Calgary May 17
 

Anybody else going to the concert in Calgary? I'm going to be visiting my brother there this week and dragging him along!

Aw, my hometown! I'll be there in spirit! I wish I'd been able to time my annual visit better. Do enjoy yourself, Darkcat.

I assume it'll be at The Saddledome? Far from my favourite venue. Still am very jealous, though. ;)

I'll be there. Edmonton too! :blob2:

Thanks, Im looking forward to it, I have never been to the Saddledome, so I dont know how it will be. It will be my first time seeing them live, I have seen Stevie solo before.

I'm probably exaggerating re: The Saddledome, darkcat. It's just not a stadium that was designed with concerts in mind, and the acoustics are pretty sub-optimal. But it may be a complete non-issue and a wonderful show.

Enjoy your time in Calgary with your brother. It's a fantastic city. :)

Dex is right. It's literally shaped like a giant saddle I.e Saddledome. Not great for sound but I've seen FM there twice and you'll be so wrapped up in the magic of it all you won't notice. And there are waaaay worse venues in Calgary for sound, like Flames Central...

You're right, Lala. I'm just biased against stadium concerts at the best of times, so in truth I'd probably rather see something at Flames Central, acoustic issues aside (I'm surprised to hear they do concerts there though). ;) Obviously with the Mac, smaller venues are not an option, though. What can ya do, eh?

Great to see a few people from around Calgary on here!

Yay! I'm so excited to see them! flying out today, will hang out with my brother until next week then fly back to Maine. Going to watch Stevie's doc in the airport while traveling on my iPad!

Bell: Fleetwood Mac magic now just a rumour

By Mike Bell, Calgary Herald http://www.calgaryherald.com/enterta...story.htmlrald


Fleetwood Mac Performed Friday night at the Saddledome.

There are few perfections in life.

Even the idea of life, itself. And, when you find something that meets that goal, that is that faultless thing, you remember it and you wish it to remain so.

Fleetwood Mac's 1977 release Rumours is that rarity, an album that has no cracks, no errors, no glitches, no do-overs, no lows, no songs to skip, no regrets, no anything that you wish could be anything more than it is.

It marries blues and rock and pop and folk in a way that nothing had or has since, and it was the high-water mark of an eclectic four-decade-plus career.

It is perfect. Even now, even 36 years after its release, it is a classic rock record that actually is classic, not just some fossilized memory of those who were there when it was new, but something that stands up with and above that which has come in its wake.

It's timeless, it lives, it breathes. And it, for most, stands as the thing by which they will forever be judged.

Which is why Friday night's Saddledome show by the band was as dramatically disappointing as it was. A sort-of 35th anniversary celebration of that release - albeit with other songs from their post-blues period - the two-and-a-half-hour show didn't live, it didn't breathe, it wasn't anything that seemed remotely of the moment.

It was stagnant, it was disinterested and it was weak.

Save for the odd moment, the odd great guitar solo or gruff vocal part, there was no vibrancy to the evening, just the equivalent of a plastic-covered couch that's managed to keep the dust away but seems only overly familiar and smells old and stale.

Kicking off with a trio of Rumours tunes - Second Hand News, The Chain and Dreams - the Christine McVieless core (and, yes, she is sorely missed) of Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie along with their touring band showed that they weren't interested in doing anything other than pandering to those memories and in the laziest of ways.

There was no energy, there was no magic, there was no real stage show.

There was just Fleetwood Mac as a museum piece and nothing that made that history come to life.

Yes, Buckingham, on guitar, had an inspired moment or two - during that first song and a great solo take on Big Love - but he was alone in doing anything of note and not that interesting in the grander scheme of things.

Nicks certainly wasn't the vibrant, flaky, hippie Gypsy lady of days gone by. Her voice familiar, but when it wasn't buried in the mix, was only a shadow of what it once was - as a half-hearted Landslide and a remarkably tepid version of her solo song Stand Back revealed - and her stage presence that was neither the expected sexy nor even seemingly remotely interested,

If you'd ever seen her perform before, alone or with Mac, you'd have been left wondering whether or not she even wanted to be there or was merely punching a clock because this was where she felt comfortable.

And even drummer Fleetwood, in previous shows a fun and energetic ham who was more than happy to step up and take the spotlight that his name and talents afforded him, was little more than a bit player - his by-the-books encore solo only underscored that - albeit in a show in which there were no stars.


So the night, instead, relied on the tried and true plot, content to rarely if at all diverge from the recorded reminiscence of those songs, and when it did, it certainly didn't improve upon them.

Take another solo Buckingham on the glorious Never Going Back Again, which was little more than a pub performance that made you wonder if a dreary, Guinness-soaked, drunken shouted cover of American Pie was next.

Even a version of Tusk - one of the most underrated, upbeat and adrenalized pop songs the world has ever known - was a flaccid, cheerleader-less take on that great tune, and made you only want to go back to the original.

Just like Go Your Own Way and Don't Stop, perhaps two of Rumours' most perfect of perfect moments, here, this night, late into the set reduced to singalongs for singalong's sake, and even then one you'd want to mouth with a vague semblance of enthusiasm.

Just like every other moment of the long, regrettable evening.

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is classic, it is timeless, it is perfect.

Three decades later, Fleetwood Mac, Friday night at the Saddle-dome, were old, worn and what once was.

That's life, I guess.


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/enterta...#ixzz2TfOgUXJd

^Sad, but I'm sure people like Darkcat didn't feel that way about it.

Michele

Usually it is Stevie that'll get a bad review from a show. This is the first time I read a review where the writer was disappointed with the entire band.

Based on what this reviewer said, if someone threw me a shovel, I'd start burying them now, because the future looks pretty bleak.

But although I'm sure his observations had some merit, he went so far overboard in his disappointment that I think it impacted his credibility. It just became absurd, after a point. I'm not saying it's impossible they put on a lackluster show, but unless all of them are suffering from stomach flu, I don't think it can be as unrelentingly dismal as he painted it.

Michele

It strikes me as one of those reviews where the writer comes up with his premise ahead of time, and where actually seeing the show is just a formality before writing the review. Something like, "You know, Rumours is just the perfect album in every way. Wouldn't it be ironic if a tour designed to celebrate that album 35 years later was 180 degrees from that?" Then he trots off to the show to make sure it lives up (or down, rather) to his brilliant notion.

I wasn't at this show, but considering all of the overwhelmingly positive reviews they've gotten so far, I'd take this one with a grain of salt.

Jamie

I suppose a keen writer doesn't typically think that describing a show as just "meh" really makes a good column, hence the exaggeration. I agree with Michele, though. While some of his complaints ring true to people who do find their recent tours disappointing, much of them were too over the top to seem credible. Complaining that a 64 year old woman is "not the expected sexy" in her stage manner is just downright silly.

I love the use of "cheerleader-less" as a serious adjective evaluating a musical performance though.







http://thebenshi.com/wp-content/uplo...90_450_350.jpg

^ Super srs musiks.

Well, I was certainly not disappointed in the show. Stevie sounded better than I than I had imagined she would. I really enjoyed Gold Dust Woman, it was really powerful and she brought so much emotion to it. sisters sounded great. They got a great reception for Sad Angel and a fair one for Without You. '
My brother is a casual fan at best and he was really impressed with them all,especially Lindsey. "Where is his pick? he doesn't use a pick?" He kept asking,lol.
Got in an argument with a woman in line ahead of me in the merchandise stand. she tried to tell me that Christine had died, and just would not let it go when I told her that she hadn't!
The arena was packed, very mixed crowd of all ages. We were sitting next to 3 teenage girls who were Stevie fans, they were a lot of fun.
Definitely worth the trek out to Calgary.

I find this very interesting. Even slightly comical. In her mind she probably figured that Chris had to be dead or else she'd of certainly been performing onstage with the rest of the band.

Yes, she struck up a conversation with me, then said "it's so sad that they are not all here". I agreed with her, thinking that she meant that Chris was in England and not touring. When I mentioned that she was going to play a song or two with them when they were in England she looked confused and said " But she died,eh?" I said no and it took some convincing for her to believe me. She was fairly drunk, though.

Out to lunch
By Nico Lehman, Calgary Herald, May 23, 2013

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/enterta...#ixzz2UADYAwrX

We think that Mike Bell's review of the Fleetwood Mac concert was absolutely terrible. He chewed them up and spit them out. He hacked them up to pieces, and why? He was mean, crude and just plain rude, and we disagree with his whole review.

Were you even at the same concert, Mike? Stevie Nicks' raspy, Gypsy-like voice was just what the doctor ordered, as she was stellar in her vocals, especially on Landslide, where there was not a dry eye in the house (except perhaps Bell's).

Lindsey Buckingham was monumental and had many great moments in the night where he was going nuts on the guitar. It was our first time seeing Fleetwood Mac and, even without Christine McVie, the rest of the band soared through the clouds and was still on top the whole night. Just thought Bell's review was out to lunch. Can't figure out if you are even a Fleetwood fan to begin with, or were forced to the show to write this review. We loved the show and were sadly disappointed to read what you wrote. We thought the concert was just stellar and we will certainly be back for more if Fleetwood Mac ever comes back again.

Nico Lehman and Glen Underwood, Calgary


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/enterta...#ixzz2UADhOxRY

exactly! I thought it was a great show!

May 23, 2013 Bell's review a bad rumour

http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion...079/story.html

By Kevin Brost, Calgary Herald

Re: "Fleetwood Mac magic now just a rumour," Mike Bell, Opinion, May 18, and "Dylan delivers divine show; Music legend serves up timeless performance for his 'worshippers'," Mike Bell, Oct. 11, 2012.

I was at the Fleetwood Mac concert Friday night and also at Bob Dylan some months ago.

I was one of the many who tried to endure Bob Dylan for just over an hour and not one of the many thousands who streamed out in the first 30 minutes.

It was an unbearable mess of unintelligible nonsense, not even closely resembling a concert and a complete waste of money. Mike Bell, however, could not fawn over it enough the next day, which I still find incredulous, as you are either completely deaf or were not there, which was the conclusion I came to, as you were reviewing from a fan perspective and what you thought it might be like.

Then you hammer Fleetwood Mac for a darn good concert and 21/2 hours of good, solid entertainment, most of which was fantastic, particularly considering the age of the musicians. I have seen them many times as I have Dylan, and they were terrific in comparison while Dylan, I still cannot explain, other than he is drug addled and needed money and we were dumb enough to pay for the torture that it was.


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/enterta...#ixzz2UBIrukf2

I've never seen a paper discredit its own reviewer in this way! Or are these more letter-to-the-editor type responses? I got the impression they were other critics.

I like reviews, but I'd enjoy them more if there was more of a debate and dialogue in them, rather than just one person going "Here's what I think.... BYENOW" and quickly running away to write their next review.

These letters were in the "Opinion" section. I think the one person, Kevin Brost, is a writer and photographer. I'm not sure about the second person Nico Lehman, if she's just a reader or what.

Michele