| michelej1 |
03-13-2009 10:40 PM |
Just back from the show. This was the first time I'd tried that ILAA and it was fine. I got a front row seat. My preference would be that they just give you the ticket and leave you to your own devices, rather than try to make a little party out of it.
I didn't pay for the meet and greet, so I had to be segregated from the people who did and kept busy while they were on stage with the Big Guy. Passing by Mick in his "coat of many colors" chatting with the fans, I was taken back stage to talk to the video guy Bob Higgins. The most interesting thing about the encounter was that his setlist had three additional songs on it after Silver Springs. They were You Make Loving Fun, Everywhere and Beautiful Child. Even if I'd been foolish enough to think they'd add a song to the set, I knew they wouldn't add 3. So, I didn't think his setlist was the current one, but it did have me intrigued. I didn't ask him about it.
He said they tape the show every night and showed me his 10 different camera angles.
Then, I met up with the other people. They said Mick said that they were going to take a break of twelve days and then go to EUROPE and AUSTRALIA. So, there you go. They said he was really nice and that he could have talked to them for hours if someone didn't tell him he had to get going.
The escort gave us a FM fan quiz to keep us busy as we waited for the show to start. There were 2 questions we missed as a group: Didn't know what part of England Chris was from. I knew she was from Birmingham, I think, but I didn't know if that was part of Middlesex or Gloucester. Turns out it was Middlesex or the Midlands or Mid something . . . Then the other question was where Tusk was filmed and I didn't know it was Dodger stadium.
Anyway, the show was great. Really, I think the main difference between this and Pittsburgh was not the performances. I think everyone performed well the first night. Stevie was just very cool, not only with Lindsey, but with the audience. Well, that was completely different tonight. She was all giggly and chatty and warm.
Instead of glaring at Lindsey like he stuck her with a hot poker (or refused to) every time their eyes meet as she did the first night, now she is glowing and twinkling at him. They could be in high school. For his part, Lindsey was all energy and animation, as it was in Pittsburgh and ever shall be.
She came out in black, with the old black gloves. Apparently she thinks the red made such a hit that she's going to ration it. Make us wait for it.
During Monday Morning, as Lindsey plays the guitar riff, Stevie slides up behind John. His back is towards her. She doesn't nudge him physically, but she jolts herself in his direction until he takes notice. He gives her the over-the-shoulder stare and smirks. Very nice moment. I would have loved to have that on camera.
Before Dreams Stevie says, "Welcome Long Island. We are Fleetwood Mac and we're thrilled that you're here. Let's get this party started."
Now, I didn't get the Gypsy intro the first time, so I loved it tonight. She states that Gypsy is from the Tusk album. You know, if I were a graphic artist, I would draw a picture of the Mirage album, slinking into a corner and crying its forgotten eyes out. She says that she and Lindsey used to have a floor on the bed, because it's all they could afford. But after they became successful, she would put a mattress on the floor and surround it with flowers, because she found it comforting. She says that even today, her home in Los Angeles has her bed on the floor.
When Lindsey introduces SHN, he says it's the first song they recorded for the album. He calls the Rumours recording process was a coming together of opposites and you can hear opposite forces colliding in SHN as well. It's sad, but it maintains it's sense of optimism, humor and "certainly aggression."
When Stevie comes out for Rhiannon she's wearing those fingerless gloves. So, I finally get to see them up close. Actually, I've seen Christine wear these too, but hers were short and hers were to ward off the cold.
Lindsey asks if we're "keeping it warm" again when he starts Big Love. No one had been saying anything about beer to him tonight, but a man who must've read Zombie's post brought it up spontaneously when Lindsey said that and told him they had a beer waiting for him.
For Landslide, Stevie comes out in a burgundy dress (but not the dressy one she opened up with in Pittsburgh) covered in a black velvet jacket. She says she doesn't do Landslide dedications anymore (oh yeah, since last night. She's never stopped doing them). She said that her father passed away 2 years ago and she used to always dedicate it to him, but now she says, "Daddy, you got 40 (?) years of dedications and it's time for me to move on." That's right Stevie. That's my motto too. Once you bury 'em, just walk away!
Anyway, tonight Alicia Keyes is in the audience and Stevie just admires her talent so much that she wants to dedicate the song to her.
At the end of Landslide, Stevie is the orchestra conductor, telling Lindsey when to pause and when to play. He makes a mistake and begins a note before she is ready and she puts up her hand and as he raises a brow, curls a lip and leans towards her she laughs and keeps telling him to pause. Finally, when they finish the song she says, "Sometimes we can be clowns."
It sounds to me like an awful lot of people were singing along with Never Going Back Again. It had never before seemed like the audience participation song that it was tonight.
For Storms Stevie says it's another song from 1978 (like she thinks Gypsy is) and she says it is about stormy people, stormy relationships and stormy problems.
Hearing SYLM for the second time tonight, aside from my problem with the verses, I also think they should keep in the part where Christine says she doesn't want to talk or think about it anymore. It's a trinkly slice of denial that I think works well emotionally there on top of the music. If Lindsey or Stevie would just whisper that into the mic, I believe it would be very effective. Of course, the way they do it has charm anyway. The chorus is quite lovely and the final "falling, falling, falling" very full and satisfying.
Because the solo arrangement of GDW works so well, I find the way Stevie ends her vocals wth FM rather jarring. She says the word "shadow" several times, off the beat, in between the back up singers. It sounds more like an interruption than a finale. The song does have spirit. When Stevie sings, "tell me is it over now, do you know how to pick up the pieces," she starts pointing at Lindsey, stabbing her index finger towards him. He points back.
She is wearing discordant colors, burgundy skirt, black jacket and that gold shawl, resembling a rag woman, who picked her wardrobe from the corner rummage bin.
They had only been allowing the first row to stand at the stage, but during ISA they unleashed the barricades and let everyone up.
Stevie almost tripped over Lindsey's mic cord when she crossed the stage for GYOW. After GYOW when the band pretends its the end of the show. Stevie comes to the mic and says about 12 different things. "We love you. We treasure you for coming. Take care. Be kind to each other. Be well." I'm thinking, "shut up and leave."
When they return for the encore, Lindsey and Stevie are holding hands and Lindsey kisses Stevie's.
I don't dislike World Turning, I just like it so much less than the other songs that it feels like something to be gotten through, more than anything else. It's funny to watch Lindsey sitting to the sidelines, on the floor in the dark. He is watching Mick perform as if he's really enjoying it. His interest is not for show, because he can't be seen by most of audience. Guess he's doing it for Mick.
As the drum solo nears its conclusion, I love the way Lindsey stands, straightens himself up and moves in. Stevie and John approach from the other side. They swarm in, but do it stealthily as the music swells and the World Turning chorus resumes. I think of their return to the stage as an invasion of sorts and it creates a gradual build up of excitement.
When they return to the stage for Silver Springs, Lindsey is gesturing at Stevie's waist and I think he is trying to put his hand in her pocket. She laughs and they start gliding across the stage in tandem. She almost glides with him over to his mic, before they separate and she returns to her own. She says, "We used to do that a long time ago. We used to pretend to skate, but we really weren't skating," she chuckles. Seriously? How sad for you. You two were so poor that you actually had skating hallucinations? Poverty stinks. Good thing Mick called on New Year's Eve.
It was a wonderful night. I probably won't see them again until May:o, but it's wonderful to have memories of a show that was not only good musically, but so cheerful emotionally to tide me over. If they wanted to leave me with something warm, they certainly succeeded. Michele
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