Los Angeles Forum 12/6/14
 

I was at the Forum show tonight and have to say it was Lindsey's night. He really seemed on fire and the I'm So Afraid ovation was fantastic! Overall, I'm really loving the sound in this venue. Tonight was special for me as it is 35 years to the day that I first saw FM in concert - at the LA Forum!!. It was also great driving there in a full moon. That totally added to the atmosphere.

There was a lot of good interaction between the band members that I was able to capture in photos. Stevie and Lindsey are really getting along tonight. The embrace after NGBA was back and Lindsey seemed to take his time with it...

I've also never noticed the little dance that Stevie does in front of Mick during the guitar solo in Silver Springs. I was sitting side stage on Lindsey's side this time and really liked that spot.

Here is a Flickr link to my pictures:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125906...7649228737267/

Great photos Lisa, thanks for sharing:)

Thanks for that, Lisa! Sounds lovely. Stevie's niece seemed to like ISA as well - that was the shot she took from the show, making sure to tag as #lindseybuckingham #fleetwoodmac #legend. :lol:

Love the pictures. Especially for finally getting pretty good shots of after NGBA! Seriously appreciate that one in particular. They were very generous, keeping that in. They skipped it for both the previous two LA shows so.

I was cracking up last night when Lindsey was sitting on the side during Mick's drum solo. Lindsey was having a blast last night.

Are the Christine songs still getting a lot of audience love? I hope that early adulation lasts—we don't want her retiring in Kent again!

Yes they are. In fact, Little Lies was a highlight of the night. It was really good. Her voice is as strong as, 'The Dance'. The crowd roars on her first syllables of YMLF, as well.

Further, she got the loudest and longest applause during introductions. That's something I've never seen.

On Songbird, she did some extra piano runs to coincide with Lindsey's fills. And her voice was very full and not at all tepid.

fab shots Lisa!!!!!! love all the action LB shots, the guy is definitely covering that stage!! :thumbsup: :]

on another note, bunch of ex-FM collaborators were apparently invited by the band to see the show, sit in the friends&family section and party backstage after. Ken Caillat said he decided to skip going to Japan and support his daughter in entertaining the troops to go to this show. pretty sure Richard was invited too, since his assistant tweeted she was flying to LA and going to the show. and Janet Robin posted bunch of fabulous backstage pics with Lindsey and Neale which you can see if you are FB friends with her. :thumbsup:

Oooh. I feel so jealous, not to be there.

Michele

Taking his time. LOL. I love your pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Michele

i love how much fun he seems to be having on this tour. and WT interactions with audience when he's sitting on the stage are always a blast to watch. :]

and i love that he was hanging out at the backstage party with past collaborators after the show. here is the link to several backstage photos from Janet Robin's fb timeline (she gave ok for our fansite to share some of her photos):
https://www.facebook.com/31670818169...type=1&theater

^^^^ He buried his head in Christine's tummy, back about 3 times last night and she was laughing so hard...

Does Lori Nicks still tour with Fleetwood Mac? Presumably as she is Stevie's sister-in-law, then she is the mother of Stevie's niece.

awwwww, during GYOW?

love their happy little interactions, always adding something to them too. and his interactions with everyone on the stage, really. he's such a touchy-feely guy.

yes, she does. and yes, her daughter posted pics of the 2 of them before the show yesterday as well as screenshot of LB's ISA solo. Nicole is great in compiling all this stuff on her FM show blog.

Aww, thanks Elle. The having to sleep thing gets in the way of keeping fully up to date but I try. I actually reached my daily upload limit for pictures yesterday on tumblr which was distressing! :lol:

She got the loudest in Hartford also.

Thanks very much Aussie W/Heart, Nicole, Elle, Michele and others who wrote the kind responses to my initial post and pictures. Glad you liked the photos! While I thought Lindsey was the highlight for me last night, I agree that Christine received tremendous appreciation from the crowd and sang beautifully.

I've been crazy busy this weekend so don't have time to write more, but feel so fortunate that I got to attend these Forum shows. I never take it for granted that I'm from L.A. and have the great luck to be in a city that my favorite bands always play. For those of you in cities that FM will be coming to, I wish you the same opportunity!!

I had 2 dear friends fly in from Arkansas and Northern Cali to see this show last night. They seemed to have fun at the show. They offered to buy me a ticket, as they were staying with me. I declined. Why charge such awesome people to stay with me? I have many spare rooms. They bought me dinner both nights! They had great seats. One of them agreed with me that Rhiannon is 20+ years past being retired from live performance. No dynamics. Dull. Slow. Plodding. Same old. 4 note range.

But they did love seeing Christine again. That would have been nice to see. Sorry I missed that. But I saw her in 77, 80, 82, 87, 90 and 97. Many times. But this is still the same set list. 7 miles from home. Free tickets. Good seats. I said no.

I had a fabulous time with them when they got home, though. We sat by the roaring fire in my house on the hill, and relived our 70's and 80's concert experiences with a full soundtrack of tapes of old LA shows. We talked about how much coke we did back then, and how great those taped performances were. We also debated about how much of Stevie's hair is real these days versus how much of it is a mutli level weave. I won that argument with adundant video evidence. It was a lovely evening.

Hey sparky, do you mind posting your video evidence regarding Stevie's hair extensions. I have wondered that myself and had a few discussions with friends as well:) thanks! Glad your friends had a nice time while visiting

Yeah, when I saw them on the 28th at the Forum, I noticed that Christine's voice ISN'T as good as '97, or '90, or '87, or '84, or '82...

IT'S MUCH BETTER!!!! :thumbsup:

Come to think of it, it's even better than EVER!!! :nod:

{thinks to self} Maybe Nicks should take a 16 year break. (did I say that out LOUD? YIKES!) :eek:

We talked about how much coke we did back then, and how great those taped performances were. We also debated about how much of Stevie's hair is real these days versus how much of it is a mutli level weave. I won that argument with adundant video evidence. It was a lovely evening

Can you please explain to me about your theories of her hair? I have so many friends who think it's fake, but I always thought it was real. I've never talked to anyone really seriously about it but would love to hear your comments......maybe it needs it's own thread (haha).

You have many spare rooms? Now that sounds like an invitation!

Michele

I've seen this debated before. At her age, I would certainly expect Stevie to have extensions, for thickness, if not for length. But as many different pictures that we have of her hair, from all different angles, I just can't detect extensions. I watch her in concert when she turns her head upside down. I look when her hair separates. I scour front and back at the root line and in between and I just don't see any attachments.

With most entertainers you can readily see it, if you just sift through a few different photos.

Michele

Fleetwood Mac - The Forum - December 6, 2014 By Andy Hermann

http://www.laweekly.com/westcoastsou...-6-2014?page=2

Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 9:33 AM L. A. Weekly

Fleetwood Mac The Forum December 6, 2014

On Saturday, Fleetwood Mac played their last of three sold-out shows at the Forum. And who cares, right? Reunion tours at the Inglewood arena are as plentiful as scarves on Stevie Nicks' mic stand.

But in the 16 years since a Fleetwood Mac tour featured the entire Rumors lineup, something notable happened: The band, long a favorite among baby boomers and Gen X'ers, got discovered by a new generation of fans, many of whom are themselves making emotionally dramatic pop music laced with lush harmonies and fiery guitar parts.

See also: Why Hipsters Are Obsessed With Fleetwood Mac

Tame Impala, Haim, the Entrance Band, even Miley Cyrus: all have worshiped at the altar of the Mac. Foxygen told L.A. Weekly that they recorded their new album while listening to Tusk on repeat, and Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino breathlessly tweeted out "Fleetwood Mac is honestly THE most important band in my entire life" after one of the band's first two Forum shows.

So Saturday's show — not their last in L.A., as we had originally described it, since they announced an additional Forum date next April just a few days ago — felt important. With the return of singer/keyboardist Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac are now the biggest band of their era whose "classic" lineup remains intact. And they've become, arguably, the most influential.

The importance of McVie's return can't be overstated. Though far less flashy than her fellow lead singers, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, her cool alto, underrated piano skills and flair for an irresistible pop hook provided the perfect foil to Buckingham's histrionics and Nicks' witchy balladry. She wrote the first and last hit singles of the quintet's remarkable 12-year run ("Over My Head" and "Everywhere," respectively) as well as their signature anthem, "Don't Stop." More than once, her bandmates expressed elation over her return — though no words could convey more than the ear-to-ear grin Buckingham wore for much of "Say You Love Me," one of Christine's most indelible tunes and perhaps the evening's best showcase of the band's pinpoint harmonies.

Though the night in many ways belonged to McVie, Buckingham and Nicks still provided most of the highlights. After nearly 40 years, Buckingham remains the band's wild card, a guitarist so brilliant — and so clearly enamored of his own brilliance — that his admittedly jaw-dropping solos at times threatened to hijack the whole show. The shrieking cascades of notes pouring forth from his signature Renaissance Model One guitar earned their fair share of cheers from the crowd — but no moment of the show got a bigger cheer than Stevie Nicks' first twirl during "Rhiannon."

It is Nicks, more than any other member of the Mac, who has captured the imagination of a younger generation of fans. During her songs "Dreams," "Gypsy" and especially "Landslide," women who clearly weren't even born when Rumors came out could be seen throughout the crowd, singing along rapturously with every word.

Wisely and graciously, the band let Christine McVie have the last word, rolling out a baby grand piano on which she delivered a haunting rendition of "Songbird," the prettiest song on Rumors, accompanied only by some admirably restrained acoustic guitar by Buckingham.

Afterward, when the band came out to take their final bows, Stevie Nicks credited Fleetwood Mac's fans for McVie's return. "You made this happen. You're magic! You have magical powers," Nicks declared. And maybe she's right, but our magical powers pale in comparison to those of a reunited Fleetwood Mac.

Overheard in the crowd, after Stevie Nicks' twirling performance of "Rhiannon": "She knows how to work a shawl."

Random notebook dump: The giant floating Lindsey head on the projection screen during "I Know I'm Not Wrong" is freaking me out. It's like his ego made manifest.

I thought Lindsey was playing electric guitar on Songbird this tour??:shrug:

Reviewers sometime get things wrong; this writer was one of them.

At one point Stevie had her back to the audience by the drum kit and Lindsey came up behind her and hugged her. I forget what song this was after.

That was after Never Going Back Again. it was a really touching moment.

Yes, it's been done a few times now and is really, really lovely. Portland (where they didn't turn the lights down fast enough, lol), LA and now Anaheim are the only occasions we've had direct evidence of it.

PORTLAND

http://33.media.tumblr.com/098c7d06e...8si8o1_400.gif http://38.media.tumblr.com/a2aa3cc1c...8si8o2_400.gif

However, usually on the tour (prior to Portland and for the first two Forum shows) he heads off in this direction.

LOS ANGELES

http://media.tumblr.com/7eabbd1f9f25...3sx1rjpgwn.jpg

If, though, you look at videos from Sacramento, San Jose and San Diego you can see him walking towards Stevie at the drum kit instead.

SACRAMENTO

http://media.tumblr.com/ab75d357d3bf...sws1rjpgwn.jpg

SAN JOSE

http://media.tumblr.com/3f9dc9b3a009...7No1rjpgwn.jpg

SAN DIEGO

http://media.tumblr.com/22aecbb86e7b...CiW1rjpgwn.jpg

Then we have awesome pictures from Lisa from Los Angeles and FINALLY fairly good quality video from Allie from Oakland.

LOS ANGELES [x] [x]

ANAHEIM

http://38.media.tumblr.com/889b98f49...8si8o1_400.gif http://38.media.tumblr.com/f9de3e530...8si8o2_400.gif

Your keen observations and video proof is amazing. Have you ever thought about working for the police department?

Ha! The information is straight from my blog. Someone asked about the NGBA occurrences and apparently I like to be as thorough as possible in certain answers. :lol:

it must be pre planned because you think she would jump.

I doubt they sat somewhere before a show deciding upon doing it. My best guess is that it started out as a spontaneous thing in Portland but that they enjoyed it and kept doing so (bar the first two Forum shows), and so now she expects and waits for it, yes. And the lighting guy is good and doesn't leave the lights up while Linds actually goes in for the hug unlike Portland, which amuses me. As for not jumping, he's not Kid Rock. She's fairly comfortable with the touching from Lindsey at this point, lol.

http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/...psebzygbre.gif

LOL, a bit of that Michele j humor has rubbed off on you.

I love me some humor at The Ledge!

Well, I think that's what makes the Mirage SOTM video so good is that she really has no reaction when he lays on her back. It's just a matter of course.

Michele