St. Paul 4/28 - Lindsey Buckingham, not Nicks, carries Fleetwood Mac at Xcel Center
 

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Lindsey Buckingham, not Nicks, carries Fleetwood Mac at Xcel Center

Article by: JON BREAM , Star Tribune Updated: April 29, 2013 - 5:57 AM

Live-wire Lindsey Buckingham, not croaky Stevie Nicks, carried Fleetwood Mac Sunday night at the X.


Fleetwood Mac stopped by Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul with their Fleetwood Mac Live 2013 tour Sunday night, April 28, 2013. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, who both joined the band way back in 1975, during the band's second number, The Chain, Sunday...Photo: Jeff Wheeler3 comments resize text printbuy reprints

Lindsey Buckingham wore the exact same outfit again. Black leather jacket, black V-neck T-shirt, black boots and, presumably, the same bluejeans.

That’s what the rock star sported when he performed a solo concert in November at the Dakota Jazz Club, the most impersonal (and loudest) performance probably ever in that intimate space. On Sunday at the sold-out Xcel Energy Center, he gave one of the most impassioned performances ever in a Twin Cities arena, this side of Bruce Springsteen.

Oh, sorry, it wasn’t actually a Lindsey Buckingham show. It was Fleetwood Mac, the band that made him famous. But singer/songwriter/keyboardist Christine McVie retired in 1998 and Stevie Nicks — Buckingham’s former lover whose romance and breakup has been the subject of many of the band’s songs — needed a good half of Sunday’s 2 ½-hour show to warm up her voice.

Granted, her voice is lower, harsher and less fluid than before, but her versions of “Rhiannon” and “Sara” were so croaky and lifeless that she couldn’t have placed in the top 5 in a Stevie Nicks sound-alike contest.

Nicks, 64, finally found her voice for “Landslide,” a duet with Buckingham, his voice and acoustic guitar. After saying she usually dedicates the song each night to a family member, Nicks said on Sunday, it would be a rare dedication to her “one and only husband,” Minnesotan Kim Anderson, who was in the audience and, of course, is no longer her husband (they divorced after a short marriage; he was the widower of her best friend, who died of leukemia).

Nicks’ incurable romanticism has fueled her art and Fleetwood Mac. She got so inspired during “Landslide” on Sunday that at song’s end she and Buckingham blew kisses at one another. Of course, they followed that with a scorching “Never Going Back Again,” during which Buckingham sounded maniacally determined on vocals and guitar and Nicks offered credible vocal harmonies.

Although she did only a few slow-motion revolutions of the famous Stevie Nicks dervish dance, she hit her vocal stride, delivering “Gypsy” with conviction while facing drummer Mick Fleetwood (another of her exes).

She finally became the bewitching Nicks of yesteryear on “Gold Dust Woman,” investing the song with mystery, passion and her trademarked accouterments of shawls and scarves (the top hat would come later, thank you).

But while Nicks clearly was a favorite of the 16,000 fans on Sunday, it is Buckingham who elevates Fleetwood Mac into an exciting arena attraction 36 years after the blockbuster “Rumours” album made them one of the biggest bands of the 1970s. On Sunday, he was a live-wire ringmaster, a guitar monster, a heartfelt singer, a hammy performer and, as Mick Fleetwood put it, “our inspiration.”

With all of the Buckingham/Nicks soap-opera songs, the comforting, buoyant tunes (and sweet vocal harmonies) of McVie were missed. The band did her “Don’t Stop,” with Buckingham and Nicks alternating as lead singer on the verses. But this really was the Lindsey Buckingham Show.

Buckingham, 63, tried to provide context with his introductions to songs. For instance, he explained that “Big Love” was written as a “contemplation on alienation” but now he sees it as “a meditation” on change. Indeed, his transformation to de facto frontman of Fleetwood Mac has helped the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group maintain its magic.



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Jon Bream • 612-673-1719

So true, every Stevie fan must see this too. Without Lindsey this would be a very Sad nostalgia act.

...and without Stevie, they would be playing the Dakota Jazz Club.

SO TRUE!!!! HejiraNYC!!:laugh:

It's weird how that works.

Not That Funny

Stevie's not exactly selling out large arenas on her own either.

she may not be selling out large venues...but she plays larger venues with her solo career than the other Mac members...

Yes, but they need each other to sell out the large arenas, it's not all Stevie's presence that makes these shows what they are.

well, if it makes anyone feel any better, this reviewer clearly is neither a SN or a LB fan.

he's pi**ing on both of them at every turn, as much as possible.

while the Dakota may have not been LB's favorite venue (which he apparently said to some aftershow m&g attendants as a reason he omitted to do a SMAP request, and maybe this reviewer overheard that conversation?), the reviews at the time were still raving about his Dakota solo show.

True Dat...they do need each other...

Jon Bream is a crabby music snob who pretty much always has some sort of ridiculous complaint about a show. I've never seen a review of his that didn't have some sort of bitchy critique.

But not being a sad nostalgia act.

And it was a great venue and I'm very happy I was able to see him play at such an intimate show.

Sad Angel

lol. and the circle continues... can't we all just get along, people? :D

on their own none of them - neither Stevie, or Lindsey, or Mick - have a fan base or general audience interest that Fleetwood Mac does.

this FM tour has sold out or almost sold out arenas for every show so far, and in some large cities, twice. none of them can do nearly as well on their own (although some of them, if they support some other big act, like Rod Stewart recently, can come close).

going into the fleetwood mac show on friday everybody around me kept talking about how amazing stevie is and how much they love her but when the show was over all i could hear was everybody saying how amazing lindsey buckingham is and how much energy he has. he totally wins people over by the end of the show. my in-laws came to see stevie but were so impressed by lindsey and his amazing guitar playing that was all they talked about on the way home. i love that!

Yes, his fan base isn't as big, but without him they would not be getting the stellar reviews they've been getting. And as a Lindsey fan, on some levels I do wish he had a bigger solo fan base. But on the other hand, I can go to many intimate shows and see him solo without breaking the bank and always get a spectacular performance and excellent seats. I don't have to shell out $$$ and see the same tired performance she's been giving for years.

Well, I'm sorry. If someone is a main attraction, and doesn't live up to it, because she simply does not perform towards the expectations, and someone else saves the show, then I cannot critisize a reviewer when he mentions right that.

I couldn't care less if they played Dakota jazz clubs. As long as they bring the oomph that is needed for a great performance. I simply don't understand why her participation only is enough argument for you guys.

Sisters of the Moon

Ditto ditto ditto ditto :nod:

:xoxo::xoxo::xoxo::xoxo::xoxo::xoxo::xoxo::xoxo::xoxo::xoxo:

oh i'd much rather they do play small clubs, no question about that! :thumbsup:

to be fair, she's been much more on the ball this tour than in 2009, from what i've heard of 2009 and witnessed this year. she's been happy to be there and giving it a fair effort. it's been a good tour, so far, and i hope it continues.

it's hard to compete with Lindsey. not many performers are in "only him and Springsteen" league. and, he's been trying to hold back on Stevie's songs and give her room to shine on her own, as i've already complained elsewhere (prime examples: GDW and SOTM, where i really miss his guitar antics).

I'm not saying she doesn't perform good enough, I have not experienced this tour yet. I was responding to what this reviewer writes, and I simply can imagine where his argumentation comes from.

It doesn't change the fact that 90% of the setlist consists of material that is over 25 years old. I think, no matter what, that qualifies as a "sad nostalgia act" per your definition. Although, for some reason, when Lindsey sings an old song, it's not "sad nostalgia," but when Stevie sings an old song, it IS "sad nostalgia." :rolleyes:

:cool::blob2:

For the record, Stevie's IYD tour garnered mostly positive reviews too. And Stevie has gotten great reviews for this tour too; this one Minnesota numbnut notwithstanding. You really have no basis for making the claim that Lindsey is the only reason why they are garnering "stellar" reviews.

Yes... if by "oomph," you mean playing along to a pre-recorded backing track and giving the same canned speeches night after night. I think I'd much prefer a live experience that was, in fact, LIVE. Not some kind of hybrid version of "live." You get what you pay for.

Not sure I agree with you BUT I do agree with the reviewer with regards to some of Stevie's performances. Gold Dust Woman, and particularly Rhiannon are tired, lifeless, stale and boring. Even being there live and in person couldn't save these songs for me.

Stevie was way more than I expected at the show, she was a gem. And so sincere. I heard equal amounts of praise for both Lindsey and Stevie.. Along with the rest of the band. They are all fantastic. And Stevie is doing more than 'participating', it's extremely sad If you think that all she's doing. At 64 I probably won't be able to belt out those songs and twirl around in platforms.

And she doesn't have to live up to ANYONE'S expectations. She does her own thing and if you don't like it, don't see the shows.

Go Your Own Way

Lindsey is still worth the price of admission so I'll continue to go and enjoy the hell out of his energetic performances and amazing guitar solos. I don't need Stevie to enjoy FM. Not to mention Mick and John, who were both fantastic last night.

Yeah, I think age has taken away a lot of what used to make Stevie so electrifying. She can't belt them out anymore and she doesn't have an instrument to fall back on like Lindsey.

I have been going to Fleetwood Mac shows since the mid-seventies...some people are there for LB....some are there for Stevie...and some are there for both of them... and Mick and John...I like what they both (LB and Stevie) bring to the table...last year I saw LB at a small club in New Orleans doing his solo thing and it was great - the man is a guitar virtuoso!!!...I also saw Stevie along with Melissa Etheridge and Gladys Knight last September at the New Orleans Arena and Stevie was on fire that night, I witnessed from the 5th row...her rousing version of New Orleans brought the house down....and touched the hearts of the whole audience...

To Lindsey's credit, he sounds 100% better than he did ten years ago on the SYW tour. I was listening to SYW tour audio the other day, and Lindsey was off-key, growling, bellowing, etc. He must be doing something right!

Did anyone here actually GO to this show? Or is this thread just for people to take sides:distress:

I wonder if other bands who have more than one songwriter and singer get this same thing, where people really only are a fan of one and not the other, and could care less when they perform at a huge concert...

I go to see Fleetwood Mac for BOTH Lindsey and Stevie together. I love them separately and apart in their own shows and their solo albums, but I get a high I cannot explain when I see a "Fleetwood Mac" show with them together, singing or playing guitar on EACH OTHER'S songs.

I own all the solo albums of BOTH, and when they come to my area for a solo show, I see BOTH of them.

I do think some people cannot take criticism of their favorite. That's natural and we are all their biggest defenders of course! But from what I am reading, I can honestly see both sides. I see where Stevie has her shortcomings and I see why people might feel the way they feel about a Lindsey show. Personally, I try not to think too hard about any of that for either one of them, because I am just happy to see them LIVE at all. Solo, together...what have you. I'm grateful. And hey if Christine was here for a tour or promoting something on her own, I'd be there in a heartbeat!:blob1:

It makes me a little sad that there are people who go see Fleetwood Mac and totally ignore Stevie, or don't care about anything to do with her. Or people who go to the bathroon when Lindsey is giving his all in a guitar solo. People who just seem so divided. The world is full of all kinds of people though, and not every person is going to please everybody:)

But I know for myself, I am not a divided fan.

xo

I was there! :blob2: :D

I saw 4 shows on the SYW TOUR...and I agree that I like Lyndsey's Voice on this Tour much better...I think he is doing some great vocals this tour...