea that they're up there sniveling & snarling in front of a camera, like soap opera characters, at virtually every moment of the tour is just ludicrous & unbelievable in my view.

I play periodically with a cover band, & sometimes friends or spouses of band members take our pictures & the photos often catch us looking as if we were feeling Emotion X when in fact we were feeling Emotion Y or not feeling anything specific at all -- just playing.

Even what seems like a missed cue -- what you saw in the video -- happened over & over on the Mirage Tour. It wasn't even really a missed cue. It's just the way they all did the song that year (in a general sort of way).

Thanks! I needed that input, because I get curious about little nuances between members of a band - not just this one - but others as well.

However, there are times when they get pretty pissy at each other. What about the show were LB kicked Stevie. Did that really happen?

Stevie's Blue Letter dance is the shiznit. Y'all bettah recognize a bitch's moves. :thumbsup:

She definitely had the 'tude down to a T that night. :nod:

That's a great general explanation, David. But, being in the audience for both nights of shows (and therefore the filming of the video), there WAS an obvious and definite "angry" vibe at one entire show...and the other night, was very "lovey-dovey" between all five members throughout the entire performance. Not that one show SOUNDED better than the other, that was pretty much consistent between the two shows. It was just that the vibe between the members was 180 degrees from one night to the next. So, when the video was finally released, it was pretty obvious which night any particular scene was taken from. Whether the emotions were REAL or not, that's up for debate.

ChiliD - are you referring to this particular concert back in 1982? I can't help thinking that there was something a bit angry in the tone of Lindsey - compared to seeing him in other concerts with her. The look in his eye is different and I wondered if some of that backstage drama made it's was on stage...Stevie looked happy tho...and yes - she was totally the "shiznit" in the hizzous that night.:)

And David - I also meant to say - that I'm sure your facial expressions on stage might not mirror what is actually happening; however, you most likely did not have a 5 year relationship and nasty breakup with one of the lead singers, spawning hatred and resentment in large doses while playing lead guitar at any given moment on stage. Those two had and still have major issues with each other that are classic, and has lead to some emotional give and take that they are still working out today. I do understand where you are coming from, but I sense your background with the band isn't one with notorious acrimony. Yes, some of us are fascinated by the drama, and see things that might not be there. However, this was the first time I viewed a concert with LB and Stevie where he glances at her with this...distain.... There is an anger that is palpable to me. And I do sense that in all the times they played this song on this tour - Stevie "f'd" up and LB was a little ticked at her for tending to her collection of stuffed toys.

It wasn't one concert. The Mirage video was filmed over the course of two consecutive nights of concerts at the GW Forum in Inglewood (Los Angeles suburb). I was at both shows.

Thanks! That must have been fun! And I think your personal observations may have confirmed my sense of the Blue Letter performance on hand. I know there are more important things - but I'm bored, and my curiousity gets the best of me.

And I just realized that the concert I went to in 1979 at Madison Square Garden for the Tusk tour - had that angry vibe. Wasn't a good show...sadly.

it's my fav part of the song!

thank you.

Stevie thanks you too. We bitches have to stick together.

mine too.

although nothing is better than the gold and braid dance:blob1:

Really?? :shocked: I was at both shows, too, pretty close up front. I don't remember any difference in their vibe. I remember the first night Lindsey's timing was off on his opening riff on 'Oh Well' & John & Mick just pocketed right in with him within seconds & all three were off & running a-ok. But I don't remember any anger or anything weird like that -- just two ordinary Mirage shows back to back. Quite frankly, they played & sang a lot more emotionally three nights earlier at the Irvine gig. I used to say to friends: "They filmed the wrong show."

Yes, of course, but every night of a tour? That's like having the same argument with your girlfriend every night for 60 nights in a row. You might be mad at each other for 60 nights, but the emotion isn't going to run at the same peak level night after night. The human body, the human psyche, has to calm down ultimately. That's what all our psyches do: we fly off the handle, & then we calm down, & then we fly off the handle, & then calm down, over & over. Emotional life is a roller-coaster. But you're not *always* at the top of the hill.
Big difference between disdain & anger. I think Lindsey & Stevie had almost nothing but disdain for each other at this point in their lives. But I don't think they lived at a white-hot pitch of actual anger that manifested itself in every moment of their performances on an entire tour. That's just not humanly possible. You'd burst a blood vessel ... or go into cardiac arrest!

I understand what you're saying, David. You can't be mad at someone and show it all the time. But we are not viewing every concert of every leg of the Mirage Tour - we are looking at one song, performed during a 2 night gig where one witness said that one night seemed uptight - whereas the other night was lovey dovey.

Basically - the times that I have happened to catch Fleetwood Mac in concert on video - I've never spotted any outward animosity. However, for this one show, I see a snide, pissed off look in LB's eyes - in Blue Letter only. To use your commentary - one can't always be in an angry white heat all the time. Yes. But this one time - some dissatisfaction, I feel, was showing.

Also - "distain" can be a derivative of anger - so I do not see your point there. Now we're splitting semantic hairs, which is getting us into the land of the silly. "Dissatisfaction" was just used by me as well - again - derivative of anger - animosity - resentment. It falls under the same umbrella. I only asked to see if people saw LB's glare. We're not splitting the atom here.

Well, from this layman's point of view, they were in such disarray at that time, so mistakes like that don't surprise me. Most(Not All) of the Mirage tour shows I have are not nearly as good as say Tusk, in my opinion anyway.

That was the vibe I got, too! I wasn't there, but watching it, I picked up on it right away. Just look at The Chain, the way Stevie and Lindsey yell back at forth at each other-- YOU WILL NEVAHNEVAHNEVAH LOOOOVE ME AGAIN!

I know they sing/scream to each other on stage all the time, but the overall tone of the show seemed really... angsty, for lack of a better word. Definitely something.

Actually - I just saw that one - and yeah - they are singing to each other - with the usual passion - but I really don't see them seriously angry. It's the usual on stage drama during the song.

In "Blue Letter" - he seemed seriously disgusted.

the first time i saw her crouch over i was like

"no she didn't!" :laugh:

If you are talking about this moment:

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/5873/pdvd0363cg.png

Where he sings "I won't be waiting around for you" while turning his head away and almost appearing to be rolling his eyes, then yeah, I saw it.

Could be all the drugs and the atmosphere that the band created back then. They were much more agressive and hard than ever before or ever since. Playing music like that, especiallly while high, makes you look, well, agressive and hard! I dono't believe he was ticked at Stevie, just in the moment. Basically, ticked at everybody:mad:

i have a DVD performance of a song I wrote and on film i look so serious... sort of like Christine's faces on The Dance... but in reality i'm concentrating on what i'm doing...

i think here he's just synching up with the other singers... don't see anger or anything else here

just my opinion

No, he's irritated. Yep. Uh...they kind of sound crappy right then, the harmonies, maybe he's mad at her about that. They're also pretty loud compared to his voice, maybe he's mad about that. :laugh: It's not a full eye roll, but he was irritated.
That's one of my favorite singin' songs. The harmony.

I can barely listen to this song on this concert anymore. This concert is where I actually got to know the song, but then I started listening to it on the White Album, and it's so much more up tempo on the White Album that when I listen to it on Mirage, it just drags. As for Lindsey reaction, you know, with the lyrics "I won't be waiting around for you," it seems to me more like a sarcastic/ironic reaction. Sort of like, "Wow, didn't THAT end up to be true." But I totally get the whole thing about sort of wanting to see moments where the band is in tension or whatever. I especially like right before Don't Stop on The Dance, Christine says "I've never done this with the brass section, so this should be interesting," and Stevie puts her head down and smiles like she's snickering. I always thought she was making fun of Christine at that point...

I ... I don't know what to say. :( :( :( :( :(

You mock. "don't mock my smock or I'll clean your clock!"

and I agree that it seriously drags on Mirage, i way noticed that today. It was like Lindsey was in slomo (the way the camera follows us in slomo) or stuck in glue or something equally impossible in real life.

I don't look for tense moments, I didn't even notice that till I went back and studied today just for this thread. I'm so diligent. After all, I'm splitting the atom here! No time to lay/lie down on the job.

Chili was smokin' weed that night! (He's gonna kill me)
But what was causing it, I'd like to know! I have a feeling it was the jackass down front.
Never be ashamed of your observations. Stand tall, stand proud, & proclaim your experiences firmly & loudly & eloquently, for all of us to hear.

Do NOT be ashamed.

:laugh: :laugh: :blob1: :laugh: :blob2:

It did drag. You guys are right. It dragged the whole two months. But it was very cool & fast on the Tusk Tour, oddly enough.

I see I've delighted you. Or else you were smoking a joint up front here. I am happy.

I wonder why it was so cool on TUSK tour? I bet because everyone was all fun and fairly new on the ol' coke train then, but by Mirage they were a bit strung out on the ol' cokeroo, probably malnourished, alcohol consumption higher than ever. I'm willing to bet they didn't consume any nutrients at all for a few years around there. Possibly not even much food. I'm just making things up because I can't think of any logical explanation. By that I mean the band couldn't possibly have thought it sounded better slower. Unless they were nimrods.

You always delight me!!
I don't think any of them were terribly excited about being on that tour. I'm not sure how that translates specifically into a tempo choice on a song, but it might. I'm inclined to think the drummer dude was essentially at fault, but at least he kept it at the same plodding tempo throughout the tour.

"Sisters of the Moon" also slowed down considerably on that tour. But it happened to work on that one. And "The chain" speeded up considerably, & it worked on that one too.

score!
I didn't notice SOTM slowing down so much as getting longer. But I wasn't thinking of that - i'm sure you're right, I just didn't notice. Slower than the album cut? Are you sure? heh. It sure did work. I'm not sure I've ever loved a performance more.
Yeah, the Chain was hot. Specially with Stevie's primal yowls and Lindsey's manic "anger". Stunning - My other favorite.
Maybe they were just nimrods for Blue Letter then, especially Mick. Why didn't you ask them what was going on when you were right there in front of them?! You missed the boat on that one, David. Chili could've also asked when he passed Stevie the joint, so he's partly at fault.

No, no, I meant the previous tour. On the Tusk Tour, it galloped along at a faster tempo ... even at the tail end of that tour when stuff slowed down anyway.
Yeah, much faster than it was on the previous tour.

I liked that one both ways: creeping along like a slug circa June-August 1980 & flying along like a locust over the houses of Egypt & the fields of Israel, circa 1982.

Which? The Chain? It slugged June-Aug 1980? No! Was it like the Dance? The Chain would sound fine slower though. Except for the end - Lindsey's guitar after John's big moment, and before "Chaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiinnnnn keep us togethah!" That part should be pretty fast.
Fleetwood Mac is so weird.
I don't recall any locust attack over the houses of Egypt and fields of Israel in 1982....






:laugh:

I wish they would put the whole damn Mirage show on DVD, in the full original order. You would think Mick would be interested in this to cash in $$$$!

Why we havent gotten the full Tusk tour DVD yet I dont know. The public would buy them.

I kind of prefer the Tusk version of The Chain to the Mirage one. I like how it goes from slow and creeping along to wild, fast guitar parts. I dunno, I think it just makes the song.

Oh YES! Thank You!! It was actually just about each time he sang that verse. Yeah - it might be reading too much into it - but I felt a bitchy vibe from him throughout that whole song.

OMG...he's beautiful....