Stevie having trouble walking...
 

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but doesn't Stevie seem to have trouble walking these days? I thought it was very apparent on Soundstage and again now during the Unleashed performances. Take a look at her Stand Back entrances. She used to come out marching across the stage like she couldn't wait to kick some ass. Now she shuffles across the stage barely lifting her feet off the floor...she looks very tentative like she's struggling to keep her balance. And at Nassau Coliseum she awkwardly tripped and almost went down three separate times.

I think years of platform boots have taken their toll. She's a trooper to be wearing boots for a 2+ hour show, but it seems really difficult for her. Do you think we'd all be in an uproar if she went back to the Reeboks for comfort's (and safety's) sake? Or would we all proudly wear "The Frankenboks Are Back" tee shirts to show our support?

yeah she can no longer walk in those platform boots. i dont know why she just doesnt wear a pair of really cute flats or a pair of boots with no heel. i would rather have her do that then walk around like she has lead in her boots all freaking night!

She certainly seems a little unsteady, but I am so impressed that she can even wear high boots at all anymore--I'm sure she is in quite a bit of pain most of the time. I work at a specialty shoe/athletic retailer and we see so many people with major foot, leg and back problems due to bad shoes. I for one would love to fit Stevie in a good pair of orthotics and running shoes so she can run around like she used to on stage;)

I really hope she is taking care of herself and takes those boots off immediately after the show. I want Stevie to be able to keep on rockin'! Beauty is pain, people!

Yeah, my b/f noted that after the Pittsburgh show.
She seemed to be leaning heavily on Mick for the exit in particular. And of course, the anemicness of the twirl that night brought up some questions.

Maybe she doesn't wear them enough and isn't used to them anymore - and that's why she would appear to some to be unsteady on them... I'm sure she rips them off the minute she's off stage... And I'm sure if she thought they were a danger to herself or anyone else, she'd reduce the height or leave them off completely. But she probably figures for 2.5 hours a day, she can handle it... Plus they are handmade, so I'm sure they were made well and not like your everyday boot...

It's funny.. last night friends and I were talking about this very thing in a way, not Stevie, just women in general and the boots and shoes that they wear now-a-days and the torcher women must go through just to look good! In particular we saw a girl wearing thigh high boots over jeans just out walking her dog and thought WTF.

I remember she was having hip problems on the SYW tour, so I wonder whether that particular pain has come back to haunt her?
:shrug:

Not long ago, she had that slogan "The Boots Are Back," so I'm sure she is wearing them because she knows they are one of her trademarks and may have learned people were commenting about the Frankenboks. She has also commented about feeling short on stage, so probably the taller the boot the better for her. She's probably walking carefully so she won't fall or trip and rebreak her once broken foot. I'm glad the boots are back and I know she will be really careful while wearing them. I don't know how she does the Stand Back spins at all, that's pretty amazing considering her current footwear.

I wonder if she has arthritis and if this was what affected her hip? It appears to be arm braces she is wearing under the black "fingerless gloves"...

Really? That would explain the gloves which I never understood. I would put on gloves before shaking everyone's hands for the Edge walk, yes, but I never understood why she wore them through other parts of the show or why she wore such hot, thick ones if they were only decorative.

Mick wears arm braces and that's very understandable. We saw John getting arm massages during that documentary footage years ago. Imagine how his arms feel now 30 years later. My own arms don't hurt at the computer, but they hurt when I drive. I can't find a way to hold the steering wheel that doesn't cause some kind of ache or soreness.

The internet is a miracle, but we are all facing serious carpal tunnel in our old age.

Michele

I actually thought she was moving pretty good in the real boots when they played Chicago. On the second night, she busted out the short boots (which I think look ridiculous with a skirt but would probably be ok with pants) and she was definitely moving slower and more Frankenstein like. Check out my Go Your Own Way video on Youtube from 3/6...she was rockin the real boots. :nod:

I've just noticed looking at pictures through the years and in the more recent years that her fingers appear to swell at times and she tends to not wear rings as much (or at all) when they look that way. I know my mom stopped wearing her wedding rings because of that and even I've noticed joint pain in my hands and fingers more than likely due to all the typing - at work and then at home. Stevie's been banging a tambo on her hands all these years it's gotta hurt. I remember Waylon Jennings had carpal tunnel before he passed and he said it was just stricly due to the repetiveness of strumming the guitar - it's not like he was Eric Clapton...or a Lindsey Buckingham for that matter...

You know, when someone made a joke about her hands getting old as an explanation for the gloves, I did want to say that they didn't look old in those fingerless gloves, so much as pudgy. You may be right about the swelling. That is not uncommon where there is inflammation of the joints. Also, of course, your fingers swell when you retain water for any reason. Even just flying regularly can make your fingers and feet swell. Michele

I don't fly, so I didn't realize that about flying. I'm sure that must affect her then.

I've been suspecting she may be wearing wrist braces under those gloves as well, especially in light of her recent injury. She also seems to be wearing them for the entire show.

Durin the CV tour, the black boots she was wearing seemed to be a little lower than her trademark ones. Maybe she should go back to those. I don't think she's worn them yet on this tour.

I think I read somewhere, in some interview, that she was not planning to wear the boots before some tour, but there was some outpouring of dismay so she reluctantly donned them again.

I wish I could remember where I saw this and when....

It reminds me of the old USA interview she did in 1991:

http://fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/archive/usatoday3.htm

She definitely had hip troubles on the SYW tour, it was partly why she wasn't bending down and shaking people's hands so much.
I think she should wear something comfortable but I remember there were a lot of unhappy people last time she did that with the Reeboks (and people were overjoyed if the boots made an appearance). I wouldn't expect my mother to wear the same shoes she did back in the 60s and 70s but for some reason people aren't happy unless Stevie is living up to some outdated image they have of her (which for the most part she adheres to, admittedly). She's 60 years old, she should retire the platforms. I bet she'd be a lot happier performing on stage if she did.

But they're ugly, Sharon. UGLY. UGLY & FUGLY & GUGGLY. They are cruddy & shluddy & shlumpy. They are bloody ****ing ugly. It isn't that they're ugly on Stevie -- it's that they're UGLY. Why should someone of any age -- 60, 50, 40, 15 -- wear such monstrously ugly footwear? Surely that woman with all her shopping & traveling can find attractive stage footwear.

No one -- not even the fanatical people who chastised the rest of us for wanting Stevie in the old boots at the risk of her own comfort & safety -- ever said the frankenbock footwear was PRETTY. The only support it ever got among the fanatics was that it made performing for Stevie safer & more comfortable.

I thought that Stevie looked a little unsteady last night in CT as well. At one point between songs, she went back to get a sip of water and when she turned around she reached down and held onto the monitor on the corner of Micks drums.
My mom and Stevie are right around the same age and height. My mom used to wear five inch heels everyday to work back in the day. A couple years ago she had to have surgery on her foot. She was told that years of wearing those shoes has screwed up her ankles and toes. Today she can wear nothing higher than an one inch heel. Prior to the surgery she was in pain unless she wore sneakers. Perhaps Stevie is experiencing the same thing?

Last night at Mohegan Sun I could see Stevie repeatedly walking very slowly all the way to her tent in back of Mick. She looked like her feet hurt. The friend I was with (it was her first Fleetwood Mac show) asked me if Stevie was sick..very evident she was uncomfortable. I hated the rebocks but I hate the thought of Stevie being uncomfortable even more.

PS My Fleetwood Mack virgin friend loved the show and I welcomed her to fandom!

When you reach 60 let us know how you are doing with the things you did so easily when you were 30, 40 , 50.

I just can't believe with all her money she can't get someone to design her a pair of comfortable boots?? Because, you're right, those Frankenboks are the UGLIEST shoes ever made.

I'm glad somebody said this.

She's 60 guys... AS IN SIXTY YEARS OLD! :shrug:

Here is my thought: her ankles. I would say her hips are a HUGE problem, but I am certain that her ankles are shot. She carried a lot of excess weight, for a long time, and that will wear your feet down. Think about her ballet status... The longevity of a dancer's performance life is SHORT, in comparrison to say a guitarist. I would say her ankles and hips are in need of a little repair.

I wouldn't mind if she started working on her piano and just doing a show in the style of Carol King, or Tori Amos. She deserves the right to get off her feet.

What scares me is that she could fall. Then have to have a hip replacement... Then there would be no Stevie Nicks. There is no need for her to suffer anymore for us. Now is the time that she should take care of herself.

Kenn

Ehhh, why do people actually care what shoes she wears?....

I really don't care because I can't blame her for wanting to be comfortable, but those Reeboks were hideous and distracting...that's the only thing.

Ok look I know Stevie is short, but what does she need the heels or platforms? Can't she just wear flat shoes or very low heels? Maybe she can be a barefoot gypsy?

She has had years of dexamethasone injections for her voice and although it is a local injection, it goes systemic. This can cause osteoporosis among other bone related side effects. She has hip, knee, ankle, foot, and wrist pain/problems. She has significant hearing loss (hence the constant fooling around with her monitor volume.) She is plagued by sinus and upper respiratory symptoms which at times affect her equalibrium. Both of her parents had open heart surgery and heart disease runs in her family, so it's reasonable to assume that Stevie has some form of this. Beta blockers cause swelling of the hands and feet. She pushes through her ailments to give the people what they pay for. Class act in my book.

We also know that she smoked for years and yes, did coke. Neither are heart-friendly.

I think she should just wear low-heeled or flat boots. I'd love her just the same and even if she did look short on stage, so what? But I bet years and years of wearing super high-heels have shortened her tendons/ligamens in her legs and wearing flats may be as painful as wearing heels at this point for her.

Good Lord! Are you her Doctor? LOL

I'll bet Stevie would say they pain she is most likely experiencing is just another sacrifice she has made for rock n' roll. I just can't see her making a change until she absolutely has to.

In the Chris Issak interview she made reference to the doctor who told her she would likely die if she did another hit of cocaine, and that spurred her to go to Betty Ford. Perhaps it is reaching that point with shoes and she will wait until it is dire before she has to give up the boots for good.

As others have said, I just want Stevie to be comfortable--she could perform in sweats and bedroom slippers for all I care--I just want her to keep rockin'. It worries me that she almost fell a couple of times.

like the rest of you, it really boggles my mind that with all her money and fashion sense (albeit questionable in the last few years) someone can't design her more comfortable and reasonably safe shoes. yes, the frankenbooks were hideous, but although i love them i dont expect her to wear the same shoes she did when she was 30. shorter boots would be fine with me, and break out the trademark ones for a few songs? would rather her look comfortable and move a bit than having bricks on her feet.

No, but I'd play one if the part is available!!

I don't think we'll ever see Stevie in flats. Shorter ladies battling the bulge have limited options, trust me. ;)

I agree though that if the boots are that big of an issue, let them go. No sense in having her appear older than she is by shuffling across the stage.

yeah~ There's a price to pay for being beautiful... and I think Stevie wants that!

Awesome idea!!!!

:cool::cool::cool:

Yes dear, go back to the gypsy that remains. barefoot, long pants and lace blouse.

i think i would rather see and know stevie was comfortable
than have her wear something that was painful to her just to please me

who the F@#& would have gone to her and say...

-you MUST wear your trademark platform boots even tho youre 60 and they prob cause you incredible pain or no1 is gonna wanna see you perform -

:mad:

silly Stevie and the people-pleaser within her :rolleyes:

i reaaaaaaaaally don't like the frankenbockers
but if she came out in an appropriate flat shoe, that wouldnt bother me
as long as the granny sweater stays in her closet :D

:thumbsup: you know what WOULD be hot?
if she came out in ballet flats
seriously.
pale, pink, satin :D


this is morbid
but really, after her history and stuff
i think she's faring faaaaaaairly well
and really if you think about it, if it was someone else, they would prob be dead :distress:

Okay Stevie if you are reading this I think I've solved the problem and also the problem of Christine's absence...

Learn the piano/keyboard...you can sit down while singing/playing, don't have to twirl, dance or even stand up...

Bob Dylan switched from standing up playing guitar to sitting down at the piano. It has also enabled Dylan to have his cheat sheets with the song lyrics near him to help him remember the words...

FREAKIN AWESOME IDEA!!!! NO BOOTS AT ALL!!!! AWESOME! Then she could really focus on what is going on ala Lilith Fair!